(A lobster is his unorthodox pick.)
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: First of all, congratulations onThe Lobster.
Colin Farrell:Oh, thanks.
Despina Spyrou
Its such a beautiful, unique, absurd piece of filmmaking and theres nothing else like it out there.
Im so happy that its got a chance to have a life in the States.
It was two years ago that you shot the film, right?
Despina Spyrou
And put on all that weight.
Yeah, I ate like my life depended on it.
I put on quite a pile in eight weeks.
What was the motivation behind that?
Well, he wasnt written that way.
He wasnt written with any physical definition at all.
And so Yorgos and I talked about me dropping a bunch of weight and looking quite famished.
But then I said, I bet this guy was something of a comfort eater.
But he mightve liked his grub.
See, thats quite sweet actually.
Ive been surprised by a few people who have accused the film of being cruel.
Right, the cruel thing.
And they do it with such great humor.
[Laughs] Oh, dont you love that?
It says so much with just one little line.
You could also throw Chuck Palahniuk in there.
And hope exists on the fringes of all of Yorgis work.
And withThe Lobster, it lets the audience decide what my character might do in the name of love.
The real question is: Does he do it?
I couldnt tell you.
In the film, there is no before; there is no after.
Thats the thing about Yorgos.
He doesnt want to get into conversations with his actors about backstory and objective and intention.
But…does he do it?
Honest to God, part of me thinks he does it.
And part of me goes to the third option.
That he doesnt do it but he goes back to her and tells her that he did.
There are so many different options.
And each kind of speaks to the viewers sensibility, right?
Yeah, and emotional proclivities and perspective and outlook on the world.
I have friends who are more romantically inclined and they say, Oh, absolutely he did it.
Each are as valid as the other, man.
But what about you?
As an audience member, are you more romantic or cynical?
Hmm, its weird, Im too close to it.
But I never took it past that point of deliberation.
You mention that Yorgos casts people based on their work and trusts that theyll all get it.
He did assemble one of the coolest casts here and you got to work with all of them.
I mean, Olivia Colman is extraordinary.
Ben Whishaw is such a beautiful person and a beautiful actor.
John C. Reilly is so deadpan and funny and Rachel and Lea Sedoux.
Every one of them.
And the Greek actress Angeliki Papoulia.
She plays the heartless woman.
Incredible, fing incredible.
None of us got together and said, Lets all deliver our lines as slack as possible.
That wasnt a general consensus that was arrived at.
Youve talked honestly about the ups and downs in your career, but how do you gauge those?
I mean,Alexandermade a lot more money thanIn Bruges, for example.
But it wasIn Brugeswhich was a great service to me, career wise.
AndThe Lobsteris such a fantastic movie, but it isnt going to make $100 million.
So how do you judge success?
That experience strengthened me, it emboldened me, it made me ask questions about my own craft.
Thats a very good perspective.
Its such a crapshoot.
So many things have to coalesce for a film to work.
Its a miracle that any films work, considering all the moving parts.
