I dont think anyones seen a Collins like this before, writer-director Burr Steers tells EW of Smith.
He was really brilliant and funny in the part.
Here, Smith expands on the films comedic moments and how he breathed new life into a tried-and-true character.
Credit: Jay Maidment
He also addresses his role as the pioneering artist Robert Mapplethorpe inan upcoming biopic.
I think with this it was pretty simple.
There was a great cast attached.
I tend not to overthink things.
I just go Oh yeah, Ill do that one, and here we are.
You definitely bring something new to this role, as Mr. Collins is very funny.
What inspired you to make the character more comedic?
It wasnt ever about making him comedic.
I thought it might be interesting if he were secretly in love with Mr. Darcy.
Still, hes asking women to marry him all the time and gets rejected.
How did that idea inform your performance?
These things arent over thought.
You have an idea and you run with it.
In that case, was the comedy organic for you?
Yeah, I did a lot of improvising, which was fun.
Little details from the book that it’s possible for you to pepper into the film became very useful.
What other details did you pull from Jane Austens original novel or Seth Grahame-Smiths undead take on it?
Did your fellow actors improvise on set too, or what was the dynamic there?
Not really, but Lily did with me in the proposal scene.
She was really cool [and] sort of flipped it up and mixed it about.
That was quite a fun gag to play.
Do you have a favorite scene or moment or line of your character?
I quite like the proposal scene.
Just added lines, I thought they were quite fun.
I listened to a guitar song calledMafuaby Yamandu Costa every morning and pretty much every day at work.
Its plucky and happy.
You have some exciting projects coming up, including the starring role ina biopic about Robert Mapplethorpe.
Why did you want to play this avant-garde photographer?
Im interested in that, and Im interested in his psychology.
I thought it would be a challenge, and I love New York.
