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| Tim Roth makes Broken Britain 'comeback' | Tim Roth makes Broken Britain 'comeback' |
| (about 20 hours later) | |
| By Neil Smith Entertainment reporter, BBC News | By Neil Smith Entertainment reporter, BBC News |
| For years, it looked as if the UK had lost Tim Roth to Hollywood. Does his involvement in the British film Broken constitute an overdue return to home turf? | For years, it looked as if the UK had lost Tim Roth to Hollywood. Does his involvement in the British film Broken constitute an overdue return to home turf? |
| Born Timothy Simon Smith in 1961, London-born Tim Roth was one of the most striking British acting talents to emerge in the 1980s. | Born Timothy Simon Smith in 1961, London-born Tim Roth was one of the most striking British acting talents to emerge in the 1980s. |
| Working with such ground-breaking film-makers as Alan Clarke, Stephen Frears, Mike Leigh and Peter Greenaway, he became a poster boy of sorts for some of that decade's most audacious homegrown dramas. | Working with such ground-breaking film-makers as Alan Clarke, Stephen Frears, Mike Leigh and Peter Greenaway, he became a poster boy of sorts for some of that decade's most audacious homegrown dramas. |
| The 1990s saw him relocate to America, thanks in part to his eye-catching role as two-faced thief Mr Orange in Quentin Tarantino's seminal crime thriller Reservoir Dogs. | The 1990s saw him relocate to America, thanks in part to his eye-catching role as two-faced thief Mr Orange in Quentin Tarantino's seminal crime thriller Reservoir Dogs. |
| He has rarely stopped since, juggling collaborations with directors as diverse as Woody Allen, Tim Burton and Francis Ford Coppola with a three-year stint as a crime-solving psychologist in the US TV series Lie to Me. | He has rarely stopped since, juggling collaborations with directors as diverse as Woody Allen, Tim Burton and Francis Ford Coppola with a three-year stint as a crime-solving psychologist in the US TV series Lie to Me. |
| The general perception is we lost him to Hollywood. Yet Roth has hardly been a stranger, directing one film on native soil - 1999's The War Zone, a harrowing story of sexual abuse - and appearing in several others. | The general perception is we lost him to Hollywood. Yet Roth has hardly been a stranger, directing one film on native soil - 1999's The War Zone, a harrowing story of sexual abuse - and appearing in several others. |
| Still, it is tempting to view every return as a homecoming - particularly in the case of Broken, a small-scale tale of three neighbouring families that picked up two prizes at last year's British Independent Film Awards. | Still, it is tempting to view every return as a homecoming - particularly in the case of Broken, a small-scale tale of three neighbouring families that picked up two prizes at last year's British Independent Film Awards. |
| "I went where the work was," is how Roth, now 51, explains a thespian career path that has been emulated since by a great many of his fellow countrymen. | "I went where the work was," is how Roth, now 51, explains a thespian career path that has been emulated since by a great many of his fellow countrymen. |
| "They just kept giving me really interesting jobs to do so I stuck about. It did scare the pants off me, but it was worth doing. | "They just kept giving me really interesting jobs to do so I stuck about. It did scare the pants off me, but it was worth doing. |
| "British actors are everywhere over there now - spit and you'll hit one. But when I went out there first there were very few of us. | "British actors are everywhere over there now - spit and you'll hit one. But when I went out there first there were very few of us. |
| "In a way our timing was good. When I arrived the indie thing was just about to happen, so I got into that and ran with it for a few years." | "In a way our timing was good. When I arrived the indie thing was just about to happen, so I got into that and ran with it for a few years." |
| The 'indie thing' of which Roth speaks was typified by Tarantino, who - first with Reservoir Dogs in 1992, and then with Pulp Fiction two years later - blazed a trail for distinctive new voices that managed to combine critical acclaim with box-office success. | The 'indie thing' of which Roth speaks was typified by Tarantino, who - first with Reservoir Dogs in 1992, and then with Pulp Fiction two years later - blazed a trail for distinctive new voices that managed to combine critical acclaim with box-office success. |
| Those same maverick tyros are part of the establishment now - as is Archie, the suburban lawyer and father of two whom Roth portrays in Rufus Norris's Broken. | Those same maverick tyros are part of the establishment now - as is Archie, the suburban lawyer and father of two whom Roth portrays in Rufus Norris's Broken. |
| "He was such a nice guy I just wanted to be him," says the actor of the role. "I thought it would be great to be this guy for a few weeks and play around with the character." | "He was such a nice guy I just wanted to be him," says the actor of the role. "I thought it would be great to be this guy for a few weeks and play around with the character." |
| 'Gorilla in the room' | 'Gorilla in the room' |
| Roth, a parent himself, also enjoyed forging a relationship with Bill Milner and newcomer Eloise Laurence, the two young actors cast as Archie's children Jed and Skunk. | Roth, a parent himself, also enjoyed forging a relationship with Bill Milner and newcomer Eloise Laurence, the two young actors cast as Archie's children Jed and Skunk. |
| "We hung about and spent a lot of time creating that rapport," he reveals. "It kicked in very early on, so we could draw on that during the filming." | "We hung about and spent a lot of time creating that rapport," he reveals. "It kicked in very early on, so we could draw on that during the filming." |
| As Archie, Roth must deal not only with two wilful teenagers but also his neighbours - an ageing, affluent couple with a mentally unstable son, and a working-class widower whose three daughters are allowed to run riot. | As Archie, Roth must deal not only with two wilful teenagers but also his neighbours - an ageing, affluent couple with a mentally unstable son, and a working-class widower whose three daughters are allowed to run riot. |
| Given its title, location and subject matter, are we to take Norris's film as emblematic of the "Broken Britain" to which David Cameron so memorably referred during the 2010 election? | Given its title, location and subject matter, are we to take Norris's film as emblematic of the "Broken Britain" to which David Cameron so memorably referred during the 2010 election? |
| "It does comment on the state of the country," admits Roth. "It's about what's hidden behind the door and stiff-upper-lipped people ignoring the 600lb gorilla in the room. | |
| "But I think you could easily take the story and set it in many other countries around the world. And while there's a certain amount of social realism at play, there's also a magical quality to it." | "But I think you could easily take the story and set it in many other countries around the world. And while there's a certain amount of social realism at play, there's also a magical quality to it." |
| Broken represents a change of pace for an actor better known for playing larger-than-life villains in the likes of Rob Roy, Planet of the Apes and The Incredible Hulk. | Broken represents a change of pace for an actor better known for playing larger-than-life villains in the likes of Rob Roy, Planet of the Apes and The Incredible Hulk. |
| "I completely didn't care," says Roth of being typecast as a heavy. "Those guys are fun to play and they stick in people's minds. | "I completely didn't care," says Roth of being typecast as a heavy. "Those guys are fun to play and they stick in people's minds. |
| 'A very tough guy' | 'A very tough guy' |
| "As long as I felt there was something going on in the script or there was a particular challenge to be had, I was pretty much happy." | "As long as I felt there was something going on in the script or there was a particular challenge to be had, I was pretty much happy." |
| Yet Roth is nothing if not versatile. In addition to Broken he can currently be seen in cinemas in Arbitrage, playing a New York detective eager to have Richard Gere's Wall Street broker arrested for murder. | Yet Roth is nothing if not versatile. In addition to Broken he can currently be seen in cinemas in Arbitrage, playing a New York detective eager to have Richard Gere's Wall Street broker arrested for murder. |
| And next year he will be found in another guise - that of Prince Rainier III, the Monegasque royal who famously married Hollywood actress Grace Kelly in 1956. | And next year he will be found in another guise - that of Prince Rainier III, the Monegasque royal who famously married Hollywood actress Grace Kelly in 1956. |
| That legendary 20th Century union provides the backdrop for Grace of Monaco, a biographical drama in which Nicole Kidman will play the title character. | That legendary 20th Century union provides the backdrop for Grace of Monaco, a biographical drama in which Nicole Kidman will play the title character. |
| Olivier Dahan's film is already a chaud pomme de terre, with Monaco's current monarch Albert II accusing it of dwelling on "one rewritten and needlessly glamourised page in the history of the principality". | Olivier Dahan's film is already a chaud pomme de terre, with Monaco's current monarch Albert II accusing it of dwelling on "one rewritten and needlessly glamourised page in the history of the principality". |
| Roth admits to being perplexed by that reaction, insisting that Kidman is "wonderful" as Grace and that the late princess's relatives will be "very pleasantly surprised". | Roth admits to being perplexed by that reaction, insisting that Kidman is "wonderful" as Grace and that the late princess's relatives will be "very pleasantly surprised". |
| "People don't have much of a perception about Rainier so we had a pretty free rein," he continues. "But we wanted some toughness in him because he was known to be a very tough guy. | "People don't have much of a perception about Rainier so we had a pretty free rein," he continues. "But we wanted some toughness in him because he was known to be a very tough guy. |
| "He was smart politically, he fought in a war and he was a very shrewd businessman. So he was an interesting character to play - with a very funny moustache." | "He was smart politically, he fought in a war and he was a very shrewd businessman. So he was an interesting character to play - with a very funny moustache." |
| Broken is out in the UK on 8 March. Arbitrage is now on general release in the UK and Ireland. | Broken is out in the UK on 8 March. Arbitrage is now on general release in the UK and Ireland. |