GD: Of course the fans are emotionally invested in Gloin in a way that they may not have been in the other dwarves until the films came out, because he’s Gimli’s father. Did you feel that you had to look at how John Rhys-Davies had created Gimli, to think, ‘Who might be the father from whom this dwarf came?’
PH: Yes, absolutely. I think I went through a process where it was essential to do that, of course – and out of respect and admiration, because of course he’s a wonderful actor, and that character is so memorable from The Lord of the Rings films. When you start to immerse yourself in the culture of the films and the film making process, you feel this huge reverence for what has been established, in movie terms, for Middle-earth, and you want to honour that; you’re a little bit nervous, you don’t want to blow it, you know! [laughs] So I certainly studied John’s performance as Gimli. I knew that I had to be in tune with that, and for there to be a family likeness, which was so brilliantly done in terms of the design of Gloin, with the hair, the face, the beard, the make-up, the costume, everything like that – and the axe! I’m very proud to carry that axe! But also, I needed to give myself room to put my own stamp on it, and not feel that I should slavishly try and match Gimli. Gloin is his own individual, and I’m hoping that you can see the influence of father on son there, and the family tradition – which is to do a lot with pride, history, and a feisty, ‘never back down’ attitude, which is in the blood. Also, I didn’t want to let that priority get in the way of anything which was to do with what a specific scene or moment or shot required in The Hobbit films… you know, it’s a balancing act, I think, which you’ve got to do in that situation.
GD: How did you find what Gloin’s voice was going to be? I’m assuming that the reason Oin and Gloin were given Scottish accents was because Gimli had a Scottish accent in The Lord of the Rings films, so there was a continuity of accents… but what did you do, as an actor, to find where you wanted that voice to sit for you?
PH: A lot of credit for that must go to the amazing women that we have had as dialect coaches – Leith McPherson, Roisin Carty, they were the team through the start of it, and then Roisin had to move on to something else, and the wonderful Sarah Shippobotham came in. They’re amazing, those women! The accents of course always had to reflect what a given actor could bring to it, but a spectrum of British Isles accents – the Irish, the English… But though the accents are influenced by that, it’s Middle-earth – so we had to create a fusion. The Scottish accent, for example – we had to be careful that it didn’t sound too Glasgow or too Edinburgh… Some of the thinking behind it was to do with class, in the sense that Oin and Gloin are related to the line of Durin, and are sort of ‘middle management’ – you know, in terms of bloodlines they are upper class, but not in terms of attitude or snobbiness… So it was a blend of a number things. We worked very closely, and not just in the preparation, the boot camp period you can see in the production diaries, but right through production – there was always one of those people on set, listening on headphones, fine tuning and supporting us all the way. So the amount of care taken over that was extraordinary, and we always felt very well supported in that way. Does that answer the question?
GD: It does! I’m particularly interested in how different actors prepare…
PH: Well I think you can see that all the resources necessary were provided, for us to be really well-prepared.
GD: Sure! And of course actors have very different approaches. Some rely very much on their imagination, others are more methodical and go into detailed research… Generally speaking for you, and not just in terms of The Hobbit, what’s your style of preparation?
PH: I try to do research. In terms of my stage work, I’ve been lucky enough to play a huge range of things, from a nuclear physicist to a 70-year-old ex All Black [New Zealand rugby player], to a baby, only a few months old! One of the wonderful things about being an actor is you get such opportunities – and often it will help you do your job better to read, research, study around the subject, around the history of a person, what influenced them, to be able to draw on all that stuff when you’re working on it. So I try to do that. I try to study the text, be well-prepared… Everybody’s got their own different way of coming at it; but also it’s to do with being open in the moment, in rehearsal or on set – to be able to tweak, change gears and change direction. That, to me, is what makes a really fine actor – which I hope one day to be! Because, no matter how well prepared you are, you can’t really know, until you get on set, what shot the director’s going to need, how it needs to be constructed, what the timing and constraints are… So you need to have an ability to be light on your feet, and hold on to the integrity of what you’re doing with the character, but also to go to surprising places with it, in the moment; as well as, on top of all that, listening and going with whatever spontaneity arises from people like Martin, and all the other amazing actors!
GD: What’s your background – how did you come in to your theatre career?
PH: I trod a well-worn path here in Wellington – which is not where I was born, but where I’ve spent most of my life – doing stuff at school… I think it’s fair to say that I got an interest in theatre and performing through my parents, who were theatre fans. So amateur theatre, and then a very short spell at university doing some theatre there; and then in Wellington there has been for a long time the New Zealand Drama School, which is now called Toi Whakaari New Zealand Drama School, and I managed to get in there, and trained there for two years… So I came at it, as many people do, from discovering a love of performing from very young, and then becoming more and more fascinated by it, and the art and the craft of it, and being lucky enough to work with some amazing people along the way, and be inspired by them.
GD: So did you leave university in order to go to drama school?
PH: [laughs] I think it’s probably fair to say that I dropped out! I was only there for one year – I spent so much time doing plays that I flunked some of my courses! So I was a bit of a disaster as a university student! And also, the possibility of aiming for that drama school training came alive for me, and I set out to do as much as I could to give myself a shot at it; and eventually I conned them into taking me!
GD: It’s so interesting to me that everybody comes at it from a different route… Some have vocational training, some do more academic study, and there are those who learn on the job…
PH: I think it’s always been that way, and I hope it will continue to be – because that’s another example of how you need – if you’re creating theatre, film, television – you need people with a wide range of perspectives, and people who are open to seeing somebody else’s point of view. That’s very much part of the craft, I would say. I find I’m eternally fascinated by how people behave in different situations, and how they cope with pressure… and I hope I will always be that way!
GD: If there was one thing which would be your ideal project, which you’d like to do in the future, what would that be? Is there something that you have in mind? Maybe a Shakespearean role which you haven’t done yet but are hoping to play?
PH: I have been thinking about that a little bit lately, because I’m revisiting my love for Shakespeare working on this play Equivocation. There’s nothing specifically that I’m really yearning to do in the immediate future… Well, I’ll give you two answers! In terms of stage, I need to get back to being an actor for stage, back to my roots, recharge my batteries; at this point, nothing definite confirmed, but there’s a possibility for doing that later in the year in theatre here in Wellington. I also want to be doing more directing and teaching.
In terms of screen, I’m one of those people who is really hanging out for Peter to finally get round to doing The Dam Busters! I don’t know where that project is at currently, but I just think if anybody’s equipped to make a great film of that story, he is! But he’s so prodigious – there are so many possibilities which people will be wanting him to do. So I’ve got a little fantasy where maybe I can persuade him to use me again, and I can be one of those guys back at headquarters who are pushing those sticks around on the tables, to show where squadrons are in the war! If I could get a little, non-speaking, featured extra role, that would make me happy!
GD:Well that sounds very exciting! Peter, thank you so much for your time today; it’s been great to chat with you.
PH: Well I hope we can meet properly sometime! Maybe at a convention… or at another TheOneRing.net party! Keep up the great work!
