STACK NZ Dec #69

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with HUGH JACKMAN

you’re not going to have many filming days like this, where hundreds of people are looking up at you as we sing Nirvana’s Teen Spirit ’. That was not in the script, actually, nor was [The Ramones] Blitzkrieg Bop . It was just an invention Joe had during rehearsals; in Joe’s mind there are no rules. This is Neverland – the rules we have are that adults have to be frightening and ridiculous, ‘cause that’s how kids see them. And that we’re really telling a coming-of-age story of this young boy called Peter. Pan ’s depiction of Neverland is darker than Spielberg’s and Disney’s. It’s almost like a steampunk,Tim Burton- esque version… I agree. It feels like a kaleidoscope to me. The native forest is very colourful and the pageantry is there. Then you go into Blackbeard’s quarters, where his mood can become very dark and sad, and a little lonely. Joe likes to push the boundaries; kids see it at their level and adults see it at theirs – that’s the beauty of it. I only recently read the book, and reading Peter Pan as an adult, it’s incredibly poignant and quite sad, actually. So the book wasn’t something you’d read or discovered as a boy? I did, but I don’t remember when. I don’t know if the book was read to me or if it was the animated movie. I knew the story. Then, as I was growing up, there was the Spielberg version, then later the P.J. Hogan version. I’ve seen it a lot, I know it, but when I read the book as an adult, it really sat with me, the idea of keeping a

I probably chewed the scenery a little bit

childlike spirit when looking at the world – that’s the key, really. No matter how mature or responsible you are in life, keeping that sense of wonder and possibility, fearlessness and adventure, is actually what it’s all about. Blackbeard’s the villain, but he also comes across as a tragic figure. Is that how you saw the character? He’s a show pony who loves a moment to perform, but he’s actually quite sad and lonely, and frightened. I loved that Joe was pushing me to bring all those sides out. The one thing in life that you want may be the thing that you’re frightened of, and vice versa. There’s a prophecy about this boy who could fly, who will come one day to lead an uprising against Blackbeard. He’s this king and nobody can topple him, and the moment he sees this boy, he’s frightened and actually a little excited, because his life is a bit boring.

I loved it! One of the first things I ever did was play Gaston in Beauty and the Beast, and it was so much fun. I got to be as arrogant as possible for two hours every night, and it was a bit like that with Blackbeard. I probably chewed the scenery a little bit, but just putting on those costumes and wigs and having swordfights… it was a dream kind of role. And I don’t get asked to play [the villain] that often, so when someone like Joe Wright asks you to do that, I just leapt at it. How do you think audiences will respond to Pan , given it’s a bit left of centre? I judge very much from my own family; my kids and their friends who have seen it, they absolutely loved it. I think, particularly for kids, it’s got that sense of magic and wonder. What I felt as an adult watching it, and I told Joe this after I saw it, it kind of made me feel like a little kid again – a sense of opening up my eyes and my heart to a sense of wonder. So I hope people really like it. Visually, it’s incredibly stunning and certainly it’s a world like you’ve never seen before.

You look like you relished playing a villain for a change…

• Pan is out Dec 23

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