The irony is not lost on Sean Bean of course. In the new thriller
FLIGHTPLAN he plays a pilot captaining a huge transatlantic airliner
and yet for years Sean himself was terrified of flying.
I know, he smiles. It's
strange but I'm a lot better about flying
now. And I think the research I did for FLIGHTPLAN actually helped
me,
too.
In preparation for playing Captain Rich,
Bean spent time at flying
school' working on a flight simulator and picking
up tips from real
pilots. I never mastered the flight simulator, he
admits. But at
least it gave me some kind of feeling for the cockpit and the
controls.
So it was very useful.
Like most who share the same phobia,
his fear of flying wasn't
rational. But it was a problem - especially for an actor with
an
international reputation who was required on film locations all
over
the world.
And finally, working on Peter Jackson's
award-winning LORD OF THE RINGS
Bean, 45, played Boromir helped convince him that
he had to
overcome his fear, mostly by sheer will power.
I got used to it, he says.
I had to really. Because you can't make a
film in New Zealand , where we made LORD OF THE RINGS, and get
there
any other way.
Since LORD OF THE RINGS, Bean's already
considerable reputation has
grown. Born in Sheffield, in the north of England , he made his
name in
the UK working with the Royal Shakespeare Company and then on
acclaimed
television dramas like Sharpe's Rifles, playing the hero of Bernard
Cornwall's Napoleonic War sagas, Richard Sharpe.
His impressive list of film credits
include starring with Harrison Ford
in PATRIOT GAMES, working with the late, great Richard Harris
in THE
FIELD, playing a gangster in ESSEX BOYS. He has also starred
in many
other movies including GOLDENEYE, THE BIG EMPTY and Wolfgang
Petersen's
epic TROY .
He has just completed four films back
to back FLIGHTPLAN, NORTH
COUNTRY with Charlize Theron, the Michael Bay blockbuster THE
ISLAND
and the thriller SILENT HILL.
Directed by Robert Schwentke (who helmed
the highly acclaimed TATOO),
FLIGHTPLAN is a psychological thriller set inside the claustrophobic
confines of an airliner travelling from Europe to America .
Kyle Pratt is a grieving widow travelling
home to the States with the
coffin containing the body of her husband and at her side is
their
six-year-old daughter, Julia (Marlene Lawston), who, like her
mother,
is still in shock after his sudden death.
After Kyle drifts off into brief, fit
full sleep, she wakes to find
that her daughter is missing assuming, at first, that
Julia, is
playing elsewhere on the plane. When she begins to get anxious
and
tries to find her, the flight crew and passengers claim that
they never
saw the youngster and Kyle begins to doubt her own sanity.
Q: How did you prepare yourself for
the movie?
A: I went to this flying school where
they had a flight simulator and
did a sort of crash course if you'll pardon the pun, in flying.
(laughs) But it was particularly difficult to actually land and
to get
things right, I must admit. I never mastered it because I didn't
have
enough time, but I at least it gave me some kind of feeling for
the
cockpit and the controls and stuff like that, so it was very
useful.
And then meeting some of the pilots and talking to them, just
getting
some information about how they would react in the situation
and how
they carry themselves and their sense of self confidence and
responsibility. That's about all I did really. I didn't really
know
much about pilots, I don't' think many people do. So I just tried
to
get as much information as I could and it was very interesting.
Q: And what do you like about the
part itself?
A: I quite like the fact that he was
quite a straight, authoritative
figure and yet he's also sympathetic and sensitive to serve his
passengers and especially to Kyle's (Jodie Foster) recent tragedy.
And
he's calm with her and tries to calm her down and doesn't make
snap
decisions. I think he does lose a little patience as it goes
on, and
he's had the plane searched for the little girl. It seems such
an
implausible situation when there's not a trace of this child
on the
plane. It's a nightmare situation really.
Q: Is it true you're not a very good
flyer?
A: I'm okay now, I wasn't before. For
the last couple of years since
I've been flying around, I've done LORD OF THE RINGS and been
to New
Zealand and I got used to it. I had to do that really.
Q: You work so much, you must be
flying all the time?
A: I do now yeah, I'm flying round a
lot. I don't really get that
panicky feeling anymore. You know I used to have a few drinks
before I
got on the flight and during it and then after! (laughter)
Q: Did working on FLIGHTPLAN change
the way you felt about flying?
A: Actually, it was reassuring. They
told me a few things about what a
plane can withstand and what a battering it can take before anything
goes wrong. If you get in the eye of a storm you are in big trouble
but
apart from that the wings are very flexible. It's incredible
really.
Q: Do you think it was the fact that
you are flying so much that it has
made you more at ease?
A: I think so yeah, I think it is. I
just thought to myself I've got
to do this all of the time..' I used to be terrified of the landings
and take offs and the turbulence. I'm still not fond of it now,
I don't
think anybody is, but it was something I had to face otherwise
I
wouldn't be able to do any work. I mean, it's going to take a
long time
to get a train and a ship to New Zealand ..(laughs)
Q: The plane your character pilots
in FLIGHTPLAN is huge..
A: Yeah, and I've been told the bigger
the better in terms of safety. I
still don't find flying particularly pleasant but it's not a
fear for
me anymore, it's just something that I've got to do.
Q: Does Jodie have a distinctive
acting style?
A: I think with Jodie it's very clear
where her emotions lie and they
are very much on the surface and you can see that on screen.
She has a
wonderful way of portraying that for an audience. She is very
emotional
and she runs a gamut of emotions in this movie. And she was very
focused. I've always wanted to work with her because I've always
thought she was a great actress. In fact, I've never seen anything
of
hers where I didn't think she was good. Peter Sarsgaard was more
contained because of the nature of the part, but equally
very
talented.
Q: You're a father. Did the film
strike more of a chord with you, do
you think, because you are a parent?
A: Yeah, I think it did. When Jodie's
character wakes up and realises
that her daughter isn't there, well, that's every parent's nightmare,
isn't it. She handles it quite well at the beginning because
she's a
strong woman but then the panic sets in. As parents we've all
had that
feeling. You know, the child who wanders off in the supermarket
or the
hotel foyer or the cinema. And the kids don't understand how
terrifying
it is for the parents. You break out into a cold sweat and you
get that
gut wrenching feeling, it's just absolutely terrifying. Fortunately,
for most people, things usually turn out all right. But in FLIGHTPLAN
Jodie is in the middle of every parent's absolute worst nightmare.
Q: Erika Christensen was saying she
admired how hard you work. Do you
think that work ethic comes from your background in theatre?
A: Yeah, possibly, I mean I take it
seriously, I think in some sense
it's good to do theatre. I enjoyed doing theatre, I did it for
about
five years with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Glasgow
Theatre
Company. It was a good grounding for me personally. I felt I
could make
my mistakes there, find my limitations and that's quite hard
work. And
I suppose I take that through into the films I do now. I'm very
serious
in how I approach it and try to keep it as realistic as I can
without
being heavy and methody. I feel I'm very focused.
Q: You dabbled with art at one point.
Why did you give that up?
A: Because I didn't think I would make
it as an artist. I thought it
was a bit romantic. I used to do a lot of chalk and pastel drawings
and
some of them were quite weird. I was influenced by the surrealists
and
Dadaists, that movement. Some of them were ghoulish and scary
and I
didn't know where they were coming from (laughs). Some of them
were
quite good, though and I sold a few pictures not that
I would have
made a living out of it. But that was initially what I wanted
to do. I
wanted to do a lot of things: I wanted to write, I wanted to
be in a
band, I wanted to perform. I learnt how to play the piano when
I was
about 19, 20. I wanted to do lots of things but I just didn't
know
which one it was and when I discovered acting it seemed to embody
all
of those interests and I felt very secure with that. And I felt
I'd
achieved my ambition, that's what I wanted to pursue from then
on.
Q: What was that like, for a working
class boy from Sheffield in the
north of England, to express that artistic side?
A: It was quite difficult at the time,
you know, because I was a welder
and I was working with a lot of guys in the factory, welding
fabrication. But you know I was still dabbling with art at the
same
time and I think that my father sort of knew that my heart wasn't
in
it. I worked at the same steel works as my father and I'd have
been an
average sort of welder but I just felt there was something else,
something different. And I knew it even when I was a kid. But
the
reaction was quite strange when I said I wanted to be an actor,
I mean
my Dad was quite confused by that.
Q: Your father?
A: Yeah, and everybody else. It's regarded
as a bit of a fairy-ish,
sort of a poncy thing to do, you know, because this is like thirty
years ago. But I was sure, I didn't really care, you know, I
felt so
secure with it. And it was good humoured as well. I can still
go back
home and they take the piss, you know. But it's good. I'd rather
have
it like that than people be too reverential and you, I can go
home and
I can just be with my friends and mates and I can relax with
them. It's
like I've kind of gone full circle really.
Q: Has there been a change in the
offers you get since LORD OF THE
RINGS?
A: Yeah, I think there has, in a positive
way, yeah. And I think it's
probably the case with all of us, it was such a great show case
for us
all. It's been wonderful we had great exposure in a wonderful
piece of
work and I think we've all gone on to do other things and stuff
and
have a certain amount of choice with what we do.
Q: Anything you can say is as a direct
result of the success of LORD OF
THE RINGS?
A: I suppose TROY. I think Wolfgang
Petersen saw me in LORD OF THE
RINGS. And I did a film called North Country with a director
called
Niki Caro who is from New Zealand and is friends with Peter Jackson,
so
maybe that too. I think LORD OF THE RINGS was a catalyst; it
spurred
everyone to do bigger and better things.
Q: Do you think that FLIGHTPLAN is
affected by September 11 th ?
A: Well, I suppose it's there in the
background. But I see it more as a
psychological drama with a woman and a child and a captain and
these
people on the plane. And yes, it's easy to be suspicious of people
post
9/11 and these guys are from the Middle East and they are the
first
ones to get suspected. And it's a shame that we live in a world
where
that's become the case. I guess the truth is any unusual situation
that
happens on a plane these days and 9/11 is in the back of people's
minds. Personally I feel much safer flying these days. Whether
that's
some kind of weird reaction to what happened, I don't know.
Q: How do you like it when people
talk about you as a sex symbol?
A: It's alright (laughs). I don't get
up in the mornings and look in
the mirror and go wow you're that sex symbol!' (laughs).
Q: Because you were voted like second
sexiest man in Britain after
Orlando Bloom
A: Yeah, in Empire Magazine, after him!
(laughs) I was pleasantly
surprised. It's just weird that sort of thing.
Q: You seem to have been making a
lot of films lately..
A: Yeah, some back to back. I did FLIGHTPLAN,
then THE ISLAND, then
NORTH COUNTRY and a film called SILENT HILL. So I did four in
the space
of a year or so and I never really went back home. And if I did
go back
it was for two or three days. It was very tiring so I'm looking
forward
to a bit of time off now.
Q: Are you good at being away from
home like that?
A: Yeah, I think I am, yeah I like travelling
around. It's a great job
because you get to see the world. I might be going to India soon
and
that's a part of the world I've always wanted to see.
Q: What about being away from your
family?
A: My children come across occasionally,
if they are not in school.
I'll bring them across for a couple of weeks and take them to
Disneyland and go shopping, stuff like that. There are some places
I've
worked where I'd prefer them not to go because it can be a bit
dodgy. I
remember we did some filming for Sharpe (UK TV series) in the
Crimea
and that was a bit dodgy. But when I do get home I tend to spend
a lot
of time with them and so I make it up and we have a lot of time
together. But I miss my kids, I think everybody who travels does.