Interview Luke Mably

Genres:

Ten Minutes With Luke Mably
by Cathy Edsey Collins

By the time my turn arrived for a discussion with this star of The Prince and Me, Luke Mably was into his fourth hour of interviews ¾ in the fifth city of his tour. No wonder this 28-year-old newcomer was nursing a cold and trying to hide his general misery. With his blue oxford shirt tucked haphazardly on one side of his jeans, Luke stared with watery eyes at his artistically arranged fruit plate and managed a wan smile as we began our conversation.

I had no choice but to talk to him like I was his mother. Vitamin C, eat that fruit, get some rest, I instructed.

Like a patronizing son, Luke nodded absently and began talking about his first major role in a feature film.

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Born and raised in London, Luke credits his interest in movies to the "really bad video horror films" he made as a kid. Education at a three-year drama school with "training that was quite intense" launched his burgeoning career.

Landing a small role in Danny Boyle’s 2002 sci-fi creepfest 28 Days Later proved to be his watermark.

"Danny Boyle was my hero after he directed Trainspotting, Luke smiled. "I got in at the last minute. The film was already cast. Danny actually wrote an extra character for me—a soldier—and kept adding to it. I am very grateful to him for that. He was brilliant. Being in 28 Days Later was a dream come true."

Luke was the first to admit that his blood-gushing, crazed character in Danny Boyle’s horror flick was a cool segue from his amateur video days but a huge departure from his princely role in the romantic comedy The Prince and Me.

Familiar with director Martha Coolidge’s work (Rambling Rose, Lost in Yonkers), Luke found himself in a screen test with Julia Stiles and eventually the co-starring role.

"Just before the screen test I watched every single one of Julia’s films," he laughed. "I did my research. A bit psychotic I suppose, but I wanted to know her work. She was very supportive…a wonderful person to be around. Brilliant. Very committed to her work and very genuine. Quite rare in this business."

Filming The Prince and Me proved to be challenging to the novice actor, surrounded by veteran co-stars James Fox and Oscar-nominee Miranda Richardson. "I know that I have a lot to learn. I demand a lot of myself. This was my first big showcase with a large audience and I wanted to do my best and not get fired. I would get quite cross with myself and very frustrated at times. I would ask myself ‘Was this funny?’

"But it was really exciting. It was hard work, but I loved it! I loved the car chases and would have loved to do all of them but insurance forbids it. I did as much as they would allow. And I had to learn to ride a horse from scratch in a short time. Two-hour lessons every day—I would love to continue that."

A screeching, gnawing sound interrupted the conversation.

"Oh that’s not the wind, that’s the building swaying," Luke explained in a whisper. "It woke me up during the night. I thought someone was actually in my room. Then I thought it was the rain. You get used to it. You can actually feel the building go slightly to the right and then slightly to the left." He seemed fascinated with this skyscraper phenomenon in the Windy City.

Brilliant!

cathy@reelmoviecritic.com