Live Interviews: Bill Nighy and Amy Lou Wood

In theaters on December 23rd is the new drama “Living,” which is directed by Oliver Hermanus (“Beauty”) and is adapted from the 1952 Japanese film “Ikiru,” directed by Akira Kurosawa.

Set in 1950s London, Life stars Bill Nye (“Love Really”) as Mr. Williams, an ordinary civil servant who, after receiving a grim diagnosis, decides to make the most of his last her days with the help of a former colleague named Margaret Harris (Amy Lou Wood).

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Bill Nighy and Amy Lou Wood about their work on Living, their approach to their roles and the sweet relationship between their characters.

You can read our full interview below or click the video player above to watch our interviews with Nighy, Wood and director Oliver Hermanus.

Moviefone: First off, Bill, can you talk about your approach to the role of Mr. Williams and what were some of the aspects of the character that you were excited to explore with this film?

Bill Nighy: I was excited to explore this type of character from my childhood because I was there. I was a little boy in the fifties. The atmosphere of that period and the way people behaved, I grew up in that. That post-war era and the kind of restraint that was required of people, the reluctance to express anything big and not bother each other with your innermost concerns.

It was a kind of religion, and probably a very unhealthy one. I understand from the point of view of repression and suppression, but it is also heroic in its own way. I was drawn to, as an acting thing, it’s fun to try to express a lot with a little. that interests me. It’s usually called Englishness, but I’m sure every culture has characters like Mr. Williams. But we take the blame for that.

I just think I’m really fascinated by that formality, even under great stress, and also by procrastination, because he’s spent his life working in an institution designed to facilitate procrastination. I personally procrastinate at an Olympic level. There’s nothing I can’t put off and I can put it off as much as you want. When I die, there will be a long list of things I never got around to. I’m interested in how this personal tendency is expressed in a society, because we all are, I hope it’s not just me, I think everyone struggles with this tendency.

MF: Finally, Amy, can you talk about Margaret’s reaction to seeing her former boss outside the office and in the real world, and the friendship they form together that really inspires him to live his life to the fullest?

Amy Lou Wood: Well, you know when you were younger and you walked your teacher out and you were like, “What?” Because there are certain people that in your head only exist in that particular space. I think Margaret has that with Mr. Williams because he’s a pretty closed book at the beginning of the movie. So they’ve been in each other’s presence for, I think, 16 months, but they haven’t connected.

I think when she sends him out, it’s shocking that he even exists beyond these walls. But the fact that he’s wearing this new hat, there’s something different about him. That’s how I found out who Margaret was. The moment the line that (screenwriter) Kazuo Ishiguro wrote, “Oh, and your new hat,” I was like, “Oh, okay. I know who she is.” That she notices all these things and can see that there is something different about him, just by the fact that he has this new hat.

Suddenly she can see him in this whole new way. It is also because he sees life in a completely new way. He is trying to see and notice things again after being on autopilot for years. I think she’s quite surprised by how seen she feels by him when they’ve been sitting next to each other for 16 months and she’s never felt that way until this day. I think it’s just this really surprising, amazing relationship that they have.

It’s almost sad because you think they could have had this 16 months ago. They could have had it from the moment they met if they just had a different perspective. They are united by Mr. Williams’ newfound desire to live.