Known in Britain – and throughout the world for his brilliant comedy, Billy Connolly is equally talented at playing tough, dramatic roles. Still, it is surprising to find him starring with Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny, (special agents Dana Scully and Fox Mulder) in the long awaited film "The X-Files : I want to Believe" The movie sees the pair return to tackle the most difficult and ostensibly impenetrable case of their careers, a case that is eerily frightening, perhaps the darkest X FILE yet.
The story is shrouded in secrecy but this much is known: Connolly stars as Father Joe, a troubled Catholic priest who plays a key role in Mulder and Scully’s latest case. While there are no details of how he is involved, it is clear that the celebrated Scottish star has a pivotal part in the plot. We also know that the drama will take the complex relationship between Mulder and Scully into new and altogether surprising territory. "The X-Files: I want to Believe" comes out a decade after the last "X-Files" film and six years after the show went off the air.
“Billy is a great comedian and he’s got impeccable timing,” says director Chris Carter. “This is not a comedic role but I think comedians make terrific dramatic actors because of that sense of timing and I knew he would be great in the role, I wrote it for him. I loved Billy’s film Mrs Brown. That is another reason I wanted to hire him. Billy brings gravity to his role in this film. He also brings power and persona. He is wonderful actor. He immediately immersed himself in this part and understood it. He keeps his Scottish accent by the way.”
Moviehole caught up with Connolly to talk about the film. Q: What made your character, Father Joe, interesting to you? A: “He isn’t what he seems, I love playing people who aren’t what they seem, you know? I like the duality that lives in everybody. I love the two people that live in every single person, the fantasy they have of themselves and how that differs from the reality. Some people go the distance to make the fantasy a reality as well, and that makes them even more interesting. The character I play is a deeply disturbed man, a dark person. They’re always great to play (he laughs) because they do things you would never expect.”
Q: This is a pivotal role, isn’t it? A: “It’s a major role in the film, yes, without question. And I love that it is so dark. The darker the better for me, the happier I become. I can’t imagine anything worse than being in a big summer romantic comedy.”
Q: What did you bring to the role? A; “I brought my knowledge of individual people to the role – people I have known in my life who aren’t the biggest truth tellers.”
Q: Do you have any understanding of Catholic priests? A: “Aye I do, because I was brought up as a Catholic. I have several relatives who are Catholic priests and I had pals at school who became priests, sure. They are both dead now. I also have a cousin who is a nun and a cousin who is a missionary priest in Pakistan … and I am an atheist.”
Q: A total non-believer? A: “Well I just say atheist because it is a convenient title. I am not a believer.” Q: You are of course best known as a comedian but I take it there are no laughs in the film – at least not from your character? A: “No, there are no laughs at all, which is brilliant for me. I love that. It’s a challenge. I love challenging roles that are very different for me, like MRS BROWN or THE LAST SAMURAI, which wasn’t a comedy role. I played a soldier and it was just a joy for me, prancing about, walking and talking in a different way. And it is exactly the same with this film. I have to get used to using my body in a different way. You get to use your eyes.”
Q: What can you say about the plot and story in this movie? A: “I found it fascinating when I read the script. I was given it to read originally together with an envelope and I was instructed to send it back the following day by Fed Ex. I was told in no uncertain fashion that I was one of the weirdly lucky ones because I was allowed to take the script home on my own. They didn’t let many people do that so I was privileged. There are other guys who were watched when they read the script. I actually got to be in on my own with it so I’m in very rarified society; I read it on a plane and sent it back the next morning and I can tell you, it’s a page turner.”
Q: Of course you must be aware of the complete obsession with THE X-FILES around the world? A: “ I was quite interested in THE X-FILES, but yes, my daughter Amy (one of my four daughters) is one of the ‘X-philes’. She loves it all. She is so excited about this film and can’t believe I actually get to talk to Mulder and Scully and get to work with them. But I couldn’t tell her anything about the plot because I was sworn to secrecy. I actually dropped hints to my much older daughter in Scotland and then I was told how important the secrecy was so I had to phone her and say, ‘Please don’t tell anyone I told you anything.’ I told Pamela but she’s an exceptional case. She won’t tell anyone anything. She’s a shrink so she knows a thing or two.”
Q: What is it like working with David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson? A: “Oh, they’re brilliant. Gillian’s a lovely woman and very good at what she does and has done it for a long time. She’s very at ease with it. And David is so relaxed you almost think he’s not doing anything. He sometimes gives the impression he’s not acting at all but he is, because I know him. He’s really nailed this guy Mulder to the floor. I wouldn’t say what either of them are doing is easy and they are both immensely accomplished.”
Q: What’s Chris Carter like to work with? A: “He’s very good. He’s a lovely director, the kind of guy who lets you get on and do the work. You don’t get instructed on how to do it. You do it first and then he tweaks the performance. He presumes you know how to do it, which is a nice thing. It’s great mentally when someone gives you credit for knowing what you’re doing. “
Q: What do you think about the policy of keeping the plot a secret? A: “I love the secrecy because the basis of the secrecy is to please the person who’s genuinely interested in THE X-FILES so that there is not an anti-climax when the film comes out. It’s a little present for the audience, for people who love that sort of thing. There seem to be legions of people who are only too happy to spoil the surprise though, which is like telling people what they’re getting for Christmas and that is mean spirited. But there’s also something I quite admire in the anarchic side to getting hold of a secret and exploding it. There’s something about that that quite appeals to me. On the other side of the argument, you know. But if the secret gets out it won’t be through me. My name is on the script in huge letters.” Q: Can you discuss your acting style? I don’t think you are a method actor are you? David Duchovny told me you two had great philosophical chats on the set. You tell jokes and do not stay in character. A: “No, I don’t stay in character and I don’t like people who do. I think it’s pretentious and self-indulgent. I think if you need to stay in character for the whole movie, you need to consider what you’re doing for a living. Well really I’m kidding. If that’s the way you do it, then it’s fine, but no I don’t do that. I don’t think I could sustain that kind of thing for any length of time. I know people who do it and they’re awfully good but it’s not my cup of tea.”
Q: You have a long shaggy beard and rather wild hair at the moment; I assume that is for the character? A: “It is. Don’t I look terrible? I don’t know where to go at night looking like this, I look so repulsive. I look like a wino and I’m sure whenever I go anywhere people look at me and say ‘Look at him, is he okay?’ I can’t look nice. I have to go a round like this all the time and its kind of weird and unpleasant (laughs). I like to look like a pleasant kind of guy. But I look untrustworthy.”
Q: Do you find in general Billy, that people around the world look at your face and smile because you are so funny? A: “I do and have often said this to my friends and family: ‘My image of the world is happy. My world smiles.’ I look at people and they go ‘Hi’, so I think the world is in great shape. Some people think the world is a terrible place. I have traveled a great deal and I think it’s fantastic. People are usually delighted to see me. I think most people have got it wrong. The world isn’t as bad as they think it is.”
Q: Are you an optimist then? A: ‘I’m very, very optimistic. I’m always amazed for instance at how little people want. When I have been in Africa or India for whatever reason like charity, Comic Relief, I’m always astounded at what they ask for: they would like a pair of shoes, a pencil, a bicycle maybe. That would be a really big thing. Everyone presumes they want an ipod. They don’t. The people in the world at large, the Chinese, the Aborigines, Africans and Indians I’ve met – they just want the basics.”
Q: How do you balance film work and stand up comedy? A: “I like acting very much and I like the way it divides up my life between comedy and drama. Usually, for some reason known best to someone else, I get a film offer after I’ve been on the road for a length of time doing the funny stuff and I think. ‘That will be great, let’s do that,’ so then the movie takes me away from the road, from the concert roles. The two are quite different.”
Q: Can you explain how they differ for you? A: “I love the discipline of acting in a film, where I have to think of other people, whereas in my comedy life I only think of me, no one else, I’m up there, completely alone on the stage and what I say goes; there’s no one to correct me and put me right or put me wrong. It is liberating. It’s exhilarating. But it can also entrap you. I have to watch out for little traps and remember to be funny. You can become a Hitler because thousands of people every night are telling you how great you are and you can get carried away sometimes. Usually you don’t notice that until you come off the road and start shouting at your wife, screaming: ‘Where’s my f….. tea?’ You are so used to not having to be anywhere at a certain time when you’re on your own that you find yourself expecting room service in your own house! It can be quite distressing. (laughs)”
Q: Do you find that on movie sets you are answerable to people? Is it much more disciplined? A: “It is. On a film, another set of rules apply where I have to say exact words at a certain time so another actor can say the next thing in the script. That’s not required of me when I’m doing my comedy, I can say it differently every night. I talk about the same stuff but say it in a different way, with different words. Now on a film like this, what I do is quite rigid and if I lift a cigarette I have to do it at exactly the same time as I did the last time. So all these different disciplines apply, which I also find quite exhilarating. It makes me more human because if I stay out there on the road I become such an unbearable boor, shouting and getting my own way all the time. You slip into these things, I’m not saying I’m a bully or anything like but I’m very used to doing what I want the whole time.”
Q: Your children are grown up now. Are you still a big family man? A: “Oh yeah, I’m a great family guy. I love them all. I love my work too but I have to work because this is my job and I always spend all my money. I do have balance though. I go fishing, go out on my motorcycle. I read and I watch telly. I do have a lovely place in Scotland but my children were raised in America, first Los Angeles and now we live in New York. But I won’t hear a word against Los Angeles. I love it. I’m not one of those LA knockers. We moved to New York because my girls go to college on the East Coast and it means we see them. If I lived in LA I would hardly see them at all. How would they borrow money from a big distance? It’s so much easier for them when I’m nearby. I should change my name to ATM. There’s that sound that is so familiar: ‘ Daaaaaaddd’, when they want money. I am effectively an ATM (he talks in a robotic voice: ‘Would you like that in tens or twenties?’ (laughs). “
Q: How much has your background influenced you as a comedian? You grew up very poor. A: “Your background has little to do with anything. I think comedy comes from darkness, from inabilities. All the great comedians have been unable to do things, or they do things badly. Look at Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy. There were comedians like Dean Martin who were good at doing things but they’re few and far between. Most comedy is about inability. For example, with sex what’s funny is how baffling it is, not how great you are at it. It’s how complicated the whole thing is. It never ends. Great comedy is all about telling real things, the truth in a light way, so the audience goes ‘God that’s right, I’ve felt that’ and they burst out laughing. There’s a lot of truth involved that makes people identify with comedy because they recognize things in themselves. They can relate to it.”
Q: Do you really think background is irrelevant – that you might be equally funny and successful if you hadn’t had such a difficult upbringing? A: “All backgrounds are difficult. Paris Hilton’s background is difficult. You might say it’s easy because she’s got lots of money but life isn’t any easier for her than it is on a housing estate. It could be softer and more comfy but she’s been in jail and in trouble and that couldn’t have been comfortable, and dealing with all that paparazzi is a nightmare. I think your background textures what you’re going to do. It doesn’t dictate what you’re going to do. I don’t see myself as a victim of poverty.”
Q: Is that because you have had lots of therapy? You are of course married to a psychotherapist. A: “No, I came to that conclusion before I met Pamela, although she put me right on a few things because I was a bit of a drunk and all that. Sometimes you self medicate. That’s usually the working class answer to everything - throw a few stiff ones down you and that should sort it out, and the problem will go away. “
Q: What are your criteria for making movies? A: “ I think the films I have done that have been challenging have been great, whether it was FIDO or THE MAN WHO SUED GOD or THE DEBT COLLECTOR or THE BOONDOCK SAINTS. Some were small films that didn’t make it for whatever reasons that are beyond me, like distribution and this and that but I’m immensely proud of them. I went out of my way to do them because I thought they were great. So it’s nice making good films. Of course it’s nice when a lot of people see them but I don’t have a problem with films being overlooked either. If you look at my film record, right back to ABSOLUTION with Richard Burton, they’re good, they stand up. They are not all blockbusters but they are all good. MRS BROWN is a successful film because the people who saw it liked it a lot but it isn’t successful based on any other level, even though it got great reviews. I loved that one. It was on at Christmas and I watched it right through. Then I was on Michael Parkinson’s last show and they showed a clip from the film of me and Queen Victoria (Judi Drench) shouting at each other. I was so moved, my lips started to quiver. It was amazing.”
Q: A lot of people are going to see this one. That must be exciting. A: “It is exciting, of course. I think you can quite expect THE X-FILES to be successful, which is fun. It is great to be in a movie that a lot of people are going to see, That’s so different for me. And I can’t wait for some of those Scottish journalists to see what I’m doing.”
Q: Do you still play music? A: “I don’t play music for a living but I play with my pals. I play with Steve Martin and other guys. But I found a wee pub in New York where they play old time banjo and fiddle every Wednesday night and I’ve been along to explore the possibility of playing but I’m kind of nervous. I want to play with them but they’re a bit better than me.”
Q: It sounds like you enjoy a tough challenge. A: ‘I think it is great to do things that you find difficult. At one point I had great trouble with my music and I had to ask myself ‘Why am I doing this? Why do I continue to play when some other guy can play so much better than me? Am I just doing this because I can?’ I do think that sometimes it is good to do something just because it’s difficult. I like this film because it was challenging. There is no reason for me to be in an ordinary movie in the summer about food fights in college and stuff like that. They’re great for some guys but I would be out of place and the people who like me would wonder what the f … I was thinking about. So if I go to the lengths of being in a film and being in Vancouver for two or three months away from my family, I should have a good reason. It should be different and worthwhile. And this film is very worthwhile, I love it.”
THE X-FILES : THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE commences next Thursday
