Interview: Bruce Willis, Dame Helen Mirren & Mary-Louise Parker
Red alert
Holly Cozens catches up with Bruce Willis, Dame Helen Mirren & Mary-Louise Parker as they talk about their latest action-filled adventures in new film RED 2
It’s not every day you rock up to the Embankment Pier, London, in the height of an incredible heatwave, to board a river cruise boat with a Dame, an award-winning actress and a world famous action star. Although I am reluctant to admit it, this is not just a normal everyday occurrence but in fact the setting for the press conference of RED 2, the sequel to the 2010 action-comedy RED, inspired by the comic book series of the same name.
Embarking on the boat journey and talking to me for the afternoon are Bruce Willis, Dame Helen Mirren and Mary-Louise Parker, three of the original cast who have all been happy to reprise the previous roles from the first film. In fact, both Mirren and Parker admit they are very lucky to play the characters they did in the RED franchise with an opportunity to do something they hadn’t done before: “It’s so much to do with luck,” Dame Helen so modestly states.
Prior to this however, before the anchor is raised and we set sail into a sea of questions and answers, we are kept entertained by Dame Helen and Mary-Louise’s relaxed chatter about the then soon-to-be-expected Royal Baby.
Mirren invites a show of hands to guess gender with a unanimous vote for a girl prompting her to declare: “We need more queens!”. Potential names are bounded around the boat before the announcement is made that Bruce Willis is about to grace us with his presence.
With the three of them finally in formation, it’s down to business as we all remember what we are actually here to do. Mary-Louise Parker, star of hit TV series Weeds and films such as Fried Green Tomatoes and Boys On The Side is one of the first to share her thoughts on encountering a more action-based role: “My character is kinda hopeless at action, she sort of fails miserably at it and it was fun to be bad at it.” Parker laughs as she goes on to describe her questionable driving skills in this movie: “They didn’t even trust me to pull out of a parking spot!”
Bruce Willis, a man much more familiar with being thrown into the action genre, tells us about his need to remain physically capable and how sometimes it’s not always just for his health: “Vanity plays a big part in my staying in shape.” RED 2 is laden with impressive stunts and I was curious to find out how much of them were Bruce Willis himself. “I’m not allowed to ever, ever be hurt.” A wry response but somewhat to be expected from such a valuable Hollywood commodity.
As time goes on, it seems fitting that as we travel past The Houses of Parliament in Westminster, Dame Helen addresses the comical nod in RED 2 to her channelling various Queens on screen and stage. Having won awards for playing both Queen Elizabeths (Elizabeth I in the TV series of the same name and Elizabeth II in Stephen Frears’ 2006 film The Queen), she jokes: “I so tried to wriggle out of that regal mantle.”
The writers wanted her to pretend to be the queen in a particular scene set in a mental asylum. “I suggested it should be Elizabeth I, I thought that would be a funnier take than the present Queen.”
While Mirren is distracting the guards with her amusing faux-delusional Queen impression, this is the point in the film where we are introduced to Sir Anthony Hopkins, someone who is no stranger to possessing the ability to portray a madman. In fact, RED 2 was able to bring both Hannibal Lecter’s together in a little piece of cinematic history on one scene. Brian Cox portrayed the cannibalistic serial killer/psychiatrist in the 1986 thriller Manhunter while Sir Hopkins donned the infamous mask in Jonathan Demme’s 1991 film Silence Of The Lambs.
All three of the cast express their content when asked about the additional members of their team recruited for RED 2 including Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Lee Byung-hun. “I feel very fortunate to work with these actors, all we’re trying to do all day long is make each other laugh and hope that gets onto the screen,” pipes up Willis.
Among some of the more enigmatic answers Bruce gives that day, there are a few glimpses into his personal life as we learn a bit about his childhood: “I wasn’t a comic book guy, I spent most of my time outside,” along with his real thoughts on his past as a croonster: “I can’t stand the sound of my own voice when I sing,” and his passion for old cars; in particular a Chevrolet Corvette.
This answer is in relation to a particular character in RED 2 making an extravagant red wine purchase, and both ladies ponder wistfully on what would be their dream buy. Mary-Louise has always wanted to own a Robert Frank photograph while Dame Helen expresses her interest in a hand-written letter from Elizabeth I: “A letter to the ambassadors, rejecting the hand of the King of Spain or something like that.” A welcome insight into the actors’ more personal tastes leads to further discovery about previous roles the cast would revisit if they could.
As the boat prepares to drop anchor, this question is a suitable ending to the journey, yet again provoking thoughtful replies from the girls and Bruce to continue with his ambiguity. While both have reprised roles in TV – Helen in Prime Suspect and Mary-Lou in Weeds – Mirren discussed her love for ‘Cal’, the 1984 Irish film in which she starred alongside John Lynch. Parker’s choice is to go with one of her theatrical performances in Paula Vogel’s 1997 hit How I Learned To Drive, as she mentions that she will actually be able to fulfill this desire thanks to a reunion reading happening this summer with co-star David Morse.
So that is that; as congratulations are uttered to the departing stars, I am hit with a reluctance to head back to the sweltering streets of London after my leisurely river cruise. Once again, forgetting the purpose of my afternoon treat which was to return with some fascinating stories surrounding the RED 2 experience from all three major stars. Ah well, two out of three ain’t bad.
RED 2 is released 2 August, showing at Odeon and Cineworld.
