Balance September 2017 - 25

T H E B I G I N T E RV I E W

favourite Curtis film, About Time. Domhnall
Gleeson, who played Bill's character's timetravelling son Tim, gave Bill an original screenplay
of Punch-Drunk Love, as a 'leaving present' because
it was their shared favourite film. 'About Time
was a wonderful job in Cornwall over a beautiful
summer and the script was fabulous,' says Bill. The
last scene shows him strolling hand-in-hand down
the beach with a 10-year-old Tim, 'who was actually
Richard's son, Charlie. We had about half an hour
to film that, but it was magical.'
I remind Bill that his character, James, has a
poster of BB King in his study, and he lights up.
He's a devoted blues fan. 'I think I asked Richard to
put that in! My favourite singer of all time is John Lee
Hooker,' he continues. 'I'm not into blues shouting.
Any form of machismo makes me want to lie down,
I find it so dull. But John Lee has a powerful mother
f***ing voice, but a tenderness I find very moving.'
Love Actually's Billy Mack, though, is the role
most people stop him in the street for. 'But then they
speak with me and I feel like I'm disappointing
them because I'm not Billy Mack, I'm just a normal
bloke,' he says, 'I'm very fond of that part, although'
- with typical self-deprecation - 'I think I could
have done it a whole lot better. I always think that.'

THE TIME IS NOW
Being thrust into the public psyche when you're 53
and having been an actor all your adult life must
be bizarre. I wonder if he'd have handled fame
differently had he been 23 when it hit. He has, after
all, reportedly struggled with alcohol issues in the
past. 'The quick answer is, "no, I'd have handled
it very badly," but I don't know that's true. I think
I would have been alright. I've always been lucky
because I had a job nearly all the time. As far as
I'm concerned, that's a result.'
Bill has a filmmaker daughter, Mary, 34, from
his 28-year relationship with actress Diana Quick.

LATE
BLOOMERS
Bill Nighy had been
acting since his 20s,
however, it was Love
Actually - made
when he was 53
years old - which
brought him world
fame. And he's not
the only star who
became a household
name later in life...

Aside from strolling through Hampstead with
his pals Andrew Scott or David Hare, Bill has no
desire to settle down, and certainly none to marry.
'Why would you want to get married?' he asks.
'Nobody got married when I was young. We put a
stop to it. It's back now.' For security, assurance,
companionship, perhaps, Bill?
'There's no such thing as security or assurance in
a marriage,' he says. 'I've got many companions to
grow old with. It's not going to happen to me.'
You could find one in an app, I suggest. 'You've
got to be f***ing kidding,' he mutters. 'Anything
with the word "singles" in it makes me want to leave
the country.' Listening to him rant is priceless, so
I goad him on. Is he going to celebrate his 70th in
three years with a huge party? 'I haven't had a party
since I was 21 and I missed my 21st anyway,' he says
with a half-smile. 'It was a bit of a whoopsy daisy
but don't worry about it because I'm not going to tell
you. Parties are my nightmare. I don't get why you'd
walk into a room of people when you could, uh, not.'
But Bill is forever a contradiction: Though he
despises parties, he loves a dancefloor. 'I'm always
looking for somewhere non-aggressive to dance,' he
says. 'I'm not going to go into a nightclub, because
they're a vision of hell. Everyone is cruising,
looking to see who they're going to eat.
'I dreamed of setting up a series of booths
where you'd swipe your credit card, get a set of
headphones, be in a pleasant enough room with
a really good floor and there would be water on
sale but nothing else. And you'd have half an hour
of whatever playlist you wanted. Somewhere you
could go in, dance, and come out again without any
palaver.' There you have it: A dancing, strolling,
charmingly modest movie star. No palaver. B

PARTIES ARE
MY NIGHTMARE.
I DON'T GET WHY
YOU'D WALK
INTO A ROOM
FULL OF PEOPLE
WHEN YOU
COULD, UH, NOT

The Limehouse Golem (cert 15) was
released on 1 September

JON HAMM

VERA WANG

Mad Men star Jon
acted throughout
college and eventually
made the move to Los
Angeles, but spent
years auditioning
unsuccessfully and
waiting tables - until,
he landed the role of
Don Draper, age 36
- catapulting him into
the homes of millions.

Starting out as a fashion
editor at Vogue, Vera
swapped writing and
editing for sewing and
sketching. She didn't
design her first dress
until she was 40. Now,
her designs are the
most iconic in the
world. Clients include
Victoria Beckham and
Michelle Obama.

SAMUEL L
JACKSON
Ranked as the highest
all-time box office star
with gross of more
than $4.9billion, an
average of $69.1million
per film, Samuel was
45 when Pulp Fiction
certified him as
Hollywood royalty. And
you KNOW his name is
the Lord (of movies).

September 2017 BA LA N CE

BADDIE WINKLE

SEASICK STEVE

She's the 89-year-old
US Instagram sensation,
'bad ass great gran'
and Missguided model
who shot to fame in
2014. With 3.2 million
social media followers,
Baddie Winkle has built
a sassy brand that's
won her celebrity fans,
fashion deals and
$1million and counting.

This popular bluesman
was 55 when he first
came to many people's
attention on Jools
Holland's Hootenanny
TV show in 2006. He'd
previously spent many
years, but not made a
lot of money, in the
music biz. He says he
never wanted fame,
just to play music.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Balance September 2017