Tag Archives: Frost Interviews

Frost Interviews: Italian Actor Claudia Gerini

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_Claudia Gerini by Cristina GhergoFrost interviewed the beautiful and talented Claudia Gerini. Prolific and mufti-lingual, Claudia can be seen in Labyrinth, broadcast on Friday 29 and Sunday 31st March on Channel 4.

You got your first role when you were only 14. Do you think starting so young was a good thing?

Well, I think that there are advantages and disadvantages in all of

one’s decisions. Perhaps the positive side of this was that I started to work

immediately and was able to throw myself into the career that I had always

known I wanted to follow. The negative side could be that I started to work

straight away and so I wasn’t able to develop other interests or perhaps lost

out on other things but, at the end of the day I think that say it was a more

positive than negative outcome.

What is your favourite role you have played?

Well, I suppose it was the part that I had I’m Crazy about Iris Blond. I

played the part of a waitress ― Iris Blond ― who then becomes a singer and

given that singing is my passion and the role required me to sing a lot, I really

enjoyed that part.

You have over 53 credits on IMDB, how do you think you managed to have such a long and prolific career?

I suppose taking decisions and making the right choices. I don’t really

know. I follow a trajectory in which I try to follow a set of principles and be

faithful to my ideas and plans. Part of this is probably my love of challenge

and so I try not to repeat myself too much and I am always on the look out for

new genres and different roles.

Favourite film?

I have no doubts about that one. Moulin Rouge by Baz Luhrmann. I

don’t know how many times I’ve seen it over the years.

Favourite genre to work in?

I think I’d have to say comedy, a more romantic or ironic comedy but

then again, given that I like changing genres and roles and I am always on

the look out for a challenging role, I like dramatic roles as well.


You have worked in many different languages. Do you find learning

other languages hard? What is your favourite language to work in?

I find it quite easy to learn new languages, probably because I have a

good ear and so I tend to pick up the sounds quickly. I learned Spanish,

French and English this way and if I have to work in another language then

probably I prefer working in Spanish or English.

What would you be if you were not an actress?

If I could stay in the entertainment sector then I’d love to be a singer. If

I had to change sector then I think I’d love to work with children, young

children; perhaps as a pedagogue or even a primary school teacher.

How do you stay in shape?

I keep in shape by going to Taekwondo classes 3 times a week. Its so

energetic that you don’t really need to do anything else; there is a lot of cardio

and stretching and so its an all-round sporting activity. Recently I’ve

discovered pole dancing which is a lot of fun so I suppose just keeping myself

in movement. You know, being a full-time working mother, I have very little

time to sit and relax and another thing is that I’m slowly moving towards a

more vegetarian diet as well even though I still eat meat occasionally.

What’s next for you?

At the moment I am working on some projects that will be staring this

summer and so I’ll be back on set shooting in July. Tulpa is also being

released in Italy on the 30th of May and so I’ll be a bit busy with that as well

and so, in general, I’m getting ready to start filming again this summer.

Miki Yamashita On Acting | Frost Interviews

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What made you go into acting?

I think I was interested in the arts and performing even before I was aware
of it. My mother says that as a child, I danced and sang around the house so
much that she put me in lessons as soon as I was old enough, because she
wanted me to learn how to do it right. My parents are both teachers, so their
solution for everything is education. It’s actually a pretty good philosophy.
As I grew conscious of my passions in life, I consistently made life
decisions that propelled me towards a life as a performing artist. Let’s just
say I never gravitated towards coal-mining.

Could you ever do anything else?

I guess the right answer is that I actually do many other things. Having
spent my life around many other actors, I have observed that I may be a
slightly different breed than most. I have a group of actor friends that I
started out with performing improv and sketch comedy with at Walt Disney
World, who are still doing only that; I have another group who I did a lot of
musical theatre with, who are still focusing only on Broadway; same with
opera people and comedy writers and commercial actors and episodic
television actors. I am really lucky in that I am actively able to book work in
all of these areas, and I consider that huge spectrum of interests to be my
pursuit as a whole, so if my universe is that huge, understandably there
really isn’t an “anything else” for me.

You famously said: ‘If this business kills me, it will be after everyone in it has my
headshot.’ That’s a go-getting attitude that can be missing in a lot of
performers. Do you agree?

My dear friend Bonnie Gillespie was kind enough to include that in her
brilliant book, “Self-Management for Actors.” When a newer edition came
out, she asked if she could include it again, and I said of course, except that
I didn’t want to imply that manically blanketing an acting market with
headshots was the technique I was espousing. I believe in being fiercely
motivated, but in a very focused and strategic manner. There’s a young actor
in LA, I haven’t seen him in a while, but this crazy kid literally plastered the
exterior of his car with his headshots. I swear! He drives around in this car
all day long hoping for, I don’t know, to get pulled over by a casting
director and get asked to do a monologue by the side of the road?? I don’t
know! But it’s pretty delusional and highly misguided. I guess what I meant
to say is that “If this business kills me, it will be after everyone in it whom I
have researched and targeted as potential buyers for my product has my headshot.”

Over the years, I have met so many actors; some have almost zero
motivation and ambition to do the basic work that is necessary to even have
a chance at success; others are rabidly foaming at the mouth and doing
everything they can desperately and inefficiently so that they can get ahead.
What I’ve learned from these actors is that there is a better way, there is a
sweet spot, where you have a calm, cool, focused energy that propels you
forward slowly, steadily, and intelligently. Wow, I think this is officially the
most Asian thing I have ever said!

I find you incredibly funny, has your sense of humour helped you survive in
showbusiness? Is it possible to do this without one?

Thank you! I think it’s literally impossible not to develop a sense of humor
as a professional actor. I was once asked to sing opera while running full
speed on a treadmill in a sequined gown. I was once told to continue
reciting my monologue while the casting director got on her cell phone and
ordered a chicken salad. I was once physically threatened by a male chorus
dancer. I mean, as actors, this is daily life, okay? And I think if you don’t
find it hilarious, you become seriously mentally damaged in a way that
prevents you from functioning in society as a normal adult. And then it
becomes this wonderful tool to help you consistently cope with the vast
array of indignities that actors face all the time.

What’s the hardest thing about being an actor?

The hardest thing about being an actor is when Chanel sends you so much
free couture from their latest collection that you run out of assistants to re-
gift them to. JUST KIDDING!!! That’s what most people think actors’
problems are. The general public is fed nothing but lies about our
profession, and they are only provided with the success narrative. It’s part
of the machine that allows the industry to maintain its operations, so you
have to accept that civilians are not ever going to get what most of us go
through. The most difficult thing is really how seldom we are actually able
to do our work, and that we must spend an inordinate amount of time doing
work that has nothing to do with performing in order to bankroll the pursuit
of our REAL work.

And the best?

The best thing about being an actor is getting to crash your car into an 18-
wheeler, blaming it all on your assistant, and showing up 4 hours late to set
where they will still tell you you’re the perfect choice to play Liz Taylor. HA
HA HAAA. Seriously, the best thing about this profession is that we are
constantly challenged to imagine what is possible. Every time I get an audition,
whatever it is, a commercial where I’m a pretty Asian mom, or an
opera where I’m a flying ghost bird-spirit, or a daytime drama where I’m the
secretary to the family patriarch, I get to make decisions about these
characters based on my imagination, my life experience, and what is on the
page. And no one else is going to make the same set of choices that I will.
Even if I don’t get the part, for a brief moment, for the duration of that
audition, my humanity was merged with that character, and I find great
fulfillment in my ability to execute that with consistency and quality.

What is your favourite thing that you have worked on?

My favorite thing that I have worked on is an original new work in which I
sang a principal role, with Los Angeles Opera. The piece was called “The
White Bird of Poston,” and it was newly commissioned specifically for the
purposes of educational and community outreach in the city of Los Angeles.
The opera is about the Japanese American Internment during World War II, a
very dark part of American history. The music and the story are so
beautifully written, I felt so honored to be a part of it, and I felt like it used
so many of my skills simultaneously—my classically trained voice, my
acting training, my dance training, and even a little bit of my abilities as a
comedienne. And on top of that, it had such profound cultural significance
to me as a Japanese American.

You have a great niche as an actress: you studied opera, has this greatly helped
your acting career or is it separate thing?

As I mentioned earlier, there are a lot of people that I started out with,
training and performing professionally as serious classical or musical
theatre singers, who are still completely focused on only that sector of
performance. For me, singing eventually became something glamorous and
glorious that I could just keep hidden in my back pocket, and whip it out
suddenly and just stun people with it as needed. This evolution mostly took
place because I moved from the New York acting market which is very
heavily theatre-based, to Los Angeles, which of course focuses much more
on, well, speaking and not singing. But even without the move, I think I was
really adamant about transcending musical theatre; I felt that I had more to
accomplish in other areas, and my interests had a much wider span than just
singing in musicals until I was dead.

Advice for actors?

My advice for actors is pretty depressing, but realistic. If at all possible, get
a degree in a subject that has nothing to do with drama or music. I’ve made
a lot of hideous mistakes in life, but the one thing I did right was to earn a
college degree in English literature instead of acting or vocal performance.
Even though many would say a degree in English is almost as useless, I
would have to argue otherwise. The acting business becomes more and
more competitive every day, and what sets me apart from many others is my
relentless desire to articulate my own experience. As a writer, I have a
heightened sense of power because for the most part, words on a page
cannot be refused or rejected because the writer isn’t blond or skinny. I am
shut out of thousands of performing job opportunities a day simply because
of my physical appearance, something that cannot be transformed by
“working hard.” Trust me, I’ve tried. Exercising cannot change your race!

So my advice is to find tangible skills that will enable you to support your
pursuit of acting for a very very long time.

But ultimately, have faith that you are answering a divine calling by being an
artist. And know that you are in control of what you choose to sacrifice for
this calling.

What’s next for you?

I’m about to make big changes to my online presence; a fellow LA actress,
Sarah Sido, taught me a lot about building websites, so I’m going to use
those skills to rebrand my personal page, as well as start a blog about
acting. Wow, now I’ve said it so I better do it!

FAVORITE ACTORS/ACTRESSES – I think my favorite male actor is Jim
Carrey. A lot of my earlier sketch comedy and improvisational work I did at
Walt Disney World was heavily influenced by him, and I have deep respect
for his significant capabilities as a dramatic actor. He is so interesting to
watch doing anything! Let’s say if, starting tomorrow, he stopped making
studio feature films and decided to just host a vegan cooking show on
HGTV, I would watch that.

For female actresses, I would rather be executed than name just one. Meryl
Streep seems to literally becomes other human beings, to the point where it
actually scares me. Meryl is a frightening example of sheer mastery of the
craft. I would like to see her play some kind of deep sea creature or
something, because that lady would seriously prepare for the role by eating
paramecium and withstanding 500 bars of atmospheric pressure. And that’s
entertainment, my friends.

I love Julianne Moore’s work, because I find that no matter who she plays,
her characterization is so detailed and complete that I feel like I actually
live out the movie in real time as her role. The performance is so intimate
and honest and infused with inner life that I feel like I AM her character.
Believe me, it takes skill to convince a short Asian girl that she is a white
1950’s housewife.

Photo credit: David Muller

Victoria Fox on Temptation Island | Frost Interviews

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Frost magazine has interview author Victoria Fox on her bonk-busting book “Temptation Island”. It is a very fun read and the review is here.

How did you become a writer?

Writing novels was always the dream but one I’d decided not to pursue until later. After university I got a job in publishing, joining as editorial assistant on a women’s fiction list and four years later working as an editor: this taught me a great deal about the business of how books are produced as well as an insight into the market. I realised I was waiting to find a truly exciting, shocking, racy bonkbuster like the ones I’d enjoyed as a teen, a proper brick of a book packed with sex and scandal, but none were quite hitting it for me, so I decided to have a go myself. ‘Write what you know’ is a great piece of advice for aspiring authors – as soon as I sat down to my debut Hollywood Sinners it just sort of all fell out. Curious as to whether I was on to something, I submitted a partial manuscript (about 30,000 words) anonymously to a literary agent
and happily she agreed to represent me. Shortly after I resigned from my job to complete the novel and three months later we had a deal.

Could you ever be anything else?

As a child I saw myself as one of three things: a vet, a gymnast or a writer. The first was out because I’m terrible at science (once I got 4% in a GCSE Chemistry test) and the second because I can’t do gymnastics. The last was the one that never went away. I’d be happy working as lots of things but don’t think I’d ever be cured of the writing bug. Certainly I’d be doing it as a hobby if I weren’t lucky enough to be making a living from it.




Did you base the characters on any real people?

Both Hollywood Sinners and Temptation Island feature sensational celebrity scandals, so I’d be in hot water if I said the characters were based on anyone in real life. Instead they’re inspired by what I see and read about in the papers and online, and often will be a mix of several intrigues that capture my attention. One of the great things about bonkbusters is that their characters can be truly outrageous, so I like to go all out with my players and make them as exciting and memorable as possible. If readers think they identify a real person then that’s great – I used to love trying to spot who was who in Jackie Collins’ novels: it’s part of the fun.

How do you come up with ideas for your books?




I’m afraid I read rather too many celebrity magazines. It’s a guilty pleasure. I love to see who’s dating whom, what so-and-so wore at whatever premiere, where the rich and famous have taken their super-yachts this summer . . . all that kind of stuff. Hollywood Sinners came from an idea I had about an A-list movie couple – it was a germ of a notion but enough to spin a story, and then I had all these power couples coming out of the woodwork with their individual stories and a novel was born. Temptation Island takes that scandal one step further, I suppose. This time I’ve focused on a very controversial theme, and am interested to know what people think!


What is your writing ritual like?

I have to be disciplined and stick to a routine. I’ll get up early because I’m most productive in the mornings, and work through till lunch when I’ll try to go to the gym (if I don’t do this I get really bad mid-afternoon brain slump). The rest of the day is sporadic; I’ll get distracted by emails and Facebook, but will usually produce a thousand more words before my boyfriend gets in from work. For me it’s important to try and keep to ‘normal’ work hours, so nine to five, Monday to Friday. I don’t want to be out of sync with my friends and try to keep my weekends free. However the lovely thing about working for yourself is that if it doesn’t pan out that way, and the creative tap isn’t one you can always turn on, you can make up the word count another time. It’s also wise to sustain a separate office area so you can close the door on work at the end of the day.



Do you think the recession makes people turn to novels like Temptation Island, and that need for escapism?

Bonkbusters should always provide escapism. They’re gateways into glittering worlds that we’d typically never be able to touch, arenas where everything goes and anything can happen. It stands to reason that during a recession readers reach for this kind of entertainment, but having said that in recent years it’s been crime novels – which offer a grimmer view of life – that have proved wildly popular. Perhaps the recent success of E L James’ Fifty Shades trilogy marks a turning of the tide, and a sign that the women’s market is switching to sex and fantasy for the same fix. I hope so, because bonkbusters have all the great things about erotic fiction and heaps more on top: the glam locations, the juicy storylines and the utterly transporting experience. Recession or not, I think they provide the perfect respite.


If you could go to an island like the characters, what would you take with you?

If I ended up on the one in the book, I’d take a cutthroat hack (or be one myself) so I could blow wide open the biggest Hollywood scandal in the history of the world! On a regular island, like if I were Tom Hanks in Castaway (!), I’d take a box of matches, an encyclopaedia and a pen and paper. That sounds boring, doesn’t it? Hmm. How much can I take? A fridge of chilled champagne would be good, and so would a hot guy who I’d set to work building me a raft without his clothes on.


How long did the book take to write?

Temptation Island took me four months to write and two to edit. If I’m strict about sitting down and writing every day I can normally produce around 15,000 words a week. The key is to keep pressing on and not to get sucked into re-reading what you’ve done – it’ll get changed on a later draft anyway. Once you’ve completed the book, even if you think it’s bad, you have something entire to work with and show other people. That’s when the editing process can begin and you start guiding the manuscript towards the best it can possibly be.

Do you think the bonkbuster is back?

It’s coming (ahem). The glory days were in the eighties and nineties – every girl remembers flicking through Jackie and Jilly at school and giggling over the naughty bits – but since then the genre seems to have gone off the boil. My mission is to bring it back! The vintage classics were magnificent, and today I think it’s about borrowing what was so great about those and combining it with a modern twist. Our present-day obsession with celebrity lends itself perfectly: bonkbusters should have sizzling secrets at their core so it’s all about peeling back the headlines and seeing what lies beneath. Recently I heard they’re remaking Dallas, which flags a return to these amazing multi-character sagas, and Shirley Conran’s superb bonkbuster, the definitive and fabulous Lace, is making a comeback this summer. It feels as if people are ready to embrace the genre again, and for me that isn’t a moment too soon.


What do you think of celebrities now? 



We’re obsessed, and that says more about us than it does them. On the one hand, we worship celebrities. Money and fame are seen as the quick passage to happiness, and anyone who’s achieved that gets a golden ticket to a higher plain – it’s a religion, and a fact of human nature to want what someone else has got. On the other, it’s about bringing these icons down, which is a miserable admission but true. We want to celebrate one day and criticise the next. Who’s had a breakdown? Who’s going through a divorce? Who’s had all that cosmetic surgery but still can’t get a man? Perhaps we like to gossip because it distracts us from our lives; perhaps it makes us feel better about ourselves. I’m all for celebrity when it’s earned, yet these days it’s the reality TV thing that spawns a host of wannabes who seem to be confused about what they want and can’t handle fame when it comes. Riches can reward anyone, but recognition for having achieved something is what we should be striving for.


Who is your favourite, and least favourite, celebrity?

Men I have a crush on are: Leonardo DiCaprio (he haunted my teenage years: that Romeo & Juliet pool scene), James Franco, Ryan Gosling, Chris Hemsworth and I’ve got a thing for Rafa Nadal. I’m also fascinated by untouchable megastars like Tom Cruise. Jack Nicholson is the boss; Robert De Niro close second. Actresses I love are Emma Stone, Amanda Seyfried, and Meryl Streep has bags of class. Also Chloë Sevigny is awesome. I guess my least favourite celeb would be any footballer who can’t keep it in his pants, and rides on the fact he earns an obscene amount of money yet still hasn’t learned to treat women properly.

What’s next for you?

I’m hard at work on my third novel, which is a glamorous, sexy revenge thriller set in the music industry. Watch this space!

You can buy Temptation Island here

Andrew Tiernan {Frost Interviews}

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I recently had the pleasure of working with one of Britain most hard working and talented actors, Andrew Tiernan, on Jason Croot’s new film Le Fear, Le Sequel. He was kind enough to give Frost an interview, and it’s a stunner.

You are in “Prisoners Wives” the new BBC Drama, what was it like working on that?

All credit to the Production as they took a risk with me, as usually I’m the Bad guy, so this time I’m on the other side of the law playing DS Hunter who is investigating the murder that Gemma’s (Emma Rigby) husband Steve (Jonas Armstrong) has been accused of. The Directors and Producers wanted an edge to this guy and they knew I could bring that to the role, which was great for me. I had to get my head into Cop mode, as I haven’t done that for a very long time, in fact since “Prime Suspect” when I was a young copper with Helen Mirren and Tom Bell. Hopefully I’ve done a good job. But that was easy as Julie Geary’s writing is fantastic.

You played Ephialtes, in Zack Snyder’s “300”, how did you manage to put in such a good performance under all of that prosthetic?

It’s great because you don’t get recognized. I have always tried to transform myself for each role. The prosthetics was like a mask that I could manipulate with my facial muscles, but I had to exaggerate my expressions to move the inch thick prosthetic. I enjoy mask work, so that wasn’t the hardest thing for me to do. When you’re trying to transform yourself without the use of prosthetics, that is the challenge. I’ve fluctuated my weight and appearance over the years to fit the roles, I was influenced by Robert De Niro when he put a ton of weight on for “Raging Bull,” but it’s quite a dangerous thing to do and not everyone in the business appreciates it, some have thought that I’ve just let myself go, so I doubt I’ll be putting on the pounds again anytime soon, unless it is under prosthetics.

You are a successful Actor, but still do your own projects, why?

It’s all about the work. It’s what I’ve always wanted to do. I wanted to have some kind of control over my work at some point. What people forget is that it’s the Writer and Producers who are in control we can only perform what is written on the page. And when we’re not doing those jobs, we’re waiting around for work, it can send most Actors insane, so I try to keep myself busy between jobs.

Tell us about the short film you’ve recently directed; “Flush”:

“Flush” came about after the writer; Kevin O’Donohoe, told me about an experience he had with some Estate Agents. One of the estate agents asked to use the toilet in his flat and was in there for an unexpectedly long time and managed to stink the place out. He thought that the guy had done it deliberately, so he decided to get his own back and came up with this very funny little script. We made it Independently, I got Shona McWilliams and Simon Balfour in to help me produce it. We’ve just finished Post-Production and we’ve entered it into some film festivals, we’re very excited about it. We’re planning to do some Feature Films later in the year with the same Production Team and a new script by Kevin called “UK18” a Political Drama set in the near future.

How did you get started as an actor?

I was into films from an early age and would visit the local cinema on my own, The Grove. I’d watch all the Ray Harryhausen adventures and then I managed to see some of Peter Bogdanovich’s films, such as “Paper Moon” and “What’s up Doc?”. So I suppose the bug started there, and eventually I decided it was something I wanted to do as a Career. I started working at the Midlands Art Centre after joining the Youth Theatre there, then ended up at the Drama Centre London.

Who/what is your inspirations?

If you’d asked me a few years ago, I would have said De Niro and Scorsese, but I think really it is people like Powell and Pressburger, Nicholas Roeg, Lindsay Anderson and Ken Russell who inspire me, and always have. I also have an admiration for Polanski’s films, one of the very first films I remember seeing was “Repulsion” when it was screened on television and it freaked me right out.

What is your favourite film?

At the moment, I would have to say it’s Ken Russell’s “The Boy Friend”. It was such a shock when he passed away, but I had managed to finally get the film on DVD the week before his passing. And it’s just as wonderfully spectacular as when I first watched it, what a genius. But there are so many films that I love, that I have a top 40 in my head every week. Though there are certain ones that always top the list and not necessarily everyone’s favourites.

How has the industry changed for Actors?

Since I joined the industry rather a lot has changed. When I first started there was a lot more opportunities and a lot more Drama was made for TV. But also there was a lot more Theatre Companies, we thought cuts were bad back then, but now it’s unbelievable. But on a positive note, technology has improved such that Artists can develop and produce their own independent work a lot easier than back then. And it’s possible for that work to be seen in different markets.

What are your opinions on reality TV?

Unfortunately, I think that it’s had a knock on effect in our industry and not just the fact that there’s not enough Drama being produced, but reality TV is very cheap for the Networks to produce and people seem to want to watch it. It’s a very sad time, as I think that when we look back at this period, we will think, where were the great British TV Drama Writers that we used to produce like Alan Bleasdale, Dennis Potter or Peter McDougall? The Networks should really pump more of the money they make from this cheap stuff into quality writing and drama, instead of squeezing the budgets. But we as Artists can’t rely on them anymore, we have to do it ourselves if we have a story to tell and find our own ways to distribute it.

What do you think of celebrity culture? What harm does it do?

Recently I was having a conversation with a Young Actor and we were chatting about the business and I mentioned that I’d worked with Simon Callow, the renowned Theatre Actor and Writer. He must have misheard me, as suddenly he shrieked in excitement “You know Simon Cowell!?!” I can forgive him for not knowing who Simon Callow is, but that reaction to the possibility that I could introduce him to Simon Cowell was deeply concerning. And I am seeing it more and more. Actors who manage to get themselves roles on Productions and the next step for them is a Celebrity Dance Show or the Jungle one. Shows where you have swallow things in order to gain more celebrity status. How ironic is that!? I think what this culture of celebrity has done has made some people very ignorant and obsessed with materialistic things. I think what will happen is when people think back to the noughties, no one will be remembered for any kind of Art or Music, the era will be remembered for the Wars that took place and the Banking Crisis. And just for the record, I don’t know Simon Cowell.

What next?

We are going to change things.

Links:

IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0862907/
Official Website: http://web.mac.com/andytiernan/Andrew_Tiernan
Flush FB Page: http://www.facebook.com/Flush2012

Photo credit; Marac Kolodzinski