Dazed: In At The Deep End (March, 2009)
AFTER TOPPING THE CHARTS, FEIST HAS JUMPED INTO THE UNKNOWN BY MAKING HER FILM DEBUT OPPOSITE BRITAIN'S MOST VERSATILE ACTOR, CILLIAN MURPHY. HERE, THE PAIR RE-UNITE TO TALK STAGE FRIGHT AND ROCK DREAMS
The runaway success of Feist's last album The Reminder not only won the singer- songwriter numerous awards but allowed her to expand her artistry in unusual ways, from showcasing her love for shadow play and puppetry in her live show, to appearing on Sesame Street singing a custom-tailored version of her smash hit, "1,2,3,4". Now she's taken her love of performance one step further, making her acting debut in The Water, a short film inspired by her song of the same name. Directed by Broken Social Scene's Kevin Drew over two days in the wintry climes of Canada, The Water is a haunting elegy to lost love that opens with a long take of two men dragging a female corpse through snowy woods. Though all the characters' relationships are unclear, the laws of life and death are mysteriously transgressed, and they share a brief moment together before it all too suddenly ends.
Feist's co-star in this icy heartbreaker is Cillian Murphy - since appearing on the cover of Dazed back in 2006, this 32-year-old has continued to establish himself as one of Britain's most versatile actors, playing roles as varied as Batman's nemesis in Batman Begins and the romantic lead in period-piece Edge of Love, to appearing as both husband and wife in the upcoming psychological drama Peacock.
After Feist finished her mammoth world tour, Dazed reunited her with Cillian, on a break from shooting new film Perrier's Bounty, to talk about The Water and other shared artistic endeavours - from failed rock star dreams to their apprehensions about acting. They were so excited to see each other again, they broke out a pair of woolly jumpers and went for a bracing stroll in Regents Park...
Cillian Murphy: I'm obsessed with music. I've been a fan of Broken Social Scene for years - I went to see them play an amazing gig at the Scala about two years ago. I briefly met Kevin (Drew) backstage afterwards.
Feist: Kevin actually got the idea for the film after meeting you! It was something in your eyes that sparked the whole storyline. He didn't tell you that because he didn't want to freak you out! He came up to me and said, 'I have this idea for a story, and I want you to be in it. I think I could probably ask this guy to do it.' The fact that it
was for 'The Water' came later. He wanted to make a film and it turned out that he thought my song would suit it. My involvement came from that.
Cillian: But I never had a script for this, ever. It's very unusual for me to not have a script for a project. Kevin talked to me on the phone and emailed me all the time, but there was never anything on paper, which was fucking crazy! I knew the outline and that was it. The concept and the song appealed to me immensely. And the fact that it was independent. Back in the 60s, people collaborated together purely out of mutual respect, not for any commercial response, just purely to make something. That really appealed to me. There were no agents or publicists - it was just a few of us in the woods, making this thing.
Feist: I rented The Wind That Shakes The Barley and Breakfast on Pluto the day before you arrived on set. It wasn't until a month ago that I watched Dark Knight. I was on a flight and I screamed so loud! Cillian: Really?
Feist: (laughs) Yeah! You were so scary! Before this, I had only really been in high school plays. I was in one community theatre play when I was 17. The first time
I was ever written up in the paper, it said, 'This play is terrible, this is really the worst play Calgary has ever seen. The only redeeming factor might be Leslie Feist, who, to her credit, doesn't even seem to be trying to act, she's just being an annoying 17-year-old.' I remember reading it and I was like, 'They're right! I don't know what I'm doing!"
Cillian: I remember saying acting would be so easy for you. I firmly believe that there's a performance gene. Whether that comes out through singing or playing live, or what you do in your music video, it's a variation or expanded version of acting. So, if you can do that, you can absolutely go and act in front of the camera, and you do it really beautifully.
Feist: You know, I never put myself in the position of trying to be something other than a variation on my own theme. I took your lead a lot. There were scenes with you and David Fox (their co-star in The Water), and I just hovered behind the camera watching
it go down. You were doing so much with so little. Onstage, I just translate things to the back of the room. You unconsciously exaggerate everything.
Cillian: I'm a frustrated rock star. I've played in bands since I was 20. But it's pretty much a hobby because this is what I do. I'm less comfortable with actors making records than musicians acting. I'm a bit snobbier about it because you already have a platform as an actor. You find a lot of actors are frustrated rock stars. Feist: It's the cliché of the crossover-like, if you put out a record, it wouldn't be that out there. It wouldn't surprise me. There's something that happens where there's an instinct to be curious. You see bands, and their posturing is often more potent than what they started off doing. All that stuff is a variation on performing, or finding pieces of yourself to deliver. Over the years, I kind of went through all that, being in rock bands. You're thinking about yourself from the outside, which is an aspect of acting. What do you think makes musicians want to start acting?
Cillian: I guess it's so hard to make your living as a musician and I wasn't really good, so that was an important realisation, I think. You have to find some way of self-expression so, for me, that was acting. The other guys still play and they're really good, but I'm really glad it didn't happen. So often what happens is that you're signed, release a record and you're dropped. You get a lot of people who are eaten up by the system and spat out by it.
Feist: Bizarrely, record deals are usually the things that break up the initial kernel of joy. Record deals can actually be the kiss of death. Thank God I didn't get one until I was 28! I'd already made five albums before someone decided to put my record out! I may have only sold 20 of them, but I'm really glad I had gone through that. I barely understood how to weather being signed but luckily, I had ten years under my belt already. If you get a deal at 18, you're just a chewable little person. You often talk about going into theatre - I'm fascinated by the courage it takes to act live on stage. You're naked. I sling a guitar in front of me so I don't have to do that. Cillian: I started off in theatre. I keep going back to it and I intend on going back to it next year as well. It's the live element that makes it attractive and terrifying.
Feist: I guess it's the terror that is attractive!
Cillian: You can't recreate that connection you have with the audience. Making a movie is so piecemeal, and creating emotion in that environment is mechanical. Whereas with theatre, it's like a visceral reaction.
“A LOT OF ACTORS ARE FRUSTRATED ROCK STARS... I AM” ”
““IT TAKES COURAGE TO ACT ON STAGE... YOU’RE NAKED.
I SLING A GUITAR
IN FRONT OF ME SO I DON’T HAVE TO DO THAT.”
”
Feist: But I was really uncomfortable in my skin, trying to understand how to be that way. What was hard for me was not talking. I felt kind of mute without any words to imbue the moment with intention. But with you guys, you were saying so much without saying anything. Just the ability to control your emotions and relate to each other. I found it so fascinating. I don't know if I'd act again. I've been asked a lot and I've said no every time. I usually say no because it relies too much on that character, whatever script I've been given. I'm looking for the Jack White in Cold Mountain role! I feel I could do it if it's really in another era, another place and time... Cillian: You did the acting without any dialogue. That's the fucking hardest. You were thrown in the deep end. I'm telling you, try something with words!
Feist: Then you've got something to hinge it on. It was interesting. There were parts of my mind I don't think I ever checked out before. The day after we shot the movie, I swore I'd never do that again. It wasn't fun, I was scared I was doing it wrong. I feel ridiculous, though, sitting next to you talking about acting. For me, it's evident that it's a craft. It's silly to say I'm gonna do that now. First of all, I have no ambition for it. Second of all, I respect the métier. It's something that's in your blood. Cillian: We should work together again. I like to re-collaborate. I've worked with Danny Boyle twice and John Crowley, working on stage and film. I think it's nice. You establish a shorthand, a quicker route to the end product because there's a trust there. It's harder as an actor, because you're interpreting work, rather than creating work as a musician. But as you get older, you feel the need to make stuff happen for yourself, rather than wait for someone to offer you a job. So, I'm starting to produce a few bits. This piece is the perfect example of what I think people who respect each other's work can achieve by working together. I'm really proud of this film. It turned out for the best.
