“I’M NOT TOUGH LIKE MY CHARACTER IN A MONSTER CALLS I SCREAM IF I SEE A SPIDER!”

SIGOURNEY WEAVER, 67, TELLS NATHALIE WHITTLE ABOUT HER FIRST EVER ROLE AS A GRANDMOTHER IN NEW FILM, A Monster Calls…

I was always more interested in the motherly acting roles

BASED ON THE AWARD-WINNING NOVEL BY PATRICK NESS, A Monster Calls TELLS THE STORY OF 12-YEAR-OLD CONOR (LEWIS MACDOUGALL), WHO IS DEALING WITH HIS MOTHER’S (FELICITY JONES) TERMINAL CANCER AND SUMMONS AN UNLIKELY ALLY IN THE FORM OF A 40-FOOT MONSTER (VOICED BY LIAM NEESON). SIGOURNEY PLAYS CONOR’S STRICT BUT LOVING GRANDMOTHER. SHE LIVES WITH HER HUSBAND, STAGE DIRECTOR JIM SIMPSON, IN NEW YORK

AND THEY HAVE A GROWN-UP DAUGHTER.

MY ROLE IN A Monster Calls MARKS MY FIRST AS A GRANDMOTHER AND I THINK PEOPLE WILL PROBABLY SAY, “WELL IT’S ABOUT TIME – YOU’VE BEEN AROUND FOR SO MANY YEARS!” I’M RARELY OFFERED THIS KIND OF ROLE THOUGH BECAUSE I’M OFTEN THOUGHT OF AS A CAREER WOMAN (I GET

THE VICE PRESIDENT ROLES), BUT TO ME, THESE FAMILY STORIES ARE AT THE HEART OF EVERYTHING WE DO. EVEN WHEN I DID Alien AND I HADN’T HAD CHILDREN YET,

I WAS ALWAYS MORE INTERESTED IN THE MOTHERLY ROLES. MY 26-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER WON’T LET ME EVEN THINK ABOUT BEING A GRANDMOTHER IN MY OWN LIFE YET. SHE’S A RATHER SCARY GRANDMOTHER, BUT I LIKED THE CHALLENGE OF PLAYING SOMEONE WHO ISN’T SO SYMPATHETIC, TRYING TO FIND THE HUMANITY. IT WAS IMPORTANT TO ME THAT WE DIDN’T JUST SENTIMENTALISE IT; I DIDN’T SIMPLY WANT TO BE THE GRANDMOTHER YOU HATE, BUT REALLY SHE’S OKAY. I HAD TO EARN THAT IN THE STORY; I HAD TO WIN EVERYONE BACK. IT’S FUNNY THOUGH BECAUSE ACTUALLY I’M SUCH A PUSHOVER IN REAL LIFE – AND I SCREAM IF I SEE A SPIDER!

I HAVE SO MUCH ADMIRATION FOR MY ON-SCREEN GRANDSON LEWIS [MACDOUGALL]. IN FACT, MY MAIN PROBLEM WITH HIM WAS THAT I DIDN’T HAVE TOO MUCH FUN – HE’S SO LOVELY TO BE AROUND, BUT I’M SUPPOSED TO BE THIS UNLIKEABLE CHARACTER! WE HAD GREAT FUN HANGING OUT TOGETHER OFF-SCREEN THOUGH; WE WENT OUT FOR DINNER WHEN WE WERE FILMING IN BARCELONA AND WE WENT TO SEE THE FILM Guardians of the Galaxy WHEN WE WERE IN MANCHESTER – THAT DOES A LOT FOR A RELATIONSHIP!

WHAT THE STORY SHOWS IS HOW IT FEELS TO BE LOSING A MEMBER OF THE FAMILY – IN MY CHARACTER’S CASE, HER ONLY CHILD – TO AN ILLNESS. IT’S EVERY PARENT’S GREATEST FEAR TO LOSE A CHILD, ISN’T IT? AND TO HAVE A CHILD YOU’RE TRYING TO SAVE BY TELLING THEM TO EAT BROCCOLI AND THEM REFUSING TO LISTEN TO YOU – IF ONLY THEY’D DO WHAT YOU’VE ASKED THEM TO DO. I THINK EVERY PARENT GOES THROUGH THAT.

I DREW ON MY OWN EXPERIENCES OF LOSS FOR THE FILM – WE ALL KNOW WHAT IT’S LIKE TO HAVE LOVED AND LOST SOMEONE, DON’T WE? I’VE LOST BOTH MY PARENTS [SIGOURNEY’S PARENTS, ELIZABETH AND SYLVESTER, DIED AGED 92 AND 93], AND I SPENT A NUMBER OF YEARS LOOKING AFTER THEM. IT WAS SOME OF THE MOST PRECIOUS TIME I’VE EVER SPENT BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF THEM – AND YOU HAVE TO LEARN HOW TO DO THAT.

FELICITY [JONES] WHO PLAYS MY DAUGHTER AND I BOTH DID A LOT OF RESEARCH ON CANCER TOO AND WE VISITED A HOSPICE TOGETHER.

I THINK SHE NEEDED TO FIGURE OUT WHERE SHE WAS CARE-WISE AS THE STORY WENT ON, AND I HAD TO FIGURE OUT WHAT MY ROLE WAS AS HER PRIMARY CARER – WHETHER IT WAS WANTED OR NOT AND WHAT I WOULD BE EXPERIENCING. IT WAS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT TO US TO GET THOSE DETAILS RIGHT FOR ALL THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE IN THAT SITUATION.

A MONSTER CALLS is released in cinemas on 1 January 2017. W&H