Hi Peter, how are you? Good. How are you?
I'm very well. Thank you very much.
Very well.
All the better for seeing your wonderful film on Friday, which was.
Which was a joyous experience. I thank you very much.
I'm glad you enjoyed it. That means a lot. Thank you.
I did. This time.
I did cry a bit, and I had my mask on, so I wasn't there for a look.
But it is the times that we're in these days.
So I wasn't going to have a happy ending.
And then dates and dates to take me back to when you did this
in the 120 seat theater with Hayley [Bennett] and doing it and then stepping into it.
And in the movie, did you did you anticipate that it would have
the kind of life, this new life for there now that you've had to it now?
No, I've stopped anticipating anything a long time ago
because I'm always so surprised what life will give you or
if you're if you think something is going to happen
and you're set yourself up for disappointment
that sounds bleak, but it's it's truly it's just
it's like a healthier way of living.
And serendipitously, Joe [Wright] came to the stage version of the show
to support his partner, Hayley Bennett, who plays Roxanne.
And in doing so, he ended up falling in love with Erica's production.
And are me and Hayley are performances.
So he was inspired to want to make it into a film
because I think it lends itself to that already because Erica Schmidt,
our adapter and screenwriter and original director of the stage
production is a very cinematic style to her or her storytelling.
Visually, it's always very arresting and I think Joe is completely inspired
by that as well. Yeah. Yeah.
I was telling Joe as well my entry point into so and I was Roxanne
because I'm a huge Steve Martin fan and it's a great movie.
Yeah.
It's one that such a wonderful film actually watched it the night I saw seven
on a Friday afternoon and then went home and watched Roxanne a good double bill.
It said something about the material, though, that it's been able to have all of
these different interpretations.
So when you came into it, did you
immediately see something different that hadn't been done before
and that you could bring as a performer bring to it
something different than everybody else has done before?
Yeah, I mean, I hope to bring something different.
I mean, what Erica did was she did something radically different.
She got rid of the nose which everybody knows you're in it because of the nose.
So if you get rid of the nose, what are you left with?
You're just you're basically left with the universal story of everybody
feeling unworthy of being loved.
And that's your nose
issue.
I mean, he's brave in so many other aspects of his life, except with this.
And he's terrified of not having his love
returned to him by Roxanne and the original.
It's all about because it's all sort of they blame the news
and my size is not a substitute for the news.
It just happened to be that I.
I really put the pressure on for the parks.
I just really wanted to play the part.
But she didn't write the part for me originally.
She just wanted to open it up and make it more universally
that universal feeling for everyone.
And I just happened to
play the part.
Yeah.
There's a wonderful intimacy that comes from it
with you guys singing live because a lot of musicals over the years,
you know, you make your acting decisions months before and you have to then
sing back to a backing track was playing on top of it.
Does that does that help you with that?
Because it certainly comes across on the screen.
There's a real kind of intimacy there singing live. Yeah.
Oh, yeah. I can't imagine doing it any other way.
It would feel like Lip-syncing, like an old cheesy music video.
I don't think I can get through any of the love songs.
If I was singing, it would be you probably end up laughing, Haley
and I and Kelvin [Harrison Jr.] would just be giggling too much to get anything done that day.
But singing live, you're really connecting with the other actor
that you're singing with.
Or if you're singing alone,
the quiet intimacy that you can modulate in terms of
like anything else, not singing, you just you control the performance of it.
Yeah, pre-record or do it later.
It sort of feels for me it would feel a bit more tacked on,
especially with something that's so emotionally charged as this piece.
Yeah. And forgive me for asking this.
I'm sure all people have asked is, But tis tis Christmas season
and obviously the rewatches of Elf will will come out, I'm sure.
Around. Around. Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
Have you been surprised as to how the legacy of that film is continued now?
Because I remember seeing it for the first time.
I think it Will Ferrell announced, I'm not too sure, but now it's like
it's a staple of Christmas time for people to sit and watch that film.
Oh, no.
I mean, it's it's
Jon Favreau did and such an incredible director, did such an incredible job.
And Will Ferrell is just he's it's kind of like Christian.
It's just like a character that's all heart and all well-intended
and just kind.
And how rare is that to see the, like, the kindest character in a film?
We're used to all these cynical characters,
especially in American cinema, and shoot em ups and all that.
And it's just a movie that you can completely enjoy with the whole family.
And I'm so proud of that film a minute for very little at the end of the film.
So I can say it's a great film
because it's not about me.
It's about Will Ferrell. And the rest of the cast.
And yeah, they just did a really beautiful job with it.
Thank you so much for your time.
It's absolute pleasure talking to you. Thank you. All right. Be well.