
Via FaoWelling on Twitter
Ben & Saoirse
Ben Whishaw and Andrea Riseborough interview for “The Pride” (2010)
Jean‑Baptiste Grenouille / Perfume: A Story of a Murderer Interview (2006)

(Photograph: Ben Rayner)
Speaking of gumption, The Crucible’s Abigail is a doozy of a role to pick as your Broadway debut.
I’m realizing that more and more every day. We’ve only had the first week of rehearsals. This isn’t just my Broadway debut: I’ve never done stage before. It’s very scary, but I’m very lucky.What kind of relationship do you have with Ivo van Hove so far?
I think he’s kind of feeling everything out, and so are we. He’s got an incredible mind, and you can tell he’s always thinking. I think his process is different from the norm—there’s no sitting around talking about the scenes. Five minutes after we all got there, we were all up on our feet doing Act I.Wow.
And there was no kind of, “Well this makes me feel this way” or “This makes me feel that way.” I guess he just doesn’t want to waste time. He’s completely opening my eyes to the endless possibilities of theater. Because with theater, the technicality comes into it with the language of a writer like [Arthur] Miller. It’s something that needs to be paid attention to: Why did he put a comma here instead of there? And I know that Miller really agonized over the records of the Salem witch trials.[Miller] meant his play as an indictment of McCarthyism. Do you see the play resonating today in any way?
I try not to think about it politically too much. Because what Miller does well is use politics as a framework for the story, which is ultimately about human nature. How when people are tested, they can turn on each other. And I guess that’s always relevant. If you were to look at the migrant crisis in Europe—let alone Trump and all the shite he’s coming out with—and how certain cities or countries are embracing these people and others aren’t, it’s disappointing.Abigail has some pretty major scenes of possession. How are those going for you?
It’s actually kind of exhilarating.Is it really physical? Whirling and screaming?
I didn’t want to do that. I had always pictured, just in my head, that there would be a line of girls that kind of just stand there and stare out at the audience and are kind of hypnotized. Ivo likes silence. He likes things to be quiet. And he’s not into a lot of shouting or volume or any of that kind of stuff. So when we did it the other day, that’s what I did. It was a different kind of hysteria. It was almost like possession.
Ben’s hair looked particularly fine in this interview
WEISS: Most of your scenes are one-on-one with Ben Whishaw. Had you worked with him prior to this show?
HOLCROFT: No, I had never met him.
WEISS: What was that experience like?
HOLCROFT: Terrible. [laughs] It was awful. He was one of the worst people to work with in the world. I mean, he’s a real diva, such a bad actor. [laughs] No, it was great. He, as I’m sure you know, is a very talented individual and also a very decent, kind, fun person. We got on really well and as a consequence we’re now very good friends.
— Edward Holcroft, ‘Spy Games’, Interview Magazine, 4 Feb 2016
More on London Spy in the interview

