Adventure and a love of travel inspired Donald Crowhurst to a crazy act - a round-the-world race on his own boat. He leaves his wife and children and rushes to meet his dream, his unrealized ambitions. The main character of the new James Marsh film, performed by Colin Firth, is full of hope, heroism and adventurous spirit. But what does the actor think about his character and how does he relate to the unrestrained desire to excel in the "Race of the Century"?
A disinterested hero
About his hero Colin Firth says with enthusiasm, without exaggerating and not belittling his aspirations and merits:
"I believe that this is, first and foremost, the history of an individual, his inner world and experiences. Not many of us will dare at such, it would seem, rash and stupid step - to make a round-the-world trip on a boat. But in this picture many qualities of a human nature, inherent in people living near to us are collected. The fine line of human psychoanalysis with inner loneliness, the usual sequence of human factors, life mistakes - all this does not exceed the thinking about the life of a normal person in the modern world of chaos and everyday routine. My hero is not ideal, he is characterized by errors and ambiguous judgments, but he strives for his ideal, and his aspirations are disinterested. There are no guarantees. The whole film is about this, about a dubious venture and unpredictability of the end of this adventure. He is a genius and inventor, but, along with this, an ordinary family man with his philistine swamp. Not always everything is perfect in this world. Perhaps the story of Crowhurst is a bit stiff and prejudiced, but very truthful and humane. And it bribes. And the fact that Crowhurst became a media star, in this merit, of course, the publication of the Sunday Times. Moreover, it is simply impossible to organize such a large-scale project without a sponsor. Donald watched the whole world. But the press, by definition, makes a fly out of a molehill, and my character is in a closed circle, from which it is impossible to get out white and fluffy. "
Wet shooting
Most of the shooting took place on the open sea. Colin Firth admits that at times he had to try on not only the role of an unbridled adventurer:
"In fact, everything was not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. Yes, it was cold and wet, there were problems with lighting, the wind often caused a lot of problems. Due to weather conditions, sometimes it was not possible to shoot normally. Basically, the shooting took place in the real sea, it was near to England, the same summer scenes were filmed in Malta. But what struck me the most was shooting in the pool. These were shooting days. Experts created artificial waves, and for this you need complicated equipment, special machines that fire at you to create the desired effect in the frame. It is very interesting. In fact, I received tremendous pleasure from these filming. Scenes in the boat deserve special attention. In fact, they were filmed in the studio. But, being inside, you do not see who is shaking the boat, this creates a sense of reality, because it really shakes. And it does not matter that someone outside just rocks the boat. This is a very difficult task, but the professionals coped with it perfectly, rocked it healthy. And when I went home in the evening, I did not leave the feeling that I was still in the boat on the waves. "
Metamorphosis
A couple of times the actor admitted that for the sake of filming is not ready for a radical change in appearance and weight. However, by the end of the shooting process in the "Race of the Century" we see a rather sharp drop in the weight category of Firth. The actor himself says that this process was rather difficult, but in the end, everything turned out as it should:
"I was given a specific task: to lose weight by the end of filming. However, everything was not so simple. The weight left rather slowly, and since the shooting took place in chronological order, there were some difficulties. But thanks to the talent of the costumers, this moment was settled and I was wearing vests and jumpers of large sizes. In acting, this is important - they will not pretend to be what you really are. So it is here. As for weight loss and sports, well, I admit - I did not succeed in that. In college years, many children were engaged in physical education rather actively, and the second half, among me, had free time on the couch. But, suddenly, in the second half of my life, I realized that I was capable of athletic loads, mostly for shooting, and finding that my body suddenly ached after physical exertion, I was not scared. On the contrary, I liked it, and I realized that everything is possible. "
- High relations: Colin Firth supported the lover of his wife Livia
- Growth and other parameters Colin Firth
- Colin Firth and Renee Zellweger
Safety first
Recognition of the actor about his abilities acquire rather modest features, if you recall the footage from the film, where he climbs on a tall mast. But Firth does not hide that he is far from perfect:
"I'm not very afraid of heights, because in my youth I was engaged in rock climbing. But in this, for the most part, the merit of the parents. Growing up, we make many decisions on our own, and I, having grown up, put the sport on the back burner. But in my youth I loved adrenaline and even now I'm not afraid of heights either. However, on the mast all the same independently to the end to climb to me did not allow. Only half. And then on the safety harness. In this case, on the set, safety is paramount. But I'm not offended. Much worse would be to get hurt, being not a superhero, like Tom Cruise. "