Tom Hooper Was Practically Still

VOICE CONTROL As the 2011 Oscars draw near, Margaret Agnew talks to director Tom Hooper about his hotly tipped film The King’s Speech starring Colin Firth as stammering King George VI. nition when the project began, he insists. ‘‘Oh God, no. That implies we some- how knew all this was going to happen. om Hooper was practically still Nothing could be further than the truth. a child when he began making In reality, as a director, you tend to live movies – he made his first short with fears about what could go wrong Tfilms at the tender age of 13. and those often tend to be more vivid in While studying English at Oxford your mind than the success-story version University, Hooper directed plays and of it. As a director your early warning television commercials. He went on to system is very important. You’re truth- direct Helen Mirren in the Prime Suspect telling; the false note that tells you things TV series and to make respected mini- aren’t right. series John Adams and Elizabeth I (also ‘‘The stammer alone was a minefield. starring Mirren) in the United States for It could have been comedic. It could HBO, before launching a successful film have been so agonising that you didn’t career, which includes the critically Tom Hooper, top, and, above, with Colin Firth during filming for The want to sit in the cinema watching it. It acclaimed 2009 football film The King’s Speech. could have been so slow that the film Damned United. had no pace. Or we could have run The 38-year-old is currently swept up story about the Anglo-Australian scared of it and not had enough of it. in the Hollywood awards season whirl relationship since ‘‘I knew a thing or two ‘The stammer And I think, if anything, Colin [Firth] was with his hotly tipped royal drama The about that kind of connection’’. That afraid of having too much. I had to push King’s Speech, starring Oscar favourite explains the choice of material, but how was a him a lot into committing to it. He was Colin Firth as stuttering King George VI. do you get experienced creative people justifiably worried that the audience Based on the true story of the monarch’s to listen to you on set from such a young minefield. It would get fed up with it.’’ quest to find his voice, this week it won age? There’s a passing reference to mad Firth a Golden Globe for his portrait of ‘‘Good question. I was always very could have King George III in the film. ‘‘I thought the the reluctant king. passionate about the work and very been comedic. underlying fear if you’re a stammerer is Firth gives a masterful performance driven, and I think that’s key. Also on a madness. Because, if you can’t control in The King’s Speech, a stylish and film, when you’re shooting, you’re It could have your voice, then the fear is you’re not stirring period drama, that plays out like always up against time and it’s an fully in control of your brain. Bertie’s a classic underdog story. environment in which you have to work been so younger brother died of epilepsy, which Unorthodox Australian speech thera- very, very quickly, so you don’t have is a huge deal; you’ve got his older pist Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) is hired much time to worry about whether agonising you brother behaving in, frankly, quite a to fix the then Prince Albert’s debilitating people are taking you seriously. You just bizarre way, with worries he’s a bit stammer. Even after discovering that have to crack on and do it.’’ didn’t want to unstable; you’ve got rumours flying he’s working for royalty, Lionel insists on Getting respect on set is not a about that Bertie’s got epilepsy or is unfit equality in his consulting rooms. The problem nowadays as actors often seem watch it. Or to govern, and you’ve got an ancestor duke must come to him. It’s the first time to win awards when they work with we could have who went mad as a king, so I think I was the cloistered prince has spoken to the Hooper. trying to touch, in that moment, on his common man and it’s a life-changing Hooper is happy with how his film run scared of underlying fear about madness and experience. has already fared, winning the audience mental instability.’’ As a ‘‘half-Australian, half-Brit’’ the award at the Toronto Film Festival and it and not had The problem is how to show a fear of director was thrilled at the reaction his prizes in several other international public speaking cinematically. The film received Down Under, with queues festivals and awards ceremonies, enough of it.’ opening scene of the film places us firmly around the block. ‘‘My mum’s from including a Golden Globe for Firth Tom Hooper in Bertie’s shoes as he struggles to get a Adelaide, like Lionel Logue.’’ earlier this week. word out. Another problem was dealing Hooper had long wanted to find a No-one dreamt about Oscar recog- with all the names that George VI was 8YWSATURDAY, JANUARY 22, 2011 ■.

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