Country Life
God’s Own Country writer and director Francis Lee interviews his two leading men about the film that has changed all their lives
FRANCIS LEE, DIRECTOR of God’s Own Country, has a box in his spare room. In it, he keeps his memorabilia — magazines and newspapers with articles about his debut film (there are a couple of issues of Empire in there) and all the awards it’s won. He’s just recently had to invest in a bigger box.
Grossing just over £1 million in the UK alone, the success of God’s Own Country — a love story set on a Yorkshire farm — has been remarkable. And the day after it won four British Independent Film Awards, Lee reunited with his leading men, Josh O’connor (Johnny) and Alec Secareanu (Gheorghe), to talk about their little film that blew up in a big way. Francis Lee: I’d be interested to know what your first impressions of the script were. Josh O’connor: I find it really hard to read for long periods, so I read scripts in sections, then re-read. But this one I read straight through. Then I read it again. I’ve never done that before. I’d like to read it again, as it’s like a novel. Everything in the film was written down — the sounds, the smells, the atmosphere. Everything. Alec Secareanu: I was first sent two scenes of the script to self-tape. Lee: But you hadn’t read the script? Secareanu: Not at that point, but I loved the scenes. The characters were very alive and I understood their situations. I read it thinking I could do the character, but also, a bit afraid of the explicit scenes. Lee: Which ones? Secareanu: The scenes with the lambing, and the skinning of the lamb. And of course the sex scenes, because I didn’t know how they were going to be shot. I just really wanted to meet you. Lee: What did you imagine I’d be like? Secareanu: The script came with a picture of you as part of a presentation about the project. O’connor: Oh yeah. Secareanu: You were in the Pennines, in your shorts, looking at the sunset. I found it very hipsterish, with the beard and the shorts. I didn’t know what to expect, but when I met you in Bucharest, we worked pretty well together, as I remember. Lee: And did you have any concept of what it would be like to work so closely
with another actor? Secareanu: You were very upfront about the closeness and the intimacy. And you told me we would have… “knob sockets”? O’connor: [laughing] Cock socks! Cock socks. They’re for decency. Lee: Okay, let’s not talk about this. Secareanu: But that was one of our first conversations, Francis. Lee: Yes, it was but, erm, Josh — how did it feel when you were cast? O’connor: It was incredible because it was quite a bit of time after I met you. I went to the Soho Curzon and saw you. I didn’t say anything and you didn’t see me. I just ran off because I thought, “Oh, he’s cast it, and I didn’t get it.” And then it was the next day I got the call saying I’d got it. It is really rare when you come across something where you think, “I have to do this,” so it was like winning the lottery. Lee: And what about you, Alec? Josh was cast, then we brought you over to the UK with two other Romanian actors. What was meeting Josh like? Secareanu: I was very open to it. Usually I don’t go to the meetings with any expectations because I do want to be in the moment and be able to react to what’s happening in the room at that particular moment. I was incredibly nervous. I remember coming into the room and you were both very nice with me. O’connor: I remember you calling me afterwards saying, “I know who I want.” And we didn’t discuss it, because you wouldn’t have wanted that, but it was obvious to both of us. There was total chemistry. For me, there was no question. Lee: Let’s talk about the prep, and how you felt about getting in character. O’connor: First of all, there were the two-and-a-half weeks of farming, where we both worked on different farms. You kept me and Alec separate so we didn’t have any relationship. Lee: Did you find that weird? O’connor: No, I didn’t find it weird at all. Secareanu: It was a bit, as every time we met, we wanted to bond. But we knew we were doing it for the good of the film. O’connor: It’s the first film where I’ve not been nervous for the first day of filming, because by the time we got there, it felt like we were already halfway through the job because we’d prepped so much. Lee: Do you think it was a good idea? Why do you think the director did that? Secareanu: [deadpan] You’d have to ask Francis. O’connor: For me, it was huge. My instinct — and you picked up on this very early — is to be warm and try to engage, but Johnny’s isn’t. And it definitely isn’t with Gheorghe. To counter my instinct, you made us have this distance, so when we first meet on screen, you can feel it. Secareanu: The first two weeks I spent in Yorkshire were very lonely, to be honest. I tried to use that experience to see what Gheorghe might be going through. Lee: It was interesting. I could see you’re a social person, and I did feel bad because I’d put you in this hotel on your own. My natural instinct would be to take care of you, but I had to fight against that to give you the feeling of being a little isolated. The same with when you were working on the farms and I would you call you to ask how it was going. I could tell you were finding it hard. But I felt it was important you experienced the physicality of it. Secareanu: It was very strange when I got back in the evening after a day working the farm, walking past people having drinks at the bar while I was stinking like manure. Lee: What did you find particularly hard during the shoot? Secareanu: Top Fell was very hard, where Gheorghe and Johnny go up the hill for the lambing. It took two weeks. Lee: How long did it feel like it took? O’connor: Two years. Because, more often than not, if you’re shooting somewhere like that, it would seem remote, but you’d have a road nearby you don’t see on screen, so you could get equipment to it. There was no road. The equipment had to be carried across muddy fields. Secareanu: It took 40 minutes to just walk there. O’connor: But some of the most beautiful scenes were shot there. Alec skins the lamb up there — that was the most magical moment of the film for me. Secareanu: That was pretty intense. Remember the crew’s reaction? Because no-one expected the cracking of the bones. Lee: Did you find that hard? Secareanu: No, I didn’t because your father had trained me how to do it. Lee: Josh, let’s talk about your accent, because you’re not from Yorkshire. O’connor: No. I’m from Cheltenham Spa. Lee: Cheltenham Spa! Is that a posh town in the south of England? O’connor: It’s a posh town in the Cotswolds. Well, why don’t you talk about it? Because you said you thought I was from Yorkshire when you saw my tape. Lee: Okay. I didn’t know you or your work, and you were too busy to meet me because you were away filming, so I sent you some scenes to do. I watched them and I instantly thought you were from the north somewhere. O’connor: And we decided I was going to speak with the accent all the time. In the first week, I went to ASDA in Keighley to do a food shop, and I was at the till and went, “I’ve forgot me bags, have you got any?” And she went, “You’re not from around
here, are you?” I was thinking, “Oh well, I’ve failed.” Then there was a pause, and she said, “You’re from Bingley.” Which is about four miles away. Lee: Tell me honestly, pretend I’m not the director, was there anything you didn’t enjoy filming? Don’t have selective memory, because I remember one. O’connor: Really? I know what you’re thinking of. I didn’t find it hard until I actually experienced it. You’re talking about jumping in the lake. Let’s just talk about this, because I want to get it off my chest. Alec was the one who was worried about it. I wasn’t worried. A couple of hours before, Alec was like, “I don’t know if we should do this,” because it had snowed that morning and it was freezing cold. And you’re in this huge jacket going, “What’s the problem?” I said, “Don’t worry, it’ll be fine.” When you called action, Alec, smooth as you like, absolutely bossed it. Then you hear this high-pitched scream from me that you had to edit out. Secareanu: We’re both supposed to be enjoying it. O’connor: One of the only bits of the trailer where I’m smiling is that scene. But I’m not really smiling. I’m panicking. Lee: How did you feel when filming ended? Secareanu: It felt sad. I got really attached to you guys. I knew the next day I’d go to Bucharest, and I didn’t know the next time I’d see you guys. O’connor: It was a huge moment, because we’d gone on this epic journey. I still feel emotional at every point, you know. Lee: Tell me about the first time you saw it. O’connor: It was the day before Sundance. Alec and I sat there together, nervously, three chairs apart, and I had a big old sob. I thought it was beautiful. It’s so hard to watch a film when you’re in it, but I didn’t see anything of me in it. It was the first time I’ve been able to enjoy a film I’m in. Lee: Tell me about the reaction to the film. Because regularly, people say they’ve seen it more than once. How does that feel as actors? To have got into people’s lives. Secareanu: It’s incredible. I couldn’t imagine how it would be to get that intimate with someone I didn’t know. I still get messages from people telling me they responded to the film because they had a boyfriend or a girlfriend who did this or did that, or who’s similar to Johnny or Gheorghe. It’s satisfying to know people responded to these characters and this story. O’connor: We lived this story. So when anyone tells us that they also lived it, that is an amazing thing to hear. It sends shivers up my spine.
GOD’S OWN COUNTRY IS OUT ON 29 JANUARY ON DVD AND BLU-RAY