The second part of Eledwhen’s wonderful translation.
THE CONFESSIONS OF WORMTONGUE
Brad Dourif, the Machiavellian Grima, tells us about the shoot.
To see him so cheerful, a dashing fifty-something, it is hard to believe that this actor could transform himself into the pale, stooped and servile being that is Grima, the king of Rohan’s counsellor. This was at first the opinion of PJ, who to start with rejected Brad Dourif. “I auditioned for the role and didn’t get it,” remembers the actor. “But the other actor finally refused it.” When he set foot on set, Brad Dourif was seized by the size of the project. “There was a guy who assembled the rings of a mail coat one by one. I’ve rarely seen such attention to detail.” Then he discovered PJ who, behind his many screens, directed up to four sets at once. “He looked like Professor Nimbus. [Translator’s note: no idea who this is!] Difficult to sit down and chat to him. I’m a little sorry, because I never had a relationship with Peter, who I admire a great deal, as enriching as those I had with Milos Forman or Ken Loach.” It was with Fran Walsh, partner and co-screenwriter of Jackson, that he created the outlines of Wormtongue. “We tried to give some humanity to this Machiavellian man. He acts from a lack of love. It is difficult to create such a strong character without falling into the grotesque.” Modest, the actor proves he has an unbelievable talent for understanding characters who are a little twisted. It must be said that since he was discovered in ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’, he has made playing serial killers, mad scientists, and other public dangers a speciality. “Everyone has a little bit of the monster inside them. At my age – 52 – you don’t change your image any more. I’m just happy people are offering me work. My heart doesn’t beat in the same way when I’m not working.”
