Peter Howitt has successfully made the transition from acting to directing. Perhaps most recognised for his role in the Liverpool-based sitcom Bread, Howitt made his directing debut with "Sliding Doors" in 1998, followed by "AntiTrust" in 2001. His latest film is the Bond spoof "Johnny English" starring Rowan Atkinson.
"Johnny English" is based on a Barclaycard advert. How do you turn an advert into a film and keep it funny?
The character was created for the commercial and somewhere in Rowan Atkinson's mind he thought, "I like this bloke, I wonder if we can do any more with him." But it was another ten years before you actually got a film. So it's not an easy lift, from one to the other.
Are you a fan of James Bond?
I am. Not as much as when I was a kid, but that's understandable. I think that the James Bond films have become a little bit samey and have slightly run out of ideas, after 20 years. But I do think Pierce Brosnan has given it a new lease of life. He could arguably be the best Bond since Sean Connery, and arguably the best one ever.
Did having comedians Ben Miller and Rowan Atkinson together make the set a funny place to be, or were they quite sensible?
Ben's not sensible. Ben just giggles all the time. Rowan is the opposite, he is very serious the whole time and doesn't laugh or joke at all. In fact, he gets his knickers in a twist quite a lot. He just doesn't have great confidence in himself and doesn't believe he is getting things right. Half the time you have to nurture him into believing that it will be OK, but I would rather have that than someone who thinks that everything they do is terrific.
Rowan and Ben got on very well. Rowan relaxed a lot when Ben was on set and he relaxed a lot when Natalie was on the set. Rowan is so accommodating, polite, and charming to everybody. There is nothing starry about him at all.
What was it like working with John Malkovich and how did he get involved?
John is a mad man, he is insane. He has no fear. "He knows no fear, he knows no danger, he knows everything" That is on the John Malkovich poster [for "Johnny English"], and it's true. He was just fantastic to work with. He is so clever and smart and knows exactly what is required for everything he does. He doesn't require a safety net. He didn't care what you asked him to do, he would just do it.
I don't even think we would have even thought of going to John with this film. We heard that he was fan of Rowan's and was interested in reading the script. So it came from him. We whisked the script off to him and had a quick chat on the phone and he said, "Yeah, I love it, let's do it." You wouldn't expect John Malkovich to do something like this, so it had to come from him.
You were previously an actor. What inspired you to direct?
I got bored with acting. Dressing up pretending to be someone else seemed like a really silly thing to do. But I did like telling stories, so I thought I would have a go at doing it from the other side of the camera. I never thought that it would work out, but it did. I was very lucky that I was able to make the transition. I'm sure there must be lots of people who would like the chance to do one and don't get to do either. I'm just a jammy git.
So you won't be returning to acting?
No, that's a bygone age.
You've played cameo roles in your other films...
Well, in "Sliding Doors", we just forgot to cast the bloke that I played. We got to that scene and suddenly realised that we didn't have anyone to play him. Gwyneth [Paltrow] said I should do it for fun. Then I played a tramp in "AntiTrust", which was fun. But I decided that it was a bit indulgent, so I don't think I'll keep that up.
Tell us about your next project...
My next film stars Pierce Brosnan and Julianne Moore. It's a romantic comedy set in the world of divorce lawyers in New York. They play divorce lawyers who come up against each other in court all the time and create a love affair. At the moment it's called "Laws of Attraction", but there's a film out called "The Rules of Attraction", and I don't think it's a great title anyway.
What's happening with another script you wrote, "The Other Half"?
"The Other Half", which I wrote before "Sliding Doors", was the film I was going to make next. We were all set to make it. The company that was going to fund it was happy to wait for me to finish "Johnny English", but just woke up one day and decided they didn't want to make it after all. The fickleness of showbiz!
