{"id":14054,"date":"2016-06-06T12:00:04","date_gmt":"2016-06-06T10:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/berlin030.de\/?p=14054"},"modified":"2016-06-06T12:00:04","modified_gmt":"2016-06-06T10:00:04","slug":"das-filmgeschaeft-ist-wie-eine-lotterie-interview-mit-sam-riley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/berlin030.de\/en\/2016\/06\/06\/das-filmgeschaeft-ist-wie-eine-lotterie-interview-mit-sam-riley\/","title":{"rendered":"“The Film Business Is Like a Lottery” \u2013 Interview with Sam Riley"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tSam Riley made his cinema debut with \u201cControl\u201d, the film about the band Joy Division by Anton Corbijn, for which Riley received several awards as Best Newcomer. He starred alongside Helen Mirren in the gangster thriller \u201cBrighton Rock\u201d, then hit the road as a cool dropout in \u201cOn the Road\u201d with Viggo Mortensen and Kristen Stewart. <\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\n<\/p>\n

\n\tAlongside his wife Alexandra Maria Lara, Riley appeared in Detlev Buck\u2019s comedy \u201cRubbeldiekatz\u201d. After his role in the Austrian Alpine Western \u201cThe Dark Valley\u201d, the Brit is now coming to cinemas in \u201cPride and Prejudice and Zombies\u201d. [030] staff member Dieter Osswald spoke with the actor.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tMr Riley, your director Burr Steers has called you the ‘British Belmondo’…<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tRiley<\/strong>: Really? Brilliant! After all, I paid him for that wonderful compliment! (Laughs<\/em>)\n<\/p>\n

\n\tYou yourself have said you played the role of Mr Darcy as if he were a James Bond…<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tRiley<\/strong>: Not just as Mr Darcy \u2013 I am like that in real life too! But more Roger Moore or George Lazenby than Connery!\n<\/p>\n

\n\tMr Darcy hits women \u2013 not quite the done thing in polite English society…<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tRiley<\/strong>: True, but I\u2019m not aggressive \u2013 I\u2019m only defending myself. And because the women in this film are stronger, I end up losing the fight as well.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t

\"Sam
Sam Riley plays the grumpy Mr Darcy.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat does your wife Alexandra Maria Lara make of that?<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tRiley<\/strong>: She laughed \u2013 because how could I ever think I might win a fight!\n<\/p>\n

\n\tHow do you divide up the work as an acting couple with a young child?<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tRiley<\/strong>: If one of us is filming, the other joins if possible, and vice versa. Since our son Ben was born, that\u2019s what we\u2019ve almost always done.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tIn \u201cPride and Prejudice and Zombies\u201d you deal with zombies \u2013 do you believe in extraterrestrial beings?<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tRiley<\/strong>: In Haiti people believe in the existence of zombies \u2013 I see that very differently. Though sometimes I do think I must have a guardian angel.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tYou\u2019ve acted alongside Angelina Jolie, Kristen Stewart, Helen Mirren, Eva Green and Michelle Williams. Are attractive women the common thread in your filmography?<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tRiley<\/strong>: Just don\u2019t forget Alexandra Maria Lara in that list! (Laughs<\/em>) My brother would probably say that\u2019s exactly the common thread in my career. Actually, it\u2019s all just chance. Contrary to popular belief, as an actor you usually don\u2019t have the freedom to pick and choose roles exactly as you like \u2013 at least not in my position. The film business is more like a lottery. The only control you have is in saying no to a part.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tHow do you organise things in detail? Will you take a year out for childcare after this film so your wife can work again?<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tRiley<\/strong>: It would be very complicated if we were both working at the same time. Last year I filmed quite a lot, which was good for my career but not so great for the family. That\u2019s why, over the coming months, I shall happily be taking on the role of househusband.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tIs there any rivalry between you and your wife?<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tRiley<\/strong>: No, after all, we rarely go for the same roles! I\u2019ll happily leave playing a woman to Matthias Schweigh\u00f6fer. I\u2019m delighted for Alexandra whenever she wins a film award, and she feels the same for me. My father, though, always puts his money on Alexandra when betting on film awards \u2013 so from that perspective, he\u2019s my rival.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tJane Austen\u2019s novels are seen as the prototypes of romantic fiction. How romantic would you say you are?<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tRiley<\/strong>: I hope I have my romantic moments \u2013 but I\u2019m British, not Italian. We English have a rather good sense of humour, and that matters a lot to me.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tHow has living in Berlin changed you as a Brit?<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tRiley<\/strong>: The longer I live in Germany, the more clearly I realise that I\u2019m British. I wasn\u2019t really aware of that while living in England. You only really notice these things when you live somewhere else.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tHow normal can your life be in Berlin?<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tRiley<\/strong>: In Berlin Mitte, it sometimes happens that people come up and ask for a selfie. But overall, life in Berlin is much more low-key than it is in London. And anyway, I wouldn\u2019t count myself among the Champions League of well-known stars.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tHow comfortable do you feel in Berlin? <\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tRiley<\/strong>: I love Berlin, this city is so completely different to London. I could never have imagined myself living in another country, let alone becoming a father there. In my experience, Germans and Brits are much more similar than people like to claim. For me, it\u2019s like being cousins.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat do you like best about Germany?<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tRiley<\/strong>: It\u2019s wonderful to live in a country that wins football matches. It might be a clich\u00e9, but I really like how well things work here. Germans like to complain about their trains, but to me the German railways are fantastic.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat do you like least about Germany?<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tRiley<\/strong>: I\u2019m grateful for the wonderful hospitality \u2013 I\u2019d be silly to complain. It\u2019s just that my family\u2019s now so far away. I miss my mum\u2019s cooking, my favourite pub, and my friends \u2013 but all of that is only a flight away.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tIs there a role you\u2019d still love to play?<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tRiley<\/strong>: I\u2019ve already played a psychopath, a cowboy, a vampire, a zombie killer \u2013 so perhaps I should try for a role as a transvestite.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tPhoto \u00a9: Universum Film
\n<\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sam Riley made his cinema debut with \u201cControl\u201d, the film about the band Joy Division by Anton Corbijn, for which Riley received several awards \u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14188,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-video","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interview-kino","category-kino","post_format-post-format-video"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/berlin030.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/berlin030.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/berlin030.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/berlin030.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/berlin030.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14054"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/berlin030.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14054\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/berlin030.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/berlin030.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/berlin030.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/berlin030.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}