Caffeinated Clint
For the downunder release of “Stardust”
In the new fantasy film ‘’Stardust’’, young English actor Charlie Cox plays the central character of Tristan, a naive but optimistic chap who ventures beyond the wall surrounding his little village to retrieve a fallen star as a trophy for Victoria, the woman with whom he’s smitten. On his journey through the wild world outside, he encounters witches, pirates and ghosts…and finds that the fallen star is actually a beautiful young woman named Yvaine (played by Claire Danes). It’s a fantastic voyage for Tristan, and one to which Cox could certainly relate.
“It was as weird for me as it was for the character,” he said with a laugh. “The character is entering uncharted territory, and in a way I was as well. Playing the lead in this big movie was something I never thought possible. It still doesn’t feel real. I try to think back when I was struggling as an actor, and I wonder if I ever thought something like this would happen. I don’t think I did. You can’t expect this to happen.”
Cox, whose credits include supporting roles in ‘’Casanova’’ and ‘’The Merchant of Venice’’, was given the chance to help develop the character of Tristan by taking part in an extended audition process with ‘’Stardust’’ director Matthew Vaughn. “I think because the audition process was so long for me – it took such a long time for people’s minds to be made up and for everyone to be seen – I ended up doing it numerous times with numerous people with Matthew there,” he said. “So we would have conversations about it as we were flying to various locations. I was still auditioning, really, but it felt like an extended rehearsal period.”
He admits that it wasn’t until late in this process that he was actually offered the lead role. “Towards the end, when they were flying me to places, I started to feel more confident. The fact that they hadn’t offered it meant that there was something out of place. I think what it came down to was finding the right Yvaine. They actually ended up offering it to me right before we cast Claire as Yvaine because I’d gotten another job offer.” And while Cox admits there were times when the prolonged process was frustrating, “it’s rare that you get to audition for the lead in a movie of this magnitude”.
Taking on the lead in a big-budget fantasy – and appearing alongside the likes of Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer, both of whom have eye-catching supporting roles in Stardust – would naturally seem to be every young actor’s dream. But one can imagine that there would be a fair amount of pressure accompanying the experience. “It was a bit of both,” admitted Cox. “Very intimidating and scary at times but also a huge and very exciting opportunity. But I was feeling more and more confident in my ability to deliver what Matthew wanted, so that was a bit of a safety net. To this day, though, I still hope that I did a good job and made the correct choices.”
The long audition process also gave Cox the chance to really gain an understanding of his character. “I liked the idea that Tristan sees the best in everyone – he’s severely embarrassed on a number of occasions at the beginning of the film and he could be quite down on life,” he said. “But he wasn’t seeing things the way everyone else was seeing it – he’s so in love with Victoria, so in love with life, so excited about seeing the world. And everyone else in his village is muttering behind their backs ‘He’s just so confused, isn’t he?’ But he keeps going back to Victoria’s window, no matter what.”
Primarily, though, Cox saw his job as providing a human core for a flight of fancy. “The film is a love story, and so the characters played by Claire and me have to be believable – you have to believe in their feelings for one another, you have to board the emotional rollercoaster they’re on,” he said. “All the external, fantastical things – the witches, the pirates, the magical kingdom – can only make sense or be believable if you believe in the love story. Otherwise it’s just farcical. That was the challenge – keeping it real in a totally fantastic world.”
Stardust opens in cinemas Thursday September 20.
– GUY DAVIS
