29 March 2008
The Scotsman
By ALISTAIR HARKNESS
(This is Jessica's section of the interview. If you
wish to read the full interview it can be found here.)
"I think it's the best film to come out of this
country in a decade," says Jessica Hynes, who
plays Will's Plymouth Brethren mother, Mary.
Nestled below deck in a neighbouring barge, the
actress and writer - still better known by her
maiden name of Stevenson - is adamant that Son
of Rambow is the best thing she's been in.
"I just love it completely and feel very lucky
to be part of it," she says. Playing a widow
trying to deal with conflict that arises from
her duty to her religion and her duty to her
son's happiness, Hynes is underselling her
contribution somewhat: she provides the emotional
weight that helps ground the film's more
whimsical flights of fancy. Still, it was
the boys' story rather than her part that
made her want to do it.
"I love the way that Rambo inspires them in
such a sweet and gentle way. They sort of see
in him the noble qualities of manhood that are
possibly lacking in their own lives because
neither of them has a father figure."
It's not hard to understand why this aspect
appealed to Hynes. The Brighton-raised, National
Youth Theatre-trained actress shot to prominence
alongside Simon Pegg as the co-creator and
co-star of cult British sitcom Spaced, which
understood the importance of pop culture in
shaping people's lives. "We were just swamped
with American television and films growing up
in the 1980s and 1990s and it did inform how
we saw ourselves and how we saw the world," she says.
Ironically, that show is about to be exported
to America - though without the blessing of
its creators. "It's a shame they didn't ask
us," she says, archly, of the production company,
Granada. "Legally, they didn't have to, but it's
pretty insulting... We made a programme that has
made them hundreds of thousands of pounds and
they sell it to America without even telling us..."
She can console herself with the fact that Spaced
continues to inspire a devoted following, though
its success did have an odd effect on her. While
Pegg and Spaced director Edgar Wright went on to
take Hollywood by storm with Shaun of the Dead and
Hot Fuzz, Hynes says she lost confidence and
"nose-dived a little", losing interest in a script
she'd been developing, and starring in critically
slammed sitcom According to Bex. "I felt quite
lost, actually. Simon and Edgar had ideas about
what they wanted to do next, and they didn't
involve me. I also had two young children and
was a bit at sea with that. For some reason it
was a dark time. I can't explain it, it just
affected all aspects of my life, including the
creative part, and I made some really dodgy
career decisions, because I was a bit all over
the place."
With Son of Rambow opening and two screenplays in
development, Hynes is adamant that she's back -
but under no illusions about how difficult it is
going to be to get her films made. "It just takes
so long. Son of Rambow took (Garth] nearly ten
years! So God knows. Hopefully it won't be as
long as that."
Son of Rambow is released on 4 April.