[IMG:L]Otherwise known as the bloke who broke Angelina Jolie’s wedding seal, British actor Jonny Lee Miller first splashed onto the cinematic scene with his cult flick Hackers (1995), alongside ex-wife, Ms. Jolie. However it would be in 1996, with his drug-induced performance in the critically acclaimed hit, Trainspotting, that he would stun audiences worldwide while showcasing his creative range.
These days, Miller is challenging his athletic threshold in The Flying Scotsman, the inspirational true-life story of Graeme Obree. An unemployed amateur and determined visionary, Obree broke the World One Hour cycling record by designing and constructing his own unconventional bike using washing machine parts. In an interview with Hollywood.com, Miller reveals his obsessive journey into the tumultuous world of a depressed and skilled cyclist.
Hollywood.com: Had you done much bicycling before this?
Jonny Lee Miller: I used a bike in London and that’s it. I learnt a lot about biking, and really got into. Now I cycle regularly.
HW: What was your training process for such a physical role?
JLM: I spent a couple of months just riding a bike doing my own training in the streets. To get professional training was logistically difficult because I would have to travel to another town–so I only had a few training sessions. I tried to ride to work as mush as possible, and train that way. I also tried to eat right.
HW: Did you meet Graeme Obree before filming?
JLM: Graeme Obree, Laura Fraser [who portrayed Anne, his wife], the director Douglas Mackinnon and I sat down and had very open, frank discussions. He was very helpful. And then Graeme was around for the production and filming. He would come down especially when we were doing the track stuff. He was invaluable. He became another member of the prop department fixing bikes with us. He also doubled for me a couple of times.
HW: Was there anything he was opposed to in the script?
JLM: The only thing he was worried about is upsetting [his fellow, co-competitor–champion cyclist] Chris Boardman. Graeme’s a very considerate guy and wasn’t concerned about himself.
HW: The Flying Scotsman shows Graeme breaking the World One Hour cycling record–only to then reveal him losing it the week later.
JLM: It hit him really hard but it was another drive for him to get it back. Straight away, he decided to go for the world championships, which is a completely different discipline. I think that he immediately shut that [loss of the record] off, and go for something else.
HW: Was it painful for Graeme to see those scenes when he is having a breakdown?
JLM: He wasn’t around for those scenes, for his sake and mine. It would be too weird so we asked him not to be around for those scenes and he totally understood.
HW: What type of depression did he have? Was he born with it, or was it a result of life experiences?
JLM: He was diagnosed with bi-polar…which is chemical, so the other stuff from his childhood did not help but I don’t see that as a cause.
HW: It’s amazing that the years of Graeme’s depression didn’t take a toll on his marriage with Anne.
JLM: She is incredible like that. She’s always smiling and she really, really loves him–and that’s what it comes down to. She is incredibly supportive of him, and helped him through with all of that. She really loves him and that’s all there is to say really.
HW: How has this character inspired you?
JLM: It’s not really about inspiration, but the respect you develop for professional sportsman when you especially get to know them pretty well; and the sacrifices and amount of work. He always wanted to do things his own way, and the way he overcame things was by acting on his ideas. All the things about [making changes to the bike]–he would get an idea and act on it. … So many times, you don’t look at a different way of approaching things. He also bounced back from not liking himself as well, and getting over that.
HW: What was Graeme’s feedback or reaction of your role?
JLM: He was really nice about it. He was so complimentary. We were shooting a special effects shot and I was on a static bike in front of the green screen and I had to pretend to be really, really exhausted; and the day after Graeme made me a wooden statue and presented it to me, so he was very encouraging [smiles].
HW: When you’re portraying a real life person who’s still alive, how do you create your own character, and stay true, without mimicking him?
JLM: One thing I didn’t want to do is mimic, especially when it may not fit because people don’t know him. When you are playing someone like Mohammed Ali, you got to do a lot of that because he’s such a well-known character, but with Graeme, I just wanted to do a little of that, and it just fits with the way that we would approach problems or handle things. His mannerisms really inform that to me. There are also a couple of documentaries of him being interviewed, which I got a hold of, and I watched them a lot over and over again, but having him around really helps. I’m really sort of bad at that anyway; I’ll start to pick up accents that I hear or physical things as well.
HW: Your passion to act is so clear by your diverse choices–do you prefer theatre, TV, or film?
JLM: Theater is just so much more satisfying than film or television just because you deliver the whole thing from start to finish in one evening, and you can tell if people have enjoyed it or not. That’s great to do every night to go in front of a full room of people and tell the story. There’s nothing like that really.
HW: Did you ever think Trainspotting would become such a phenomenon, or historically important film?
JLM: We knew that the film we were making was pretty good, and had a sense that it would be ok–but you never now until after, or years later, and then you can be objective about it. … We were proud of it.
HW: Have you and Danny Boyle thought about doing the book’s sequel, Porno?
JLM: I know that they have thought about writing that script but the characters are a lot older, and there’s lots going on; so I think he wanted us to be actually physically be a few years older, maybe five years or something like that. I can’t speak for the other guys but I’d be interested in doing it if it had a good script. The script for Trainspotting was amazing and it was different from the book. The book is told from different perspective and it’s [made up with] lots of different stories.
HW: Do you have a genre preference when choosing a film to act in?
JLM: No because I don’t like to be type cast. I like to play different types roles, but I’d like to do a comedy next.
HW: What’s next on the horizon for you?
JLM: I shot a pilot for ABC, but we don’t know if it got picked up yet so we have to wait a couple of weeks to hear about that. If it gets picked up, I will have to sign a contract. It’s called Eli Stone and I play Eli, a high powered lawyer who starts hearing things and seeing weird things that lead him to take on a case he wouldn’t normally take on–to help a woman and her child. Then he’s diagnosed with a medical condition. It’s ambiguous as to whether he’s seeing things because of his brain, or if there’s something more spiritual to it. It’s sort of a drama-comedy. It’s got a great script and the possibilities, when doing something like that, are quite enormous.
