PRESENTE / PRESENTEERT
X+Y (LE MONDE DE NATHAN)
un film de / een film van Morgan Matthews avec / met Asa Butterfield, Rafe Spall, Sally Hawkins, Eddie Marsan, Jo Yang
BRUSSELS FILM FEST 2015 – CLOSING FILM PALM BEACH INT'L FILM FESTIVAL 2015 - BEST FILM ROME FILM FEST 2014 – BEST EMERGING PRODUCER TALLINN BLACK NIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL 2014 - BEST FILM TORONTO FILM FESTIVAL 2014
Royaume-Uni / Verenigd Koninkrijk – 2014 – DCP – couleur / kleur – 1:2.35 – 5.1 – VO ST BIL / OV FR/NL OT – 111’
distribution / distributie: IMAGINE
SORTIE NATIONALE RELEASE 19/08/2015
T : 02 331 64 31 / F : 02 331 64 34 / M : 0499 25 25 43 photos / foto's : www.imaginefilm.be/PRO
SYNOPSIS
FR
Nathan (Asa Butterfield) est un adolescent autiste et surdoué pour qui seuls les nombres et les formules ont un sens. Impossible d'entrer en relation avec son entourage et en particulier avec sa mère (Sally Hawkins). Mais à l'occasion de sa participation aux Olympiades Mathématiques en Chine et sous l'influence de son professeur aux méthodes peu orthodoxes (Rafe Spall), Nathan va s'ouvrir aux autres et à la vie.
NL
Nathan (Asa Butterfield) is een hoogbegaafde autistische tiener die alleen geïnteresseerd is in cijfers en formules en niet in staat is om te communiceren met klasgenoten en vooral met zijn moeder (Sally Hawkins). Maar door zijn deelname aan de Wiskunde Olympiade in China en onder invloed van zijn onorthodoxe leermeester (Rafe Spall) zal Nathan openbloeien.
EN
Teenage maths prodigy Nathan (Asa Butterfield) struggles when it comes to building relationships with other people, not least with his mother, Julie (Sally Hawkins). In a world difficult to comprehend, he finds comfort in numbers. And when Nathan is taken under the wing of unconventional and anarchic teacher, Mr. Humphreys (Rafe Spall), the pair forge an unusual friendship.
A PROPOS DE LA PRODUCTION
DU DOCUMENTAIRE À LA FICTION
Pour Morgan Matthews, le chemin jusqu’au Monde de Nathan, son premier long-métrage, a démarré avec son travail sur une trilogie de films documentaires consacrés à des compétitions étonnantes. Parmi ceux-ci, Beautiful Young Minds (2007) suit des élèves se préparant à participer aux Olympiades Internationales de Mathématiques. « C’était une expérience extraordinaire. J’ai rencontré des personnes merveilleuses et j’ai toujours eu le sentiment que ce monde fascinant pourrait faire l’objet d’un film. »
Beautiful Young Minds a été nommé au BAFTA TV Award du Meilleur Documentaire. L’un des protagonistes du film, Daniel, a un trouble cognitif neurodéveloppemental facilitant la logique mathématique. Son histoire est tellement riche que Morgan Matthews a commencé à envisager de l’adapter dans une fiction inspirée des personnages et des événements montrés dans le documentaire.
« Dans un documentaire, on est très proche de son sujet, mais on ne peut pas être là tout le temps et par conséquent on ne peut pas couvrir tous les aspects de la vie des personnes. Pour Le Monde de Nathan, nous avons pu nous intéresser à une période plus longue de la vie des personnages, en l’occurrence une dizaine d’années divisée en deux grandes parties. »
Rafe Spall, qui interprète le rôle du professeur de mathématiques, M. Humphreys, souligne que si Morgan Matthews réalise ici son premier film, il a déjà une grande expérience du métier. « Il a probablement réalisé plus de films que la plupart des réalisateurs de fiction. Il connaît le langage cinématographique et a conscience de l’énergie nécessaire pour gérer une équipe et raconter une histoire en images. »
Morgan Matthews s’est adjoint l’aide du dramaturge James Graham. « J’ai écrit un traitement et j’ai décidé de travailler avec un auteur. Je connaissais le travail de James Graham qui faisait des choses vraiment intéressantes au théâtre. » Mais James Graham ne connaissait rien du monde que Morgan Matthews montre dans Beautiful Young Minds. Il a donc rejoint le chef de la délégation britannique lors d’une Olympiade de mathématiques à Hambourg. « Évidemment, les personnages n’étaient pas les mêmes que dans mon documentaire, mais James a eu l’occasion de s’immerger dans cet environnement ; dès lors, nous avons pu l’envisager de notre point de vue créatif.
LES PERSONNAGES
Nathan Ellis (Asa Butterfield) Nathan souffre de troubles du spectre autistique. Il est doué pour les mathématiques, mais a des difficultés à comprendre et exprimer ses émotions.
Asa Butterfield interprète ce personnage complexe et attachant. « Je l’avais vu dans Hugo Cabret et dans Le Garçon au pyjama rayé », dit M. Matthews. « Nathan est un rôle difficile. Il parle peu, donc je cherchais quelqu’un capable d’exprimer beaucoup sans parler énormément, mais également avec qui nous pouvons entrer en empathie. Asa y parvient merveilleusement. Je l’ai rencontré plusieurs fois et je l’ai présenté à Daniel, le garçon que l’on voit dans Beautiful Young Minds et dont je me suis inspiré pour le personnage de Nathan. » L’acteur s’est également rendu dans des écoles spécialisées. « J’ai parlé avec des autistes, ou des personnes qui ont le syndrome d’Asperger, je voulais savoir ce qu’ils trouvaient difficile quand ils étaient adolescents », explique Asa Butterfield. « Nous avons aussi évoqué leurs difficultés mentales et physiques. J’ai beaucoup appris. Par ailleurs, il n’y a pas qu’une seule façon d’interpréter ce genre de personnage, mais Morgan savait quel genre de réaction émotionnelle il attendait de chacun. »
Afin d’apporter autant de crédibilité au rôle que possible, Asa Butterfield a regardé Beautiful Young Minds plusieurs fois. « Cela m’a été très utile car on y voit différentes personnes confrontées à des niveaux de troubles neurodéveloppementaux variés. Morgan et moi avons défini où se situe Nathan dans le spectre. »
« Tout au long du film, Nathan n’exprime pas ses sentiments. Une partie de son parcours personnel consiste à trouver le moyen de libérer les émotions qu’il a en lui », indique Morgan Matthews. « Suite à une expérience traumatique quand il était enfant, il les a enfermées parce que, pour lui, elles sont trop irrationnelles et n’ont aucun sens. Il préfère un monde plus rationnel, qu’il comprend, c’est-à-dire celui des mathématiques. Mais, au fur et à mesure, ses émotions se libèrent. »
Julie Ellis (Sally Hawkins) Nathan avait un lien très fort avec son père. « Quand il était enfant, son père était la seule personne avec qui il pouvait réellement communiquer. Son père le comprenait », explique Asa Butterfield. « Lorsqu’il meurt, Nathan se retrouve seul avec sa mère qui l’aime mais n’arrive pas à interagir avec lui. » Le rôle de Julie, la mère de Nathan, est interprété par Sally Hawkins. « Sally apporte beaucoup d’émotion et d’humour au personnage. Son intensité émotionnelle est particulièrement exceptionnelle. »
Selon Sally Hawkins, « Julie a tendance à ressentir les choses très profondément. Elle aime Nathan et souffre du fait de ne pas pouvoir lui montrer son amour d’une façon plus conventionnelle. Elle est intimidée par sa particularité, ce qui les maintient éloignés. » Par ailleurs, elle souffre de dépression depuis la mort de son mari.
« C’est incroyablement émouvant d’écouter Sally. Dans certaines scènes, elle atteint un niveau d’émotion que je n’ai connu que dans la vraie vie », déclare Morgan Matthews. « Son jeu est si réel et viscéral que, parfois, je ne pouvais pas l’écouter – il m’est arrivé de couper. C’était comme dans la vraie vie, quand on entend quelqu’un souffrir : notre instinct est d’intervenir pour que ça cesse. Par exemple, la douleur qu’elle exprimait dans la scène où Julie perd son mari était tellement vraie que j’ai dû couper plusieurs fois. C’était trop douloureux. »
M. Humphreys (Rafe Spall) M. Humphreys, le professeur de mathématiques, est interprété par Rafe Spall. M. Humphreys est une figure importante dans la vie de Julie et Nathan : il parvient non seulement à communiquer avec Nathan grâce à leur intérêt commun pour les mathématiques, mais permet à Julie de s’ouvrir à nouveau, de réaliser qu’il n’y a rien de mal à vouloir se sentir attirante et à rire.
M. Humphreys a lui aussi été un jeune mathématicien plein d’avenir, « mais quand nous le rencontrons, c’est un type solitaire qui souffre de sclérose en plaques et n’a pas eu la carrière qu’il aurait dû avoir », explique Rafe Spall. « Il s’automédicamente avec du cannabis et des litres d’alcool et devient de plus en plus malade. Sa relation avec Nathan ravive cependant sa passion pour les mathématiques et lui donne une raison de vivre. »
Selon Rafe Spall, « jouer un personnage souffrant de sclérose en plaques est difficile. L’association des sclérosés en plaques près de chez moi m’a beaucoup aidé et j’ai assisté à des discussions de groupe. J’ai aussi beaucoup lu sur la maladie, parlé avec des médecins et regardé des documentaires dont Here’s Johnny sur John Hicklenton, un dessinateur de BD qui souffrait de cette maladie dont je me suis beaucoup inspiré. »
« Rafe a beaucoup apporté à M. Humphreys », ajoute Morgan Matthews. « Il sait naturellement apporter de l’humour et de la chaleur à une scène. »
Morgan Matthews a encouragé ses acteurs à improviser. « Nous avions un excellent scénario, mais si quelque chose ne nous semblait pas sonner juste, nous le changions. Je crois que Rafe a placé la barre très haut car il a un réel talent pour l’improvisation. Il est très drôle et dans la vie et quand il joue. Il m’arrivait d’éclater de rire derrière la caméra ! »
Richard Grieve (Eddie Marsan) Richard, le chef de la délégation britannique aux Olympiades de Mathématiques, devient également une figure importante dans la vie de Nathan. Il est interprété par Eddie Marsan.
« Richard exerce un contrôle sur tous les élèves et les pousse jusqu’au bout de leurs limites », dit Asa Butterfield. « Il voit que Nathan a un véritable potentiel. »
« Richard prend peut-être tout ceci un peu trop au sérieux », ajoute Morgan Matthews en souriant. « Il va un peu trop loin et Eddie Marsan est excellent. Il n’a pas eu beaucoup de temps pour répéter car il était sur un autre projet. Mais il s’est avéré qu’il n’en avait pas besoin. Dès que je l’ai vu en bermuda, avec ses sandales, sa barbe, ses lunettes et son bloc-notes, j’ai su que tout irait bien. Lors de son premier jour de tournage, Eddie a livré une prestation digne d’une master-class. À l’origine, le long discours qu’il fait dans le bus pendant le trajet qui amène l’équipe à l’aéroport pour prendre l’avion pour Taipei était une voix-off. Au dernier moment, je lui ai dit que je voulais qu’il apparaisse à l’écran. Il a disparu pendant quinze minutes et nous n’avions que vingt minutes pour tourner cette scène avant la fin de la journée. Il a su jouer la scène avec beaucoup de vigueur, de joie et d’enthousiasme, tout en étant aussi un peu agressif et effrayant… C’était parfait. »
Zhang Mei (Jo Yang) La jolie Zhang Mei est le personnage le plus important que Nathan rencontre.
« Elle est le catalyseur de sa maturation émotionnelle », explique Morgan Matthews. « Il la respecte immédiatement car elle est très bonne en maths, probablement meilleure que lui, et il est attiré par elle. »
« Mis à part sa mère, Zhang Mei est la première femme avec laquelle il établit une relation », rappelle Asa Butterfield, « et il ne sait pas très bien qui elle est. »
En fin de compte, il s’agit de l’histoire d’un garçon qui apprend à aimer, résume Morgan Matthews. « Il doit parvenir à faire face à ses sentiments et à accepter de tomber amoureux de Zhang Mei, mais aussi à apprendre à tisser un lien émotionnel avec sa mère et à se faire à l’idée que son père est mort. »
Pour interpréter le rôle de Zhang Mei, le réalisateur a préféré choisir une actrice chinoise plutôt qu’une jeune femme ayant exclusivement vécu en Occident.
« Nous avons travaillé avec un directeur de casting à Pékin. Je voulais une actrice qui sache parler le mandarin. Nous avons reçu des tonnes de candidatures de jeunes femmes mais Jo Yang s’est vraiment distinguée des autres. Nous l’avons fait venir en Angleterre et lorsqu’elle s’est retrouvée aux côtés d’Asa, leur relation est tout de suite parue naturelle. »
La connaissance de la culture chinoise de l’actrice a été une vraie aubaine. « Pendant les répétitions », se souvient le réalisateur, « elle m’a parlé de ce qu’est la vie d’une adolescente en Chine et ses remarques ont nourri le scénario et le personnage. »
UNE VOLONTÉ DE RÉALISME
Selon la productrice Laura Hastings-Smith, l’authenticité était le maître mot de Morgan Matthews.
« Puisqu’il vient du documentaire, il voulait que tout ait l’air naturel et authentique. C’était valable pour tous les postes : les décors, les costumes, la coiffure, le maquillage mais aussi la lumière. »
Morgan Matthews a travaillé avec le célèbre chef opérateur Danny Cohen qui a été nommé à l’Oscar en 2011 pour Le Discours d’un roi. « Il a fait un travail remarquable sur ce film et sur Les Misérables » explique Morgan Matthews, « mais j’apprécie particulièrement son travail avec Shane Meadows. »
Danny Cohen a travaillé avec Shane Meadows sur Dead Man’s Shoes et la série des This Is England 86 et 88, « que je trouve formidables, » dit Morgan Matthews. « Danny parvient à combiner réalisme et beauté esthétique. »
Par ailleurs, Morgan Matthews voulait que son équipe soit « légère » et il savait que D. Cohen ne verrait aucun inconvénient à travailler de la sorte.
« Nous étions plutôt ambitieux. Nous voulions tourner beaucoup en peu de temps », explique Morgan Matthews, « donc je ne voulais pas trop de matériel.
Je voulais pouvoir me déplacer librement, mais également que le film soit beau. Car c’est un film sur la beauté - sur un garçon qui voit dans le monde autour de lui une beauté que les autres ne voient pas. »
Une grande partie du Monde de Nathan a été tourné à Sheffield et dans l’université de Cambridge. « Venir à Cambridge, faire partie de ce merveilleux monde des mathématiques parfaitement illustré par l’Olympiade de Mathématiques au Trinity College, voilà le but ultime de Nathan », explique Laura Hastings-Smith.
Pour Morgan Matthews, le tournage à Taipei a été un défi logistique et une libération. « Il y avait beaucoup de questions administratives à résoudre, mais c’était merveilleux de voir et filmer une culture et un environnement si différents. »
Le rythme effréné de la ville de Taipei s’est bien accordé avec la manière dont M. Matthews voulait tourner son film. « Nous tournions souvent dans les rues avec une caméra à l’épaule ou une Steadicam. Nous courions dans les marchés de nuit, les parcs et les rues sans aucune restriction. Les gens que l’on voit à l’image ne sont pas des figurants, ce sont des passants qui ignoraient complètement l’équipe. Par conséquent, les scènes en pleine ville ne sont pas mises en scène ce qui, j’espère, procure un certain réalisme au film. »
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
BEAUTIFUL YOUNG MINDS
For filmmaker Morgan Matthews, the journey that led to his debut feature film, X+Y, began when he started work on a trilogy of documentary films, all of which aired in 2007 and explored a series of very different — and somewhat unusual — competitions.
These included Hair Wars, Blue Suede Jew and Beautiful Young Minds, the latter emerging as a 90- minute feature documentary that recorded the trials and travails of a group of students heading to the International Mathematics Olympiad (IMO).
All three documentaries were successful, with Beautiful Young Minds, proving a critical hit, and going on to be nominated for a BAFTA TV Award for Best Single Documentary. One of the film’s subjects was a student called Daniel, who has a neurodevelopmental disorder that fosters mathematical genius.
Indeed, such was the drama and substance to Daniel’s story that Matthews began contemplating a dramatic retelling of a similar tale, a fictional story inspired by the personalities and events that unfold in the documentary.
“I always felt this story had the potential to be dramatized and that this fascinating world could be represented in a feature film,” he begins, “you often find that while a documentary film is very close to the subject, you can’t be there all of the time, and that there are certain aspects of these people’s lives that you are simply not able to cover.
“Also, the period of time in which you are filming a documentary is often quite restricted,” he adds. “With X+Y, we have a much longer film in terms of the time period it covers. In addition, it brings this subject to a different and wider audience.”
Telling a dramatic story also allows for creative licence. “It is a real liberation, and we took a lot of creative licence with this story,” Matthews says. “X+Y is inspired by the documentary.
“Some of the characters are inspired by the documentary and perhaps recognisable but it is important to remember that the people on screen are not the same people from the documentary.
“They are our created characters who are inspired by elements of the documentary. This is not the true story of what happened.”
According to X+Y producer Laura Hastings-Smith, Matthews’ particular skills as a documentarian, and the insights he has revealed in his films, made him a prime candidate to become a feature director.
“Really, Beautiful Young Minds is an inspiration for X+Y and if you look at Morgan’s documentaries he is always interested in people who are maybe a little on the edge, a little different,” she explains.
“He is keen to understand them and to show them for their strengths as well as their weaknesses, to validate them as individuals with talent and with things to say. He gets into what makes people human.”
Fellow producer David M. Thompson agrees. “I have always thought Morgan had a really great eye and had rather an unusual take on the world,” he says. “I’ve been really excited by his work in documentary filmmaking.
“Over the years I have worked a lot with first-time fiction directors and I had a hunch that he would do a great job, which he really has.
“Morgan has a great warmth about him and a great instinct for a strong and emotional story,” continues Thompson. “He has a very direct way of communicating. Obviously, it is a big leap to move from documentaries to fiction, and he does it with real skill and aplomb.”
Rafe Spall — who takes on the key role of mathematics teacher Mr. Humphreys in the film — points out that while Matthews is helming his first fiction feature film, he possesses bags of vital experience.
“He is a very interesting filmmaker,” Spall says of Matthews, “and although he’s a first-time feature director, he is a really experienced and eminent documentary-maker.
“He’s probably made more films than most feature directors so he understands the language of film and the dynamism that is required to run a floor and to tell a story in a visual manner.”
In order to bring his film to life, Matthews turned first to playwright James Graham asking him to work on the screenplay.
“I wrote a treatment and decided to pair up with a writer. I knew James Graham, who was doing really interesting things in theatre and specifically in fringe theatre at the time,” Matthews says. Graham has since staged This House at the National Theatre.
Though Matthews knew the world he showed on screen in Beautiful Young Minds, Graham did not. This prompted Graham to join the UK team leader from Beautiful Young Minds on a visit to an IMO in Hamburg.
“That was obviously a different team from the guys I talked with for my documentary, but James got a real sense of that world too. We both ended up with a very strong grounding in the reality of that world and felt that we understood that world very well. We were then able to run with it from our creative perspective.”
CHARACTERS + CASTING
The character at the centre of X+Y is a young boy, Nathan. His parents understand that he is different from other boys of his age and that he has difficulty understanding and expressing his emotions. He is keenly intelligent and displays a supreme talent for mathematics.
“He is a boy who is fascinated by the world around him,” says Matthews of his main character, “he loves patterns, colour and light. He is diagnosed as having a form of aphasia which is quite specific to him and is related to changes in pattern and light.”
As a consequence, Nathan is “quite mesmerized by the world around him,” Matthews explains, “but he doesn’t really engage very well with the emotional world, he is also diagnosed as being on the spectrum [of autism].”
To bring this complex and engaging character to life, the filmmakers turned to young English actor Asa Butterfield. “I had seen Asa in Hugo and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas,” says Matthews, “and I think he is a wonderful young actor. He does brilliantly in what is quite a difficult role.”
One of the main difficulties that Matthews and Butterfield had to overcome was whereabouts to place Nathan on the spectrum; neurodevelopmental disorders — including both autism and Asperger’s — can vary greatly from one person to another.
“There is not just one way to play something like this, but Morgan knew a lot about the emotional reaction that he wanted people to get from each of the characters,” Butterfield says.
“He knew where he wanted things to be in terms of Nathan’s condition and it was just a case of finding that on screen and bringing it to life.”
In a bid to bring as much authenticity to the role as possible, Butterfield watched Beautiful Young Minds a number of times. “That was really helpful because it showed different people coping with different levels and different intensities of neurodevelopmental disorders. Morgan and I then had to decide where we’d want to place Nathan on the spectrum.”
The actor also visited a number of different schools that specialised in treating people with different mental disorders. “I talked to people who had autism and Asperger’s and talked to them about what they found difficult when they were teenagers,” he says.
“We talked about the hardships they went through, mentally and physically. It was a really interesting learning experience.”
Butterfield found the character very rewarding. “Every actor wants to find a role that will push them,” he says, “and which is very different from anything that they’ve done before. This was all of that and much more.
“The character was unlike anyone I have played before,” he adds, “and it required me to understand things on a totally different level and to really get under the skin of the character to find out what made him tick. There were times when it was hard work but it was all worth it.”
Nathan struggles to interact successfully with other people, although he enjoys a close relationship with his father — the one person with whom he can readily communicate. His dad understands him. “There is a very strong bond between them,” says Butterfield.
“When Nathan was younger, his dad was really the only person who could communicate with him. He understood what Nathan enjoyed, what would make him excited and what would make him want to communicate with people.”
A tragic accident then robs the boy of his father. “When he loses his dad that is a massive blow, not only because he lost the only person he could talk to but also because he is now in his mum’s hands,” Butterfield explains.
“His mother loves him very much but cannot communicate and interact with Nathan in the same way as his father did.”
Nathan’s mum, Julie, is a prominent character in the film. Oscar-nominated actress Sally Hawkins takes on the role. “She is an incredible actress,” says Matthews of Hawkins. “To see what she put into the performance in terms of the depth of emotion was fantastic.
“Sally brings this soulfulness and a great sense of humour as well. It is her emotional intensity and range, however, that is really quite extraordinary.”
According to Hawkins, Nathan’s relationship with his mother is far from easy. “Their relationship is a strained and difficult, or it is for Julie,” she says. “She loves him deeply and yet Nathan can’t give back emotionally as she needs.
“Julie is kind and sensitive and tends to feel things very deeply,” she adds. “She loves Nathan very much but struggles with not being able to show that love in a conventional way. She knows that he is not ‘normal’ and she is intimidated by the condition in a way that holds them apart.
“When we first meet Julie she is just learning to understand what Nathan’s condition is, and what that means for the rest of his life.”
The loss of Nathan’s father, therefore, is a massive blow. “Julie and Nathan’s lives are completely turned upside down,” says Hawkins. “They have both lost the one person who made everything okay. Everything changes at that point.
“His father was the key for Nathan,” the actress adds. “He understood him. Their relationship was easy compared to Julie’s relationship with Nathan. She is left without any clues about how to even talk to her son. She struggles with this, and suffers from depression in the aftermath [of her husband’s death].”
An important figure then emerges in Julie and Nathan’s lives, Mr. Humphreys, a mathematics teacher at Nathan’s school. “The Humphreys character is quite brilliant,” says the producer, Hastings-Smith. “He is your classic damaged soul, and darkly wistful with it.”
Rafe Spall brings Humphreys to life on screen. “Rafe brought so much to Humphreys,” Matthews notes. “He has a great talent of being able to bring humour and warmth to a scene and a lot of that comes naturally from him.
“He is a very funny guy as well. But he also takes his acting very seriously, and he does some great improv.”
Matthews encouraged his cast to deviate from the script at certain points, “and if there was then something in that take, then we would do another take and keep that as part of the scene. Rafe was a master at doing this in a way that generated humour.”
It is through Nathan’s interaction with Mr. Humphreys that he is exposed to the fresh and exciting world of competitive mathematics. When he was growing up, Mr. Humphreys had been an extremely promising mathematician who had enjoyed success at the IMO.
“But where we find him in the film, his life has not gone to plan,” says Spall of his character. “He had huge promise as a mathematician but when we find him he is a lonely bloke who has now got multiple sclerosis, which is a mysterious disease, and he has not achieved all that he should have done in his maths career.”
As a result of both his career trajectory and his illness, the teacher self-medicates, “with marijuana and loads of booze,” says Spall, “and he is getting more and more ill. His relationship with Nathan, however, reignites his love for maths and gives him something to live for.”
“Playing a character with multiple sclerosis was difficult”, says Spall, who researched the disease in great detail. “The MS Society where I live were very nice to me and I went to some of their discussion groups,” he adds.
“I also did a lot of research on it and spoke to a lot of doctors about it, and I watched a number of documentaries, including a really good one called Here’s Johnny about a comic book artist who had MS and I based a lot of it on him.
“When you have MS or a debilitating disease, it is going to affect your personality. In that way I think the condition is a big part of who the character is.”
According to Asa Butterfield, Mr. Humphreys is a “brilliant character”. He explains, “Nathan’s teacher is one of the few people he can interact with, because Nathan interacts through maths and puzzles and patterns. He really appreciates people who are good at maths and the two of them develop a really lovely relationship.”
Mr. Humphreys also develops a relationship with Nathan’s mum. “After all that she has been through, Julie learns that it is okay to feel good again,” says Hawkins, “and that it is okay to want to feel attractive again; that it is okay to laugh again.
“She learns that there is no reason to be afraid and she takes that leap of faith in the end, not only for Nathan but for herself as well.”
Spall adds, “Julie is extremely grateful to Mr. Humphreys because she is trapped in a world where she looks after her son and that is all-consuming.
“People are always defined by how they deal with adverse situations and when you get two people dealing with difficult things it can make for a lovely relationship.”
According to producer David Thompson, the two adult characters discover new emotional depths. “The film is about the quest for love, in a way, and about the search and understanding of how love works,” he says, “and that’s true of the older couple, as well as for Nathan.”
The other prominent relationships in Nathan’s life emerge when he joins the British mathematics team for the IMO training camp, to be held in Taiwan. Richard, for example, becomes an important focus - the UK team leader, played by Eddie Marsan.
“Richard is very in control of all the students at the maths camp and he pushes them to the limits,” says Butterfield. “He wants to get the best out of Nathan.
“He really wants to push him because he sees a lot of potential. Nathan, though, is resistant to it because he is used to very passive conversing, so it is a big change for him.”
Matthews concurs. “Richard takes it all a bit too seriously, perhaps,” he says with a smile. “He pushes it a bit too much. And Eddie Marsan filled those shoes so well.
“When Eddie turned up and launched into this performance, I was so pleased that we’d made the decision to go with him,” adds the director.
“On his first day, Eddie delivered a master-class in acting. He had quite a long speech to do on the coach when the team are on the way to the airport to fly out to Taipei. It is quite a long piece of dialogue in front of the team and he just got on the coach and nailed it in a way that was so impressive. I think that inspired us.”
In many ways, Richard is an inspiring character, Matthews continues. “He has this strange mix of being both inspiring and of being a little bit on the scary side. As an actor, Eddie got that down perfectly; he is really extraordinary. I can’t believe the quality of our cast. It really is special.”
The most important character that Nathan meets on his journey, however, is the beautiful Zhang Mei (played by Jo Yang), a member of the Chinese mathematics team heading to the IMO.
“Nathan meets Zhang Mei at the IMO training camp in Taipei,” Matthews says. “She is the catalyst to his emotional maturation.
“He automatically respects her. In some ways he is in awe of her because she is so good at maths, probably better than him, and he is instantly attracted to her.”
Zhang Mei encourages Nathan to explore his feelings and to open up. “And through her he begins to unlock some of the feelings that have been repressed since his father died,” says Matthews.
Other than his mother, Zhang Mei is the first female with whom Nathan builds a relationship, “and he is not sure what it is that he has with her,” Butterfield says.
“He really struggles with any sort of social interaction and to be paired up with this girl who doesn’t speak the best English is a huge shock to him; he doesn’t know quite how to handle it.
“As their relationship develops,” continues Butterfield, “they become better friends and he starts to have stronger feelings towards her. He is really confused by that and a bit scared.”
Ultimately, this is a journey about a boy learning to love, notes Matthews. “He has to come to terms with it, not just falling in love with Zhang Mei but learning to have an emotional relationship with his mother, and coming to terms with the loss of his father whom he loved so deeply.”
When casting a character as integral to Nathan’s story as Zhang Mei, the filmmakers were keen to recruit an actress from China, rather than someone who had lived exclusively in the West.
“I was quite keen to have someone who was actually Chinese as opposed to British–Chinese,” Matthews says, “and we cast the net over to China and involved a Chinese casting director in Beijing.
“I wanted someone who could speak Mandarin and it had to feel believable. I didn’t want someone who was putting it on. We were besieged by loads of self-taped auditions, but when Jo Yang appeared she really stood out. We flew her over and got her in a room with Asa and their chemistry felt very natural.”
The actress’ cultural experience of China was also a real boon. “When we were rehearsing,” the director recalls, “there was quite a bit she told me about the experience of being a young person growing up in China, and that informed the script and the performance.”
Hastings-Smith agrees. “She is wonderful,” says the producer. “And one of the things that was most useful for us was that she was very much a young, modern girl living in Beijing. That was very important because she brought an authenticity to the character.”
LOOK + LOCATION
According to the X+Y producers, authenticity was an important watchword for their director and their film. “I would say that authenticity was always a huge word for Morgan,” says Laura Hastings-Smith.
“Coming from documentary he wanted this film to feel very natural and authentic and those watchwords went right across all departments: production design, costume, hair, make up, as well how to film it and how to light it.
“A lot of his work has seen him recording sound and recording picture out there in the world with his characters,” she adds, “and he wanted to film this in a very responsive way, and an intuitive way, at speed. Hopefully that naturalness and authenticity will come through.”
Fellow producer Thompson, meanwhile, says that Matthews’ shooting style proved liberating for the actors. “He has a natural flair for fiction, quite clearly, but he also works in an unusual, unconventional way, which is refreshing,” Thompson says.
“He doesn’t approach making drama like other directors, because he comes from a documentary background, so he is good at slinging out some of the rules, as it were, and working in a freer way, which was great for the actors.
“Also, his style of shooting was much more in the style of a documentary, free-flowing and giving the actors more space and in some cases the room to improvise,” continues Thompson. “There was more a feeling of being like a documentary in some ways. It was not so hidebound by the rules of big-scale filmmaking, but more free-flowing on the set.”
Matthews worked alongside acclaimed cinematographer Danny Cohen, who earned an Oscar nomination in 2011 for The King’s Speech. “He has done amazing work on Les Misérables and The King’s Speech,” says Matthews, “but I was really keen on Danny having seen a lot of his earlier work with Shane Meadows.
Cohen worked with Meadows on projects like Dead Man’s Shoes and also the series This Is England 86 and 88, “which I thought were brilliant,” says the director. “There is a realism to Danny’s work, a quality which combines that realism with an aesthetic beauty.”
The director notes that he wanted his crew to be “light on their feet”, allowing them to shoot quickly, and he knew that Cohen would have no problem working in such a manner.
“We were quite ambitious in what we wanted to shoot especially with how much time we had to shoot it in,” Matthews explains, “so I did not want much around us in terms of paraphernalia.
“I wanted to be able to move around quite freely and I wanted somebody who was comfortable with that, but I also wanted a film that was quite beautiful. That’s why Danny was so important.”
This is a film about beauty, says Matthews, “about a boy who sees beauty in the world around him that other people don’t see, and it’s also about the beauty of relationships. So I wanted the film to reflect that as well.”
Much of X+Y was shot on location in Sheffield and in the university grounds at Cambridge. Nathan’s home life unfolds in the Yorkshire city. “Sheffield is a fantastic place to shoot in with quite a wide range of locations so I think the city will look great,” says Hastings-Smith.
“And then coming to Cambridge is everything for Nathan - the goal of his life up until this point - to be part of the beautiful world of maths, epitomized by the IMO at Trinity College.
“It is there in all its glory, a wonderful thing, and you have these tremendous contrasts between Sheffield and Cambridge and, of course, Taipei.”
Shooting in the Taiwanese capital, Taipei, was a mesmerizing experience for the filmmakers. “That was the first time I’d been to Taiwan or indeed anywhere in that part of the world and we had a lot fun there,” says Butterfield.
“Filming there was brilliant because life on the streets was just so amazing. Once you’ve finished shooting you could explore this amazing city, with really cool temples, and interesting people and food.”
The primary location in Taipei was a schoolhouse, which, says Hastings-Smith, was like another world in itself. “And the street life of the city is fabulous. It is a very, very different society and putting our characters in that world changes them and hopefully you can see it on the screen. You feel a totally different way of being.”
For Matthews, shooting in Taipei was logistically challenging but also very liberating. “There is some red tape to deal with,” he says, “but seeing a different culture and environment, and being able to capture that, was wonderful.”
The fast paced city life in Taipei complemented the manner in which Matthews wanted to shoot his film. “Because we were often shooting on the streets, that really suited me; we could work with either hand-held or Steadicam.
“We were running around night markets and parks, on the streets, without any kinds of restrictions. The people in shot are not extras; they are just the people walking past.”
Passers-by largely ignored the crew, he notes. “Taipei is a great place to shoot because people don’t seem to look at you that much,” continues Matthews. “They don’t seem that bothered that you are running past with a film crew, so all of those scenes, whether in a park or a night market, they are not constructed.
“They are shot with real people walking around and, hopefully, that gives our film a realistic quality that is still very beautiful. The whole project has been a wonderful experience.”
The producers agree. “It is really quite an emotional story — someone described it recently as Billy Elliot with sums — but it is also a great celebration of the power of maths,” says Thompson. “It deals with the emotional power of maths itself and unashamedly celebrates that.
“It is unusual in its themes as well,” he adds, “and it is quite difficult to pigeonhole; it is a coming-of- age story in some ways, with these two young people who find love, but it is also very much about the adults.
“It is about different people at different stages of their lives, discovering emotional truths that they hadn’t recognised before; people being hauled through experiences which leave them very changed when they come up the other side. I hope people agree that it is really a wonderful film.”
BIO/FILMO DU REALISATEUR
Morgan Matthews réalise des documentaires depuis une dizaine d’années. Ses films, salués par des prix et une critique enthousiaste, sont des portraits de notre société.
M. Matthews a démarré sa carrière de réalisateur chez Century Films avec notamment la série en deux parties My Crazy Parents (2004) qui lui a valu une nomination aux Royal Television Society (RTS) Awards. Il a ensuite réalisé un film sur le Championnat du monde de taxidermie, Taxidermy: Stuff the World, nommé aux BAFTA, RTS, et au Grierson Trust.
En 2005, Morgan Mathhews a rejoint Blast! Films où il a réalisé quatre films pour la BBC - Blue Suede Jew, Hair Wars, Million Dollar Pigeon et Beautiful Young Minds. Ce dernier a été nommé aux BAFTA, RTS, Prix Europa et au Grierson Trust.
En 2006, il a créé sa maison de production indépendante, Minnow Films, avec pour simple ambition de réaliser des documentaires de qualité. C’est dans cet esprit qu’il a réalisé Battleship Antarctica pour Channel 4 sur le combat de Greenpeace contre la chasse à la baleine pratiquée par le Japon. En 2008, il a réalisé pour BBC2 The Fallen, un documentaire de trois heures sur les soldats britanniques tombés en Afghanistan et Irak. Le film a été nommé au Prix du Meilleur Documentaire aux RTS Awards et a remporté deux BAFTA.
En 2011, dans Scenes from a Teenage Killing il s’est attaché à faire le portrait des 45 jeunes morts en Angleterre au cours de l’année 2009. Le film, véritable coup de poing, a remporté le Prix du public au Sheffield DocFest et a été nommé aux BAFTA.
En 2012, il a rejoint Ridley Scott et Kevin Macdonald pour l’ambitieux projet Britain in a Day avant de réaliser Shooting Bigfoot.
Le Monde de Nathan est son premier long-métrage de fiction.
DIRECTOR’S BIO/FILMO
“One of Matthew’s virtues as a film-maker is his ability to get behind the oddity of his subjects to the places where they're feeling the same things as the rest of us… if you spot his name on a film, watch it” - The Independent
BAFTA winning director Morgan Matthews has been making critically acclaimed documentaries for over ten years. Distinctive in their cutting-edge style, Morgan’s films combine intelligent story telling with evocative and powerful portrayals of our society.
Morgan began directing at the prestigious Century Films, and amongst his first work was the two part series My Crazy Parents, which earned him a nomination from the Royal Television Society (RTS) Awards. This was soon followed by the celebrated feature length documentary on the World Taxidermy Championships, Taxidermy: Stuff the World, which was nominated for BAFTA, RTS, and Grierson awards.
In 2005, Morgan joined Blast! Films, where he directed four films for the BBC - Blue Suede Jew, Hair Wars, Million Dollar Pigeon, and the feature length Beautiful Young Minds, which followed a group of gifted British teenagers competing in the International Mathematical Olympiad. Beautiful Young Minds garnered blanket nominations across the top documentary awards bodies, picking up nods from BAFTA, RTS, Prix Europa and the Grierson Awards.
Having become a tour de force in the documentary world, Morgan decided to set up his own independent production company, Minnow Films, with the simple aspiration to create documentaries of the highest quality. Morgan launched this ambition, with the Grierson nominated Battleship Antarctica, a one-hour film for Channel 4, which followed Greenpeace on their expedition to confront the Japanese whaling fleet.
Morgan followed this thought-provoking documentary with The Fallen, a three-hour landmark film for BBC2. This moving piece paid an intimate tribute to every British serviceman and woman to have died whilst serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. Among countless credits, The Fallen was named Best Documentary of 2008 at the RTS awards and won two BAFTA’s, including Best Factual Director.
Then in 2010, the influential Broadcast magazine ranked Morgan as second in their list of the top 100 directors, just one place behind Oscar-winning director James Marsh.
Morgan’s most recent work for the BBC chronicled every teenager who died as a result of violence in the UK over one year. The powerful Scenes from a Teenage Killing premiered at the Sheffield DocFest, where it won the audience award, and it was also nominated for a BAFTA awards in the much-coveted Best Single Documentary category.
Following this, Morgan worked with Ridley Scott and Kevin Macdonald on the ambitious Britain in a Day project. He then directed Shooting Bigfoot, a feature-length co-production for BBC Storyville and BFI. Morgan recently finished directing X+Y, his first feature film for the cinema – a drama inspired by Beautiful Young Minds, starring Asa Butterfield, Rafe Spall, Sally Hawkins and Eddie Marsan.
Looking to the future Morgan wants to explore different genres to continue to make heart-felt films that surprise and enthral.
DEVANT LA CAMERA / CAST
Asa Butterfield En 2008, l’interprétation d’Asa Butterfield dans Le Garçon au pyjama rayé aux côtés de Vera Farmiga et David Thewlis a été saluée par une nomination au Prix du Meilleur Espoir aux British Independent Film Awards ainsi qu’une nomination au Prix du Jeune Acteur Britannique de l’année aux London Critics Circle Film Awards. On l’avait précédemment vu dans Le Fils de Rambow, Wolfman et Nanny McPhee et le Big Bang. À la télévision, il a eu un rôle récurrent dans la série Merlin.
En 2011, Martin Scorsese lui a offert le rôle titre dans Hugo Cabret, rôle qui lui a valu une nomination au Prix du Meilleur Jeune Acteur aux Critics Choice Awards. Il a ensuite joué aux côtés d’Harrison Ford, Sir Ben Kingsley, Abigail Breslin et Hallie Steinfeld dans l’adaptation cinématographique du livre d’Orson Scott Card, La Stratégie Ender de Gavin Hood.
Il a récemment tourné aux côtés de Hailee Steinfeld, Emile Hirsch et Ethan Hawke dans Ten Thousand Saints de Shari Springer Berman et Robert Pulcini.
*****
As a young actor, Asa Butterfield has endeared audiences and garnered the attention of critics with his brilliant and captivating performances on screen.
Butterfield most recently wrapped on Ten Thousand Saints starring alongside Hailee Steinfeld, Emile Hirsch and Ethan Hawke, that Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini directed, and X+Y starring as a mathematical genius who is grappling with the sudden death of his father. The film, inspired by director Morgan Matthews' BAFTA nominated documentary Beautiful Young Minds, charted the incredible journey of the brightest young brains of Britain. Rafe Spall and Sally Hawkins also star.
The actor was last on screen in the film adaptation of the best-selling book by Orson Scott Card, Ender’s Game, directed by Gavin Hood starring alongside Harrison Ford, Sir Ben Kingsley, Abigail Breslin, and Hallie Steinfeld. Previous to that, he played the title role in Martin Scorsese's Hugo, which earned him a Critics Choice Award nomination for Best Young Actor and was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
Butterfield garnered critical acclaim for his starring role in The Boy in the striped Pajamas opposite Vera Farmiga and David Thewlis, for which he received a nomination for Most Promising Newcomer from the British Independent Film Awards and Young British Performer of the Year from the London Critics Circle Film Awards. His previous film credits include Son of Rambow, The Wolfman, and Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang. His television credits include a recurring role on the BBC series Merlin.
Sally Hawkins Sally Hawkins est sortie diplômée de la Royal Academy of Dramatic Art en 1998 et a depuis été saluée par la critique pour son travail aussi bien au cinéma qu’au théâtre. Son premier grand rôle au cinéma a été celui de Samantha dans All or Nothing (2002) de Mike Leigh. Peu de temps après, elle a fait sa première apparition à la télévision dans Tipping the Velvet, une mini-série de la BBC. En 2008, son interprétation dans Be Happy a marqué sa troisième collaboration avec Mike Leigh et lui a valu le Golden Globe de la Meilleure Actrice dans une Comédie ou une comédie musicale. En 2013, elle été nommée à l’Oscar et aux BAFTA pour son rôle dans Blue Jasmine de Woody Allen. On l’a également vue dans Submarine, We Want Sex Equality, Une Education, Layer Cake et Godzilla.
Sally Hawkins a commencé sa carrière au théâtre dans des pièces telles que Mort Accidentelle d’un anarchiste, Le Songe d’une nuit d’été et La Cerisaie. Elle a joué aux côtés de Rafe Spall, son
partenaire dans Le Monde de Nathan, dans la pièce Constellations de Nick Payne au Royal Court Theatre, puis dans le West End. Leur prestation a rencontré un immense succès aussi bien critique que public.
*****
After graduating from RADA in 1998, Sally Hawkins has won critical acclaim for many roles both on screen and on stage. Recently, she was nominated for her role as Ginger in Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine for both an Academy Award and BAFTA. Other notable film credits include Submarine, Made in Dagenham, An Education and Happy-Go-Lucky.
Hawkins began her career as a stage actress, appearing in such plays as Accidental Death of an Anarchist, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Cherry Orchard. Performing opposite X+Y fellow cast member Rafe Spall, she recently appeared in Nick Payne’s Constellations at the Royal Court, which received outstanding critical acclaim and was transferred to the West End.
Her first notable film role was Samantha in Mike Leigh’s All or Nothing in 2002. Shortly after, Hawkins appeared in the BBC series Tipping the Velvet, marking her first television role. For Happy- Go-Lucky in 2008, her third collaboration with Mike Leigh, Hawkins won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical.
She was last seen in the sci-fi thriller Godzilla, an epic adaptation of the story of the world’s most famous monster.
Hawkins will next be seen in X + Y alongside Eddie Marsan, Rafe Spall and Asa Butterfield. Based on Morgan Matthew’s BAFTA-nominated documentary Beautiful Young Minds, the heart-warming film follows the unexpected challenges of life faced by a young maths prodigy as he takes part in the Maths Olympiad, set for release in 2014.
Hawkins also began writing comedy sketches as a child, a pursuit that she has continued in her career. She contributed her writing skills to the BBC Radio 4 comedy series Concrete Cow.
Rafe Spall Depuis quelques années, Rafe Spall est devenu une figure incontournable du cinéma en jouant dans des films tels qu’Anonymous, le film controversé de Roland Emmerich sur William Shakespeare, réunissant Vanessa Redgrave, David Thewlis et Rhys Ifans. On l’a également vu dans Un Jour de Lone Scherfig aux côtés d’Anne Hathaway, Jim Sturgess et Romola Garai, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz d’Edgar Wright et Une Grande année de Ridley Scott. En 2012, il a interprété le rôle de l’écrivain dans L’Odyssée de Pi d’Ang Lee et a fait partie de l’équipe de Prometheus, le succès de Ridley Scott, avec Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron et Idris Elba. En 2013, il était à l’affiche de la comédie romantique Mariage à l’anglaise aux côtés de Simon Baker et Rose Byrne et, il y a peu de Et (beaucoup) plus si affinités de Michael Dowse.
Rafe Spall mène également une belle carrière au théâtre. Il a récemment partagé l’affiche avec Daniel Craig et Rachel Weisz à Broadway dans Trahisons d’Harold Pinter mise en scène par Mike Nichols. La pièce a connu un succès sans précédent.
Auparavant, il a joué avec Sally Hawkins dans Constellations. La pièce a remporté un immense succès public et critique et lui a valu une nomination au Prix du Meilleur Acteur aux Olivier Awards. Constellations a remporté le Prix de la Meilleure Pièce aux Evening Standard Theater Awards.
Rafe Spall mène aussi une carrière prolifique à la télévision britannique. Il a joué dans des mini- séries de la BBC telles que The Shadow Line, Desperate Romantics, Rather you than Me, He Kills Coppers et Wide Sargasso Sea.
*****
Rafe Spall has had an incredible few years. Last year Spall starred in Working Title’s new romantic comedy I Give It a Year. The film which also starred Simon Baker and Rose Byrne, as well as being released in the UK, was released in the US by Magnolia Pictures. In 2012 Spall featured as the role of ‘The Writer’ in the hugely celebrated and award winning Ang Lee film Life of Pi. Spall was also seen in Ridley Scott’s box office smash Prometheus alongside Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron and Idris Elba.
This year Spall will star in X+Y alongside Sally Hawkins and Asa Butterfield. Spall assumes the role of an unconventional teacher who helps a teenage maths prodigy, who struggles with people but finds comfort in numbers. In August, Spall will also feature in indie romantic comedy What If opposite Daniel Radcliffe.
Most recently Spall was seen on stage in the critically acclaimed Broadway show Betrayal in which he starred opposite Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz. Directed by Mike Nichols, Spall played Jerry who was having an affair with his best friend’s wife. The play ran for 14 weeks only but grossed $17.5million in that time.
Prior to that Spall was seen on stage in Constellations at the Duke of York’s Theatre in London’s West End. Fresh from its Royal Court transfer, Spall starred opposite Sally Hawkins once again in a play consisting of over 100 scenes, in just 70 minutes, exploring the concept of multi verse. The play opened to rave reviews at both theatres and Spall was nominated for a Best Actor Olivier Award. Constellations also won Best Play at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards.
Spall has also been seen on our cinema screens in Roland Emmerich’s controversial feature Anonymous. The historical thriller, in which Spall plays Shakespeare, tackles the theory that Shakespeare’s plays were written by Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford. He appeared alongside a stellar cast including Vanessa Redgrave, David Thewlis and Rhys Ifans. He also featured in the romantic comedy One Day, the adaptation of David Nicholls' bestselling novel starring Anne Hathaway, Jim Sturgess and Romola Garai. Directed by Lone Scherfig, Spall plays Ian, a would-be stand-up comedian and boyfriend of Hathaway's character, Emma.
Spall’s television career to date has been prolific. He starred in Channel 4’s popular comedy Pete Vs Life in which his character tackles life’s dilemmas to the backdrop of sport-style commentating. Spall also starred in the The Shadow Line, a thrilling six part drama for the BBC. Written and directed by Hugo Blick, this intelligent and gripping conspiracy thriller saw Spall star alongside a superb cast including Chiwetel Ejiofor, Christopher Eccleston and Lesley Sharp.
2009 saw Spall in the coming of age drama The Scouting Book for Boys directed by Tom Harper. The film previewed to critical acclaim at the London Film Festival and won its writer, Jack Thorne, the award for Best British Newcomer. Spall’s other film credits include the British comedy Hot Fuzz directed by Edgar Wright in which he appeared alongside Simon Pegg, Martin Freeman and Bill Nighy, and the romantic drama A Good Year, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe and Marion Cotillard. He also appeared in award-winning Kidulthood; the comedy Shaun of the Dead; and The Calcium Kid directed by Nick Cohen.
On the small screen Spall has starred as William Holman Hunt in Desperate Romantics, a six-part drama for the BBC which follows the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood. His other television credits include the BBC drama Rather you than Me, and He Kills Coppers directed by Adrian Shergold; a drama about three policemen who were brutally murdered during the 1966 world cup. In 2006 Spall received critical acclaim for his performance as lead character Rochester opposite Rebecca Hall in the BBC adaptation of Jean Rhys’ novel Wide Sargasso Sea. Spall’s earlier television credits include The Chatterley Affair, Cracker, The Romantics and The Rotter’s Club.
Spall’s theatre credits are also extensive and include Just a Bloke and Alaska at the Royal Court; The Knight of Burning Pestle at the Young Vic; Michael Grandage’s production of John Gabriel Borkman at the Donmar Warehouse; and If There Is, I Haven’t Found It Yet at The Bush.
Eddie Marsan Eddie Marsan témoigne d’une grande carrière au cinéma. Il a été dirigé par des réalisateurs aussi prestigieux que Michael Mann, Martin Scorsese, Terence Malik et Stephen Spielberg. Il a joué dans plus de 50 films parmi lesquels Gangster No.1, Gangs of New York, L’Illusionniste, Miami Vice – Deux flics à Miami, V pour Vendetta, Mission Impossible III, Be Happy, Hancock, Sherlock Holmes, Cheval de guerre, Blanche-Neige et le chasseur, Le Dernier pub avant la fin du monde.
Eddie Marsan a travaillé avec Mike Leigh à trois reprises sur Vera Drake, Be Happy et A Running Jump. Il a reçu une nomination au Prix du Meilleur Acteur dans un Second Rôle aux British Independent Film Awards pour Vera Drake et Be Happy et a remporté de nombreux prix pour son interprétation dans Be Happy.
Il a également joué dans des séries et des téléfilms, plus récemment dans la série Ray Donovan aux côtés de Liev Schreiber.
Eddie Marsan a grandi à Bethnal Green, à Londres. Il est diplômé de la Mountview Academy of the Arts. Il est le parrain de l’Academy of the Science of Acting and Directing et de Kazzum, une compagnie de théâtre pour enfants ayant pour mission de développer la tolérance face à la différence.
*****
Eddie Marsan has an extensive film career in which he has worked with a range of highly accomplished actors and directors, including Michael Mann, Martin Scorsese, Terence Malik and Stephen Spielberg. He has appeared in over 50 films including Gangster No.1, Gangs of New York, The Illusionist, Miami Vice, V for Vendetta, Mission Impossible III, Happy Go Lucky, Hancock, Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes, War Horse, Snow White and the Huntsman, The World’s End and Filth to name a few.
Marsan has collaborated with director Mike Leigh on three occasions, in Vera Drake, Happy Go Lucky and A Running Jump. For both Vera Drake and Happy-Go-Lucky, he won an award for Best Supporting Actor at the British Independent Film Awards. He also picked up a number of other awards for Happy-Go-Lucky.
Aside from his many film roles, Marsan has also appeared in a number of critically acclaimed television shows. He recently starred in the first series of the popular crime drama Ray Donovan, which was honoured with the Critic’s Choice Television Award in 2013 for Most Exciting New Drama. The second series, in which he also stars, will premiere in July 2014. X +Y will be Marsan’s next film appearance in which he plays the leader of a squad on their way to the Maths Olympiad. The squad includes a young maths prodigy who encounters a number of unexpected life challenges and begins to learn about the irrational nature of love.
Marsan was brought up in Bethnal Green in London. He served as an apprentice for a printer before beginning an acting career, for which he trained at Mountview Academy of the Arts. He is a patron for the Academy of the Science of Acting and Directing, as well as Kazzum, a children’s theatre company that promotes the acceptance of diversity.
CAST / LISTE ARTISTIQUE
Asa Butterfield Nathan Ellis Rafe Spall Martin Humphreys Sally Hawkins Julie Ellis Eddie Marsan Richard Grieve Jo Yang Zhang Mei Martin McCann Michael Ellis Jake Davies Luke Shelton Alex Lawther Isaac Cooper Alexa Davies Rebecca Dunn Orion Lee Deng Laoshi Percelle Ascott Ben Morgan Suraj Rattu Pav Kamdar Edward Baker-Close Nathan (9 ans / 9 years old)
CREW / LISTE TECHNIQUE
BBC Films and / et BFI present / présentent In association with / En association avec Head Gear Films & Metrol Technology Screen Yorkshire Lipsync Productions Production / Une production Origin Pictures – Minnow Films
X+Y (LE MONDE DE NATHAN)
Director / Réalisateur Morgan Matthews Script / Scénario James Graham Story by / Histoire de Morgan Matthews & James Graham
Produced by / Produit par Laura Hastings-Smith David M. Thompsonn Executive Producers / Producteurs délégués Christine Langan, Joe Oppenheimer, Lizzie Francke Phil Hunt, Compton Ross Hugo Heppell, Norman Merry, Peter Hampden Co-Producers /Coproducteurs Ed Rubin, Joanie Blaikie
DoP / Directeur de la photo Danny Cohen BSC Editor / Montage Peter Lambert Original Music / Musique Mearl Featuring Songs by / Chansons Keaton Henson Production Designer / Décors Richard Bullock Costumes Suzanne Cave Coiffure / Maquillage Sue Wyburgh Line Producer / Productrice exécutive Sarah Jane Wheale Music Supervisor /Supervision musicale Sarah Bridge Casting Director Shaheen Baig