Jeremy Northam interview

A rare 2002 interview with Jeremy Northam about Possession, from Star Interviews, copyright Prairie Miller via Cineman Syndicate.

Your Possession leading lady Jennifer Ehle said that she was with you right after 9/11, and she said she had nothing to do around that time. She was with her fiancé.

JN: That's right.

*Anyway, Jennifer said that whenever you have nothing to do and you're in England, you have dinner with Jeremy.

JN: Is that so! I'm not sure quite how to take that. No, she came up to my home for a couple of days because she'd gone back to London to sell her apartment there, and had a fire. So she was without a home. So I said, well come and visit my place up in the countryside. So they came and stayed for a couple of weeks. Which was really nice. I wasn't there all the time. They just squirreled themselves away! But I don't know how to take that. I mean, the part about when you don't know what to do in England, have dinner with Jeremy. But I like to cook. So...

*Would you say you then, that you're sort of a last resort for people who can't find anything else to do.

JN: ....Must be!

...

*What was it like getting romantic with Jennifer Ehle in Possession?

JN: What do you want to know?

*Oh, anything you care to tell!

JN: Jennifer was a lot of fun, it was nice. It was, you know, kind of like a no nonsense approach to the work. Because it's always potentially a bit fraught when you're trying to portray passion.

*How come?

JN: Because you know everyone is watching it like hawks, whispering things like, have they got chemistry, and all of that stuff. But I think we supported each other well in that process, and had a lot of laughs doing it. Because another thing, I think you can't take it all too seriously whilst you're doing it. Otherwise it can be a very long day. So we had lots of laughs too.

*Jennifer said that when she looks at the screen, all she can think about is "my awful jaw". When you look at the screen, do you see the attractive heartthrob romantic lead that we see, or do you put yourself down?

JN: Uh, do I see an attractive heartthrob when I look at myself on the screen? No! [more]

Scroll to the end to read the bit about where he's told "You were very good in 'Bridget Jones's Diary'!".

Thanks to Jenny from the Possession group-read for this article.