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I was captivated by the script.
Just the extraordinary forthrightness of her vision and even her technique.
And I think its one of the best things Emma Thompson has ever done, he enthuses.
John Lithgow and Aud Mason-Hyde in Sundance movie ‘Jimpa’Mark de Blok
Let me have a Zoom with this woman.
And we had just the most lovely hour-and-a-quarter Zoom conversation.
We both agree that we admire Antipodean filmmakers.
From left: Aud Mason-Hyde, Sophie Hyde, John Lithgow and Olivia Colman at the Sundance premiere of ‘Jimpa’ (Getty Images)
But Jim absolutely adores of Frances, always has.
Im going to have my own life.
But at the heart of it, he was always very devoted to his daughters and to his wife.
But it just became his determination: Now Im going to be completely who I am.
And because hes quite a bold person, he just does it full-bore, the actor explains.
But I think theyre overwhelmed by this sense of relief and joy in the man.
And I think all the rest of his family just appreciate that.
Aud and Sophie certainly did.
Sophie just adored him.
It almost defines Sophie as a filmmaker, he says rapturously.
Shes got a very good sense of herself, Lithgow adds.
He wants to know, and she wont tell him.
And its this little emotional chess game they play.
I think thats great.
He does have a vanity.
He wants to be sure he comes off well.
To the point about drama without conflict, he tells me thats possible.
Oh, I think so, he says.
Its sort of unspoken conflict in a way.
Its the drama of avoiding conflict and denying conflict.
Theres a little conflict thats sort of meta conflict there.
Hes over the moon about having worked with Colman.
Shes like the best person I know in the whole world.
Just this wonderful, gentle, happy spirit full of her own interesting insecurities as we all are.
But just an absolute joy to work with.
Hes got Hannahs emotional back.
Hes there for her.
This young person is more together than we are.
Theyre going to find their way, he reasons.
During their discussions about the film, Lithgow sent Hyde a 1973 photograph of himself nude.
The sending of the photograph was purely all business, he stresses.
I said, Look, this is what I look like.
Its what I used to look like anyway, and blithely sent it to her online.
Its probably gone around the world five times by now, he dryly supposes.
But heres what I think, he says, sitting up smartly.
It is the one thing we all have in common.
And so I just embraced that.
So its a very complex, positive reinforcement, he adds with delightful comic timing.
Even so, its admirable that all is bared with such alacrity, and its for a purpose.
Indeed, one such moment fully exposes sorry, I mean fully advances the plot.
And I savored the complication of that plot twist, the two-time Oscar nominee and six-time Emmy winner says.
He concedes, however, that although I was game, I was nervous about it.
Of course, I was very self-conscious about it, and Sophie helped me through that.
I just believe in her and trust her so explicitly as a filmmaker.
And of course there were all those naked extras that helped out.
I mention that Ian McKellen is, or used to be, just as eager.
He was a strapping 68 years of age at the time.
But he also, he has a reputation in England of just any chance he gets, Lithgow quips.
They have absorbed this and made it into their own version of normality.
And I think that is the capital important aspect of this film.
But it doesnt come off as preachy.
Not at all preachy, but it is touchingly poignant, I tell him.
Particularly when Jim goes to Helsinki seeking this job, and thats so heartbreaking.
And something in your eyes, I tell Lithgow, that tells us so much.
Which is quite heartbreaking, actually.
Well, especially when youve seen him as such a super confident and almost arrogant swaggering soul.
Hes so goddamn confident in himself and his achievements, and hes gotten old.
I mean, thats the aspect of it that I identified most closely with.
And trying to deny that as long as you possibly can.
I found that extremely moving.
To take this role, Lithgow proves that hes still got some bottle.
People asking me: Why did you take this part?
I thought that was such a crazy question.
I said, Why do you think I became an actor?
Its to enter into other emotional worlds and explore other people with empathy and understanding even horrible people.
But this is not a horrible person.
This is a beautiful person.
Its like, what has happened to us?
How have we become so cruel?
Once again, I hesitate to use the word important.
I want people to just accept this film purely on its own terms.
Its a beautiful portrait of a family.
Lithgow gives an unbelievably astonishing performance as Roald Dahl.
And with all if all goes well, well do it on Broadway too.
Its that good a play, he boasts, with good reason.
Theres been talk of a screen adaptation as well.
But its such a piece of theater.
It is kind of hard to imagine it any other way at the moment.
