DOMINIC COOPER, up-and coming English actor who plays "Sky" - Meryl Streep's son-in-law-to-be in the movie Mamma Mia!
KEY POINTS:
Mamma Mia! is one of three movies Cooper has out this year which include gritty prison flick The Escapist (in the Auckland Film Festival) and The Duchess, in which he plays Charles Grey, the early 19th century British prime minister-to-be who had an affair with Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire (Keira Knightley) and who lent his name to Earl Grey tea.
Until now, Cooper is best known for playing Dakin in both the stage and film productions of the Alan Bennett classroom play The History Boys, a job which brought him to New Zealand's International Festival of the Arts in 2006.
You spent some time here when you were doing The History Boys in Wellington.
I had a fantastic time actually. The audience reaction was really, really incredible - it was a great experience to just go to those parts of the world we went to. It was a great experience to take a show around the world.
That play and the film represent a big chunk of your career.
It took up a huge amount of time. That play was only meant to run for three months originally and it took up three years of our lives, but I wouldn't change it for anything and it's so wonderful to have that on celluloid. Normally a play ends and that's it.
Must have been nice to finally get out of school uniform.
It's such a relief. Although I've put on a tie today for some reason. That is where I learned to tie a tie.
How did you get involved in Mamma Mia!
I had a phone call asking whether I could sing or not and I immediately responded with a no because I had no faith or confidence. My only experience singing was being in a grunge band when I was 14 and I think I got sacked. And at drama school likewise the music teacher told me I lacked any rhythm and so perhaps don't follow that path. So I have always kind of avoided it. I never expected I would be doing a musical... but I thought "get some balls and go and give it a go".
You don't have that many songs in the film.
No I don't but I think if I had been given some more I wouldn't have had the part.
And you weren't alone - being in a cast of non-singers.
Yes, absolutely. When we all first met in a rehearsal room preparing to do some dance moves and seeing the fear on all those guys' faces ... people always ask, "was it daunting?" I think we all felt we were embarking on something we didn't know a great deal about.
We all went and watched the show actually, it was quite an experience and I had never seen anything like it. I held off seeing the original stage show. I knew it was a massive worldwide success but I just kind of thought I might be better off to not be influenced by it. But I went and I couldn't believe this euphoria that was cast upon the audience. I thought if we can make a film that has anything like this effect it will be really, really great.
Your thoughts about Abba before the musical?
Like many blokes I pretended I didn't used to listen to them. But I have found video evidence which suggests otherwise. The sad truth is I have a VHS tape from an ex-girlfriend of mine who used to dress me up in fur coats and make me sing Abba songs and I knew all the lyrics. So there is no getting out of it.
So which songs do you rate
I change. It's so odd, their music, the way it gets in your head and sticks there. It's different ones for different reasons. The Winner Takes It All having now watched the film and seen Meryl's performance of it is now one of my favourites. But something like Gimme Gimme Gimme is a brilliantly composed structured pop song - incredible as a piece of pop music. Every time I listen to Dancing Queen, I'm afraid to say, it does make you feel a little bit better about your life.
Your character's name is "Sky". Be honest - what did you think of the name?
No, I can't be honest. But I am sure you can imagine what I think.
