Transciprts >> Chat Transcript for a press conference for Me Without You

This was an interview with more of the cast of Me Without You, I just posted the questions with Michelle.

Michelle, the obvious question to you is the accent. How did you go about getting your tongue around the English tones?
I had a lovely woman who was with me at all times. We did an hour of exercises in the morning and an hour in the evening, which gives you a very agile, muscular tongue. So it was a lot of work and there were lots of tricky words. I listened to a lot of books on tape and watched a lot of films that would be appropriate for where Holly was bought up and what her influences would have been. It was a challenge and at first I sounded Australian and then maybe New Zealand and I sort of went across the board.

Anna Friel – But also you stayed in the accent the whole time. I am really surprised when I hear her speak now.

Michelle Williams – Well I figured it was hopefully a sure-fire way to achieve an accent. To be really regimented and not let myself slip even when I was on my personal time, so that would inform my work time. It also made me feel like one of the group because I didn’t want to sound like the one drawling American.

Michelle, because of your long-running TV show you must have a very narrow window of opportunity to make films, so what was it about this one that made you want to take it?
Well we have a three-month hiatus in the summer and this actually didn’t fall into it, it fell in to October through January. It was something that I wanted so desperately to do and I hadn’t really asked for very much from the show. They were really commendable in their efforts to make it work because they did get me to London for three months and flew me back-and-forth and rearranged their schedule. They were so accommodating and every one really pulled together. It was a lot of work, but I owe a lot of thanks. At first I didn’t know who I was or what accent I had or what colour my hair was. But it was also quite euphoric; it feels quite good to be that exhausted. You know you are alive when you really need to go to sleep.

Michelle, what did you make of the Isle of Man?
Somebody described it as 35 alcoholics clinging to a rock. Actually the aesthetic of it was really appealing to me – the rolling hills and the dark greens and greys. I was really charmed by it, but it is also claustrophobic and lonely and cold and wind-beaten. It is like a time warp, you are not quite sure where this place came from – it has just sort of sprung up out of the ocean.

Did you work hard to create the friendship?
Anna Friel – We started working within 20 minutes of meeting each other. She got off a plane and came to the director’s house and then we started a series of intense improvisations. We also had adjoining caravans and so she couldn’t get away from me.

Michelle - She came in there and helped me with her accent and told me that I was doing well and I was going to be fine.

Anna Friel – We were lucky because we really did get on so well.

Michelle, how was it coming into this very fast changing era of English history?
There were a lot of things that I didn’t understand the references to. Biscuits to me mean gravy and bin-liners are trash-bags. Lots of things that I had assumptions about that proved to be wrong. Much of it is universal, being uncomfortable at 15 is universal, being confused and stroppy at 21 is universal.

Michelle, what did you learn about Jewish life and culture in playing your character?
The house that I grew up in had two neighbours on either side called Alison and Alison. They were both Jewish and I spent most of my time at one or the others house. I remember the foods and the festivals and the fasting and the candle lighting and for years I wanted to be Jewish. I was enamoured by the religion. It always seem mysterious and dark and beautiful to me.