I’m very thrilled.
I love working with Chris, I’ll do anything for him.
Within reason.
Oh, you know, he can do everything, can’t he?
If he says he’s gonna do it, he’ll do it, and he’ll find a way,
and he challenges himself to push his bar,
and he continuously, consistently, sort of,
meets that bar and then pushes it a bit higher.
So, you know, he’s the gold standard of directors, really.
I’m in the air.
I’m in the spitfire over there.
-That must have been pretty exciting? -Awesome, yeah.
There was a lot of boys that want to fly spitfires, you know.
And I guess I’m secretly one of them,
so I got to strike that off my fantasy bucket list, in some aspects.
It’s a bit like being in a nice, big, British, you know, Triumph motorbike,
The engineering is awesome.
I think it’s a fairly intimate, contained movie,
but epic at the same time.
And it’s set in four different areas, like you said, you’ve got the lads…
I don’t wanna give too much away,
but it shoots back and forth between various people who were involved,
either on the beach or trying to get to the beach.
And then, obviously, it’s a tremendous human story, where, actively,
the public decide to go, ‘Actually, we’re gonna go get our boys back,’ as well.
And they did.
So, it’s a big story, and it’s intimate, too, and it’ll be epic, as well.
I just think whenever Chris Nolan makes a movie, you know it’s gonna be prestigious.
It’s gonna be good, it’s gonna be really good,
and a lot of hard work will be put into it,
and the people that work with him across all elements and departments
are at the top of their game and pour in everything they’ve got.
So, you can guarantee you’re gonna get your money’s worth.
But also, with this particular story,
it’s a historical story which needs to be told and remembered, lest we forget,
the sacrifices that have been made, only in the last 60…
it’s not long.
The war finished 60, 70 years ago. I mean, it’s not far away from now.
And it’s almost like we’ve forgotten that sense of what warfare is, really.
So, it’s an important subject, and told beautifully by Chris Nolan.
Yeah, it’s very, very busy over here, and quite overwhelming,
as per something with a Nolan production, everybody comes out for them.
Amazing, you know, I mean, it was an amazing script on the page
and I think it’s turned out to be an extraordinary film,
so, that’s always what you want.
Well, my character, actually, is the only one I think
that exists on two of the intersecting timelines.
So, you see him, sort of, before some terrible calamity,
and then you see him on the boat, on the Moonstone.
Well, I mean, everyone’s talked about how Chris likes to shoot things for real,
and he does
So, there was real spitfires, real destroyers.
Things were going off and exploding, the sea was on fire, that all happened,
you know, and it makes the audience experience it, I think, like,
much more than something that’s computer-generated, you know.
Well, I watched it and you’re, kind of, holding your breath for the whole movie.
It’s one of the most tense cinematic experiences I’ve ever sat through.
So, that, to me, is like pure cinema, you know.
Well, the films speak for themselves, don’t they?
You know, he operates in these big, huge blockbuster films,
yet within them, I think they’re stimulating and sophisticated
and make you think,
and always got very strong performances in them, so that’s, kind of, what you want.
Very excited to work with Christopher Nolan,
who’s a great filmmaking hero of mine,
and on something where the subject matter is very rich,
it’s important, it has a lot of meaning for people,
on the basic human level of a heroic, courageous determination not to give up,
which is applicable to lots of things in life,
but also has a special place for the British public, I think.
The unbelievable attention to detail and a great combination of head and heart,
that I think was perfect for this material.
He’s really a master at the top of his game,
and so it was great to watch somebody like that,
who was in such control and in such fine form.
Yeah, and I’m land, although a Navy man,
my job is to get the men away from the beach by a breakwater called the mole,
a long bridge, if you like, that stretches out to the water,
it’s under attack,
the tide fights the chance to get it done efficiently,
and everybody wants on those boats,
and his job is to stop panicking, try and organise the logistics,
and keep hoping.
Well, you feel as though you’re right there in Dunkirk, on that massive beach.
You feel as though you’re right on the edge of Europe
and right on the edge of Europe, you can look across and see home,
so you feel that, kind of, suspense, you feel that scale.
We were surrounded by real people, real boats, real planes,
so we didn’t have to do much acting.
Something very visceral, I think
very visceral, very emotional, it goes straight into the adrenal system.
If you wanna know what it feels like to be a sitting duck, vicariously,
it’s a couple of hours in the cinema that I think gets very close.
It’s a thrill to work with Chris,
and it was an honour to play one of these people who was so brave,
one of these civilians.
I can’t tell you anything, I don’t wanna give away anything.
I think it’s gonna be a thrilling film, I feel confident to recommend it,
though I haven’t seen it yet!
It’s very big, it’s a 70mm camera that filmed it, and Chris is an expert,
so I think you wanna come out and see this one at the IMAX,
rather than on a screen at home.
Unless you’ve got an IMAX at home.
Maybe some people do.
His attention to detail, and he and Emma work,
I mean, it obviously isn’t a student film,
but because they’re working together as Producer and Director,
you feel like you’re working for a family, so it’s very nice.
A lot of excitement.
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