Rafi Gavron
Rafi Gavron caught the eye of the movie industry when he starred in Anthony Minghella's Breaking and Entering with Jude Law and Juliette Binoche in 2006, a role which earnt him a Most Promising Newcomer nomination from the British Independent Film Awards.
This week he returns to the big screen in fantasy film Inkheart, an adaptation of the popular Cornelia Funke novel, I caught up with him to take about his new role and what lies ahead.
Your new film is Inkheart in which you play Farid can you tell me a bit about the film and your character?
The film is about a man who, when he reads out loud, the characters come out of storybooks and people go in from the real world, a person or thing goes in depending on how the exchange works, he is reading one day and his wife disappears and a character called Dustfinger comes out.
And this starts this crazy relationship with this book called Inkheart which he is reading so it’s a book a film based on a book basically. During this mad journey he is reading A Thousand and One Arabian Nights and I pop out as a real life Aladdin.
What was it about the character and the script that drew you to the project?
I think being part of a children’s film and a fantasy children’s film that I thought wasn’t just a bunch of broomsticks and ridiculous names drew me to it because I am not a fan of Harry Potter, I’m not a fan of that whole thing, I despise it and I don’t understand it and I don’t understand why people like it at all.
And this is a very original idea that Cornelia Funke, the German writer of the trilogy that has done hugely well it‘s like the Harry Potter of that side of Europe, I found this an interesting idea and then I found out who was attached to the movie and it was a done deal so it was great?
Well that sort of leads me into my next question really Christmas time has become renowned f or the fantasy movie with the likes of Harry Potter and The Golden Compass so what is it about Inkheart that sets it apart from the rest?
Well The Golden Compass was a bunch of special effects that didn’t come together as a film unfortunately because it is a great book, I didn’t particularly like it but I thought it was a good book anyway. It’s kind of hard to say about Inkheart but I think it’s kind of timeless and it’s well done, god that’s a hard question I should be able to answer it, I just think it will be enjoyed by a huge and wide variable of audiences where with the Golden Compass you weren’t able to, and with movies like the Gold Compass in comparison that was someone directing a bunch of very complex stories at you and you going ‘what the f*** is going on?’
This is a completely different ball game it’s much simpler and I think it’s more of a classic in that way it’s timeless that will appeal to so many different age groups, I think that because of the people who are in it and how well it is made as a movie it will appeal to the adults who are taking their children to go see it as well.
How familiar were you with the original Cornelia Funke novel?
Absolutely had no idea about but then I asked my little brother and he had every idea and it turned out that he had been reading them and they were in my house and I had no idea.
How much did you use the novel in your preparation for the role and during filming, once you had discovered it?
I think I followed along what was asked of me really I wanted to do what was right for the character and honour the character I asked Cornelia about that and she was very pleased with what I wanted to do, but I won’t tell you about that I will just let you see the film.
And how involved was Cornelia in the making of the film?
I think she was involved enough to be honest with you, I was glad that she was involved because she was the heart and soul of Inkheart itself, but for a studio film that has a lot of suits involved I think that they really allowed her to have a say in it, which I’m pleased about, she is a very tough and a very hardworking woman and I don’t think she would have allowed anyone the rights unless she had a bit of control over it.
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
Rafi Gavron caught the eye of the movie industry when he starred in Anthony Minghella's Breaking and Entering with Jude Law and Juliette Binoche in 2006, a role which earnt him a Most Promising Newcomer nomination from the British Independent Film Awards.
This week he returns to the big screen in fantasy film Inkheart, an adaptation of the popular Cornelia Funke novel, I caught up with him to take about his new role and what lies ahead.
Your new film is Inkheart in which you play Farid can you tell me a bit about the film and your character?
The film is about a man who, when he reads out loud, the characters come out of storybooks and people go in from the real world, a person or thing goes in depending on how the exchange works, he is reading one day and his wife disappears and a character called Dustfinger comes out.
And this starts this crazy relationship with this book called Inkheart which he is reading so it’s a book a film based on a book basically. During this mad journey he is reading A Thousand and One Arabian Nights and I pop out as a real life Aladdin.
What was it about the character and the script that drew you to the project?
I think being part of a children’s film and a fantasy children’s film that I thought wasn’t just a bunch of broomsticks and ridiculous names drew me to it because I am not a fan of Harry Potter, I’m not a fan of that whole thing, I despise it and I don’t understand it and I don’t understand why people like it at all.
And this is a very original idea that Cornelia Funke, the German writer of the trilogy that has done hugely well it‘s like the Harry Potter of that side of Europe, I found this an interesting idea and then I found out who was attached to the movie and it was a done deal so it was great?
Well that sort of leads me into my next question really Christmas time has become renowned f or the fantasy movie with the likes of Harry Potter and The Golden Compass so what is it about Inkheart that sets it apart from the rest?
Well The Golden Compass was a bunch of special effects that didn’t come together as a film unfortunately because it is a great book, I didn’t particularly like it but I thought it was a good book anyway. It’s kind of hard to say about Inkheart but I think it’s kind of timeless and it’s well done, god that’s a hard question I should be able to answer it, I just think it will be enjoyed by a huge and wide variable of audiences where with the Golden Compass you weren’t able to, and with movies like the Gold Compass in comparison that was someone directing a bunch of very complex stories at you and you going ‘what the f*** is going on?’
This is a completely different ball game it’s much simpler and I think it’s more of a classic in that way it’s timeless that will appeal to so many different age groups, I think that because of the people who are in it and how well it is made as a movie it will appeal to the adults who are taking their children to go see it as well.
How familiar were you with the original Cornelia Funke novel?
Absolutely had no idea about but then I asked my little brother and he had every idea and it turned out that he had been reading them and they were in my house and I had no idea.
How much did you use the novel in your preparation for the role and during filming, once you had discovered it?
I think I followed along what was asked of me really I wanted to do what was right for the character and honour the character I asked Cornelia about that and she was very pleased with what I wanted to do, but I won’t tell you about that I will just let you see the film.
And how involved was Cornelia in the making of the film?
I think she was involved enough to be honest with you, I was glad that she was involved because she was the heart and soul of Inkheart itself, but for a studio film that has a lot of suits involved I think that they really allowed her to have a say in it, which I’m pleased about, she is a very tough and a very hardworking woman and I don’t think she would have allowed anyone the rights unless she had a bit of control over it.