• Interviews

• All
• Music
• Cinema
• TV
• Comic Books

Dec 05, 2015 By Chris Tinkham Sarah Gadon

Toronto-based actress Sarah Gadon brings both the wide-eyed wonderment of a teenage girl and the regal stateliness of a royal to her performance as a 19-year-old Princess Elizabeth in the romantic comedy A Royal Night Out.

The film, which mixes the pace and tone of 1940s screwball comedies with the romance of Roman Holiday, is a fictional tale based on the events of May 8, 1945- VE Day. That night, Elizabeth and her 14-year-old sister Margaret were given permission by their father, King George VI, to leave Buckingham Palace incognito and join in the crowds celebrating peace on the streets of London. In the film, directed by Julian Jarrold (Becoming Jane), Elizabeth and Margaret (Bel Powley) lose contact amid the jubilation, and the hijinks that ensues as Elizabeth runs about town trying to locate her younger sister, was born from the imaginations of writers Trevor De Silva and Kevin Hood. Still, the filmmakers aimed for authenticity and were given permission to shoot on the Mall outside of Buckingham Palace and in Trafalgar Square.

Gadon is best known for her work with David Cronenberg, appearing in A Dangerous Method, Cosmopolis and Maps to the Stars. Last year, she also starred in Denis Villeneuve’s Enemy, Amma Asante’s Belle, and as Oscorp Industries’ artificial intelligence, KARI, in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. This week, in addition to A Royal Night Out, Gadon appears in Mika Kaurismäki’s The Girl King as Countess Ebba Sparre, the love interest of Christina, Queen of Sweden.

Chris Tinkham (Under the Radar): When I saw The King’s Speech five years ago, I remember being intrigued by Elizabeth and Margaret depicted as kids. It sparked my own curiosity about them growing up as royalty. Do you recall having any moments of curiosity about their youth before you became involved with this film?

Sarah Gadon: Not really. In fact, I didn’t even know what a cultural phenomenon they were. I’m Canadian, and I grew up with a lot of British culture, but it wasn’t until doing my research about them that I realized that they were really like the Olsen twins of their time. [Laughs] They were a sensation, and people loved them and paid attention to what they wore and the things that they did. They were young celebrities.

Julian said he didn’t know that you were Canadian when you auditioned for the part. Did you audition with an English accent?

I did. I read the script, and I fell in love with the story, and I put together this audition tape and sent it to him. And then I did a live Skype audition, kind of in character, and then I got the role. It was really funny, because I flew to London, and I met him for the first time at this members only club in Soho, and I bounded in, and I was wearing my Canada Goose parka, and I was really excited. I said to him, “Oh Julien, I’m so excited. It’s going to be so great. I’ve been so happy. Thank you so much for this opportunity!” He looked at me, and the blood drained from his face, and he said, “Oh my God, you’re so Canadian.” And at that moment, I knew, “I’ve got quite the shoes to fill here.”

At what point did the research begin for you? Did that start before the audition?

Not so extensively before the audition. The climate that we’re in, in terms of auditioning, things come down the pipeline so quickly, and everybody throws their hat in the ring. You don’t have a lot of time to do extensive research. I had, however, just finished Belle, so I had a good sense of the British accent. I was pretty prepared for that. But when I got the role, I did a ton of research.

What did that entail for you?

I worked extensively with a dialect coach, this lovely woman by the name of Brett Tyne, and we perfected that kind of period, heightened RP [received pronunciation]. And then I did Lindy Hop classes. We met with a Royal consultant. I did etiquette classes. I read lots of biographies about the Royal Family. I even read some fiction books. I read this great book, The Uncommon Reader.

What sticks with you from the etiquette classes?

You were never allowed to have you back touch the back of a chair; you always had to sit up super straight. I guess silly things like that.

You have a dance background. How did you take to the Lindy Hop?

Yeah, I do, and I really enjoyed learning that. It’s really cool, because in England, if you go to pubs on certain nights, they have social dance nights where people of all ages-and a lot of young people-go, and you learn how to Lindy Hop, and you social dance and have a few beers. So it was really fun ‘cause I was able to go and do that. That was really cool.

How was it for you being Canadian and playing the Queen of England?

It was mildly terrifying. But I kept thinking about Cate Blanchett playing Elizabeth I, and I thought, “If she can do it and she’s Australian, maybe there’s a chance I can pull this off.” I was really nervous, especially after I met Julian. [Laughs] I remember there was a point in the research where I was so bogged down by all the information that was there to digest, and it was the time that Emily Watson was coming in to do her first rehearsal. I worked with her in Belle, and she said to me, “I’m so happy it’s you,” and she kind of gave me that vote of confidence to take it on. That was really special and gracious of her.

Throughout the film, you’re among large crowds, weaving your way through people, sometimes getting bumped around. What was the energy and atmosphere like during those night shoots?

Well, it’s a chase film, so it’s pretty high-energy, and that’s what I loved about it. So often, period films can be talking heads films, and you don’t get the sense of the energy or the movement of the period. And you really get the feeling that they’re [Elizabeth and Margaret] on the run for that film. So, it was very high-paced. We shot four-and-a-half weeks of night shoots, which is kind of a grueling schedule. Jack Reynor, who plays Jack in the film, loves boxing, and he had Bel and me boxing before our day’s work. So we would get up at two o’ clock in the afternoon, we’d all meet in the park, we’d do boxing training, and then we would go and shoot all night. [Laughs] It was a really fun thing that we all did together. We got on like a house on fire.

What was it like working with Bel Powley? I understand that you had a couple of weeks of rehearsal before filming.

Yeah, I love Bel. I feel like she’s my little sister. She is so wonderfully talented and has this beautiful spirit and is so funny. She had me in stitches. I actually saw her last night. She just won the Gotham Award for Diary of a Teenage Girl, and I’m just so proud of her. I love her. I think she’s wonderful.

Did you see the film?

Yeah, of course I did. It’s one of my favorite films of the year.

What did you take away from watching 1940s screwball comedies?

Probably the timing. The wit. The commitment. One of the films we watched for this was Brief Encounter, which is a David Lean film, not a screwball comedy, and we kind of used it as a reference for the action and the accent. I love that movie so much. It’s such a good film.

There’s a connection with this film and your grandparents, is that right?

Yeah, my grandmother was in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force in WWII, and she met my grandfather, who sailed for the British Royal Navy. She was a war bride. They were both in Trafalgar Square on VE Night. So, when I read the script, I felt a closeness to them. They both passed away, and when I watched the film, I really felt like it was a love letter to them. Even though it’s about Elizabeth, it really feels like it’s also about them.

Were they English?

Yeah, my grandmother was English. My grandfather was a Newfoundlander, and at the time, Newfoundland wasn’t a part of Canada, so he sailed for the British Navy.

We see you in uniform at the beginning of the film, because Elizabeth was an ATS (Auxiliary Territorial Service) officer. Is that uniform something similar to what your grandmother might have worn?

Yeah, it was similar. My grandmother was a plotter. I have her photograph from the war, and it is similar.

How did you become involved with The Girl King? Was it a Canadian connection with the writer, Michel Marc Bouchard?

Yeah, it’s a Canadian-Finnish co-production, so that’s how I found my way into it.

With Belle, you mentioned how important it was for you to work with a female director who was making her second film. Is it important for you to work with female directors in general?

Absolutely. I’m always on the hunt for a female auteur. I had an incredible experience working with Amma [Asante], and I thought she did a great job on Belle.

I understand that, for The Girl King, there was a portrait of your character, Ebba Sparre, that helped you to find your character.

Yeah, there was this really cool picture of Ebba that Christina had commissioned. It definitely helped me find my way in.

I remember that a portrait was important to getting the ball rolling on Belle. Did you refer to that portrait in a similar manner, or were there different approaches?

I think it was different because the portrait of Ebba is just of her, on her own. It’s commissioned by Christina, so there’s obviously a lot of meaning behind that. But with the picture of Dido and Elizabeth [from Belle], it was a huge thing for a woman who had mixed background to be in the same portrait as an equal to a white woman. So that portrait specifically says a lot more, I think.

Last time we spoke, you talked about your interest in perhaps directing a short film. Are you developing anything?

I am definitely developing things. I’m looking to produce things. It’s something that I’m actively doing.

And you have a couple of TV projects coming out next?

I have one TV project coming out. It’s for Hulu. It’s a limited series, nine episodes. It’s called 11.22.63. It’s based on the Steven King novel, and it’s about a man who goes back in time to stop JFK’s assassination. James Franco is the lead, and that’s coming out on President’s Day, so I’m really excited about that. And then I just did another film called Indignation that’s coming out in the new year. James Schamus directed that. It’s his directorial debut, and it’s based in the Philip Roth novel. I’m really excited about that, too.

What can you tell me about your characters in those projects?

In Indignation, I play a woman who’s based very much on Sylvia Plath. She’s a very bright but troubled girl. And in 11.22.63, I play a librarian from the 1960s. She’s got a lot of gumption, and she’s a real Southern girl. It was a lot of fun doing both roles.

For more information, please visit the official A Royal Night Out website.