What was the filming process like for you working alongside the likes of Helen Mirren, Brendan Fraser and Paul Bettany?
Well it was amazing we were out in the middle of nowhere in Italy in the most beautiful environment with these people that I am in awe of working with them and hanging out with them, it was unbelievable, unbelievable.
You broke through in 2006 with Breaking and Entering, for which you received a Most Promising Newcomer at the British Independent Film Awards how are you dealing with the spotlight?
I ’m not taking a huge amount of the spotlight and I’m not given a huge amount of the spotlight which I quite like, compared to some of the teenagers that are in the industry at the moment that I’m friends with.
I’m enjoying how it’s being taking slowly, I have a film out at the moment called Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist in the US that’s doing very well over there it seems to have caught an age group that just absolutely love it, Breaking and Entering wasn’t seen by a huge amount of people so I’m not someone who gets recognised or pressured and I have to say I quite like it. But I get to make movies and work with people who I think are wonderful and, I hope, make quality work and that’s what I enjoy about it.
How did you get into acting?
I played Macbeth in a school play when I was fifteen, my father encouraged me to do so even though I didn’t want to because I was scared shitless of it, and people were like ‘oh Rafi you can act’ and I was like ‘why are you telling me this? It turns out that my drama teacher had always thought that there was something there but no one ever told me anything and I didn’t know about it but I never wanted to be an actor.
But I went to a family friend who was an agent and I asked hi what the industry was like and he said ‘you won’t get a call for nine months that’s how it works but I will help you out I will try and get you an audition so you can see that the business is about rejection.’
He called me the next day the day to tell me that there was a major role in an Anthony Minghella film with Jude Law he said that I wouldn’t get it because it was my first audition but it was about the experience, it was the first audition that I ever went to and that was it.
you have mentioned Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist already can you tell me a little bit about it?
Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist is about a group of gay and straight teen in New York for the night and going through the perils of losing a drunk friend and searching for a favourite band of theirs, kid of like an EMO punk rockfish. It’s of course got Michael Cera in it, who is of course Superbad Juno boy, who is hilarious as well as a bunch of wonderful actors my age. It’s a really funny, sweet well written comedy about a bunch of teenagers in New York for the night it’s a real feel good film and it’s definitely a film that is worth the money.
It’s quite a change of pace from Inkheart how important is it for you to mix up the type of work that you do?
I take it very seriously switching things up, I wouldn’t pass something up if it was too similar to a previous role that I had done, but at the same time the whole thing that I find fun is the changing of characters and I wouldn’t like to be typecast of stuck as something that’s not what I want to be.
Finally what is next for you?
I’m filming 24 in the US right now, it’s not a huge role but I’m in it for a few episodes, the reason that I’m doing it is because I love the show and I have always wanted to be on it so there you go it’s exciting for me too.
Inkheart is released 12th December
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw