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HBO:
Both of these characters are fascinating.
What drew you to Bernard?
Ralph Fiennes:
When I first read the script, I didn't even know
who Doris Duke was, and I had never heard of
Bernard Lafferty. For me, it's a story about
someone having the courage to be who they
are. I was moved by the fact that she gave him
the blessing to sort of be who he is.
HBO:
How did you go about discovering what drives
him?
Ralph Fiennes:
Well, he's a lonely man I think. I always saw
him as sort of a lost figure drifting from one
job to the next. Physically he's very different to
me. But (director) Bob Balaban said, look,
we're going to call you Bernard and Doris.
This is loosely their story. He was suspected
of expediting Doris' death. And Bob did speak
to someone who knew her who said that he
was an absolute villain. But if you look at the
documentary that was done on Bernard, there
were people interviewed who said he
absolutely adored her, that she was like a
mother figure to him, and that he cared about
her hugely.
He did say that he loved his expense account
and he his expensive shirts and watches and
other things that she gave him. But I quite
like the way Bob's handled it, is that it is a bit
ambivalent at the end. But I played it that I
adored Susan. And the audience can decide
whether it's suspicious or not, but in my
head, I felt Bernard loved her.
HBO:
What are you drawn to in a role?
Ralph Fiennes:
It's hard to say. I just go on an instinct, kind
of a feeling I have. I suppose as an actor you
look for variety. I love the challenge of
variation. And usually if the characters are
contradictory, it's more interesting.
HBO:
What do you hope audiences take away
from the film?
Ralph Fiennes:
I think you can only hope that they're
intrigued by the characters and the way this
friendship slowly unfolds, and their platonic
love for one another. The drama isn't
particularly high octane. But I think people
will be intrigued by this relationship.
Susan's a wonderful performer and Doris is a
very entertaining person to watch. She's very
regal and idiosyncratic. So I think the drama
is how she starts off hardly noticing Bernard
and then slowly she starts to be drawn to him
and for the audience, that's when they begin
to wonder, where is this headed?
We were always treading a tightrope of what
were our own original inventions, which gave
us the freedom to create, and also referring
back to what public information there was
about Bernard and Doris. Ultimately, I hope
audiences are moved by it.
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Rocket Science DVD
"... A Poignantly Comic Tale." (Rolling Stone) Pre-Order your copy now from the HBO Shop (SM)!
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