Today on FilmForce, we have an extra special treat for all the Narnia faithful out there. Up until now, Disney has remained very protective of the young cast, many of whom have had very little acting experience. FilmForce recently got the unique opportunity to speak exclusively with William Moseley and Anna Popplewell, who portray Peter and Susan in the film, respectively.
IGNFF: What was it like meeting first time?
William Moseley: I thought he was a bit like Garth from Wayne’s World, he looks like [that]! I liked him, I just liked the way he sort of sat back and let the kids run wild. What was nice was he got involved as well. There was a kid that was kind of annoying and Andrew was, within one minute, just on top of this kid and [he] quieted him down. This kid had gone to drama school and thought of himself rather highly and Andrew managed to withdraw him.
IGNFF: For Adamson, this film is a pretty big switch from working on animated films. There has been some concern and question as to how he would work out with actual humans versus CG green ogres.
Anna Popplewell: Well, I think everyone was kind of surprised at the idea of Andrew on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe because he had a background in animation. The thing is, Andrew’s so wonderful with people! He’s not only a genius, he’s such a nice man. He really knew how to relate to all of us as individuals. It wasn’t “the kids,” he communicated to all of us in different ways appropriately. He’s just a brilliant director really.
William Moseley: You know, it was a challenge for everyone. Mark Johnson, the producer, had done Rain Man, you know, and Mark said this was the biggest film he’d ever worked on. Everyone had a challenge, everyone was working for the passion. I just felt like Andrew had so much dedication to making the film work! So much want and love for it! It just sort of worked out.
IGNFF: How did the sets compare to what you pictured in your head reading the books?
Anna Popplewell: Well, some of them were almost exactly as I pictured. Some of them were slightly different and better than I could have imagined. It just varied. I think the nice thing about the books is there is a lot of room for interpretation. I know when I read them and come away with a specific idea that this detail must be in place, this detail must be in place, and the sets just kind of consolidated it all together for me.
William Moseley: It’s interesting from Andrew’s point of view with the books and everything! They aren’t trying to make a religious film, they aren’t trying to make a film with an opinion. All it is is a film from an imagination. It’s from Andrew’s imagination, it’s from his innocence as a child. When you’re a child, you don’t see the religious aspects. You’re trying to preserve that innocence. That’s what the books are partially about, is innocence and honestly and truth. I think that’s what Andrew tried to do and you can interpret it as a religious story, but I just feel like it was from Andrew’s imagination and he could create that world! Fortunately, there was enough money to create the imagination because sometimes I would go on set and think, ‘This is beyond my imagination. This is beyond what I expected!’ The imagination can be a very expensive thing.
IGNFF: William, did you look to any of the other actors for tips?
William Moseley: Totally. What I found with Tilda, I really did actually! James [also] told me – I learned two tips from both of them – Tilda would always say to me, you know, it shouldn’t be difficult, acting shouldn’t be difficult. You should just be enjoying it! It’s best to go with it and just be there and just let yourself go. You don’t have to really even try hard at all, that’s what she said to me. It’s something that she had found out herself over the years. And then James McAvoy also said to me, which is really interesting, because I had a problem in one of the scenes. It’s funny, because I can ride a horse bareback, galloping across the park, I can sword fight for hours, I can run across the frozen lake. But I had to smile, and it was so weird, smiling on screen. I hate smiling in photos, so I never smile. I find it posing, like I’m not really being spontaneous, I’m just posing! James said to me, ‘If you take up the posture in your face, your mind follows,’ and then he trained himself to do that. He was telling me that he couldn’t smile on camera or he couldn’t laugh or cry. He had to train himself to do. And so, they were both very interesting people. Even the mother, Mrs. Macready, I learned some things from, like the way she would just come pumped up! Really bringing out something and just shaking everything up, just going for it. That was a really interesting aspect as well. I found, for me, I have to go back and think, like, what happens to me before, what are my feelings now. With all these people trying to help me, I felt I really progressed as an actor.
For the rest, go to IGN FilmForce!
