‘I’d like to be trapped on a glacier’
Author: By A Correspondent Date: 06 Jan 2008 Daniel Craig is upbeat about his new role in The Golden Compass. He tells us why
After the success of his role as James Bond, Daniel Craig is set to take on the role of Lord Asriel in The Golden Compass, which is based on the first of Philip Pullman’s trilogy of novels The Northern Lights.
The novels are collectively known as His Dark Materials. Since the actor has been an admirer of Pullman’s work for several years, his first question is...
Tell us how you discovered the books?
Through my family. One member of my family read it and said, ‘You’ve got to read these’. I did and now I’ve read them three to four times. I like good fantasy novels and Philip Pullman is a fantastic writer. I don’t think he set out to write these as children’s stories but that’s what they became and like all great children’s literature, they transcend the label.
How did the role as Lord Asriel come about?
It was kind of an accident really. The production was delayed and there was a different director at one point. I asked my agent to get me the low-down on it; you know what’s happening with Lord Asriel? Then Bond was happening and it went away. When Bond ended, I asked again about playing Lord Asriel. My agent phoned one of the executives at New Line and they asked if I wanted to do it? I said, “Of course. That’s a stupid question!” (laughs). So it just fell into place.
Which part of The Golden Compass appeals to you?
My fantasy for this movie was those movies I saw as a kid that scared you. Speilberg’s films always did that. With this, there are some adult themes in it. There are some scary moments for Lyra’s character and it’s dealing with interesting subjects and with proper emotions.
Is there a bit of the Victorian adventurer about your character Lord Asriel?
Yes, there is a little bit of the Shackleton in there. He’s a scientist so the adventuring is only a means to an end.
So, does Daniel Craig like adventure in real life?
Yes, I think there’s a part of me that likes it. We were filming on the glacier in Switzerland underneath the Jungfrau. We would fly in a helicopter and stay up there all day. We were so high that we couldn’t have walked down and if bad weather had grounded the helicopter we would have had to stay up there.
Actually, there’s a part of me that would have quite liked to be trapped up there for a couple of days (laughs). There was a little hut that we would have stayed in and I was happy to hear that there were a few beers in the fridge!
Could you have seen yourself taking a role like this, say, five or six years ago?
I don’t know whether I would have thought about doing it a few years ago. It’s a huge movie and it’s, kind of, a kid’s movie. But these books aren’t. They are something else, there’s so much going on. And whether or not we can get all of that into the movie is a moot point. Besides, these ideas are quite complex and controversial if you put it into a certain context. They raise great debates and everybody keeps saying that the Catholic Church is going to have a big problem with it. Well, I think that the Catholic Church is going to have broad enough shoulders for this. It’s going to serve them because people will start talking about it.
You’re referring to the books and the themes of organised religion. What’s your take on that?
There is a fundamental right to discuss all sorts of things — absolutely fundamental. Faith always needs a question, it needs to be questioned. For me, these books are spiritual and at the core of them they cling on to the story of creation. But it’s also about growing up, about being a human being and figuring out who you are and becoming better. These are total Christian principles. To see anything else in them, I think, is because people haven’t read them. They hear something and they make a judgment on it.
These issues will be there, it’s just that it is being done as a movie so we will have to be subtle about it. It can’t be that controversial. I wish it could. It’s a story about the right to be able to understand. Fundamentally, it’s saying, ‘Okay, that’s one way of looking at life but there might be another way.’
Nicole Kidman provides some scary moments.
(Laughs) Yes and she’s pretty good at it. She looks amazing in it and her character is nicely done.
Did you meet Philip Pullman?
Plenty of times. He is fascinating and passionate. We sat and had a meal and I wouldn’t say we got drunk but we had a couple of glasses of red wine and the conversation got going (laughs). He feels passionately about the books but is also passionate about life and I really like the man.
He seems to have given a lot of input into the film. Was that important?
Absolutely. I think it’s important that he has. He’s the man who knows and not to have had him around would be criminal.
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на ЗК не рискнула, а вот Лавка бы подошла. кроме Хоффмана там еще моя любимица Портман.
Я читала ,что уже полфильма снято 
