Anything more than two lines long is quite rare! [doing that] you notice this fantastic showmanship; it’s theatre really. The more expressive they are the more they can make you believe what they say, and the more popular they become. You look at these things, Great Britain and he was a fantastic speech writer as well.

Politicians will continue to repeat themselves and say the same nonsense over and over again without probably ever believing in it at the time. That particular speech, when he says ‘Change is upon us.’ I think was actually used in a speech. Again, I don’t know, I’m not into politics though I enjoy the theatre of it.

I’ve never truly believed because of exactly that, it’s been repeated over and over again. The same mistakes will continue to be made over and over again and the parallels will always be there!

Can you talk about working with Keira on this? Would the two of you rev up to do these big emotional scenes before you got in front of the camera? Did you meet her for the first time working on the set in costume?

I met Keira during the casting process. It really says a lot about what kind of an actor she is that she arrived during that stage of casting, because I wasn’t even necessarily going to get the part! She was prepared, even then, to go through the scenes, talk me through, change them and discuss how we could make it better, or change the wording of them.

She is a fantastically generous actor. That immediately makes you feel very at ease. To be working with someone like that, it’s exactly how you need to feel, because those scenes are difficult. They are certainly very intimate scenes. I sometimes can’t stand them because in films sometimes they are just thrown in for no apparent reason.

Certainly with a relationship of these two characters it was essential that we saw how close and intimate they are, having a desperate need for belonging and love. They definitely move the story line along. We had to just laugh our way through it all because at times it was ridiculous.
 
Is it true you had a cover of your ‘bits’?

Yes, which we just laughed at continually. It was a relaxed atmosphere. We had complete trust and faith in the director that it would be very tasteful.
 
How difficult was it working in the costumes you did? Did you have to spend hours in wardrobe?

It didn’t take that long to get ready and we expected to spend some time in wardrobe because of the costumes. But, really, they aren’t that different apart from lots of really frilly button behavior and britches. So, it wasn’t so bad for me but the girls had to arrive eight hours before work, or something ridiculous, to get into their costumes!
 
When the camera stops rolling is it hard to get out of that mindset?

You do actually, thinking back now, kind of hold it with you a bit. The costumes are a fantastic thing for that, because the moment you finally step into the outfit, that’s when you really inhabit how those people felt.

That’s in terms of the posture and physically, it really helps give that finishing touch. Then you are surrounded by these ornate, beautiful homes whose walls have seen the goings on of the previous ancestors. You really get a feeling for it and it’s wonderful.

It felt like the character until you step into his shoes. It is very much like that, so when you do leave at the end of the day, you kind of do carry it with you for a while.

The roles you’ve played are so vastly different. Can you explain the attraction of that?

I just think it’s really important to challenge yourself with different projects. It’s very hard to find decent material, that you like enough, to give you a reason to do it because its very different from the last one you did. I’ve been very fortunate this year that they have been very different.

It’s to peoples’ taste but I think you can achieve what you set out to achieve. Some people say I don’t necessarily fit into a costume drama. Other people believe that I escaped from prison, which is another film I did. It’s not essential but it makes it much more exciting to jump into a project that is so different. I mean, stepping into the shoes of someone else is why we do it [acting]! But we also want to portray them as best we can and as believably as we can.
 
How difficult is it portraying a character when the costumes in this, especially the ones the women wear, are so cumbersome to perform around?

Yeah, it was a nightmare for the cameraman and for us. It was exactly as you say - it’s difficult to whisper in the ear of someone who is wearing something so vast, even if they are stunning costumes! They just put you in the period of that time - the awkwardness of it.

Again, it’s just about everything else; the social etiquette of how people had to behave and the way you had to hold yourself; you can’t sit down - the females had to be standing up. I mean, I have no idea how they went to the toilet!

The mannerisms, the behavior, the fans, and what the fans suggested. It was what they suggested to other people, sexually, and it was all very, very interesting with the fans. The men - Charles Grey was such a showman, the theatricality of everything, he has those frills, big cuffs.
 
Tell us about the dancing scenes. Are you a good dancer?

I try to be, but there is always someone fantastic on set to help you on set. The dances were great fun - the more raunchy they got, the better they danced in the 18th century! They are like old fashioned barn dancing and they got out of control. They are really good fun. It’s like line dancing. I went through a period of dancing but I don’t think I could say I was a good dancer, because I was more out of control!

Can you tells us what it was like working with Keira and did you spend time together off-set?

Yeah, we went for some period of time to bond together in the middle of nowhere. We did that between shooting. Keira was in possibly every shot in the film - she was working the whole time, it’s quite a responsibility.

But I think I insulted her when I met her once before, at an awards ceremony. That broke the ice and I thought she didn’t like me. Then we met again on the set of this and we got on really well. It’s very important we got on well. It was a really, really good relationship. Unfortunately during the filming process we were all very, very busy.

What happened at the awards ceremony?

I think she was giving an award - she was presenting a sad small cactus as the award. I didn’t think much of the award and I mentioned it to her, but she said she liked the award!
 
What’s next for you?

I’m in An Education, where I play a sleazy London criminal who has the persona of someone very well spoken and a lot of fun. We manage to seduce this young schoolgirl into leaving school - we take her from her dull, miserable, mundane life - and come steal things, which we essentially do. It’s a beautiful coming-of-age script. Carey Mulligan plays the girl.

Is it a true story?

Yes, there were two guys in the 60’s - they were prestigious criminals who presented themselves very well, but were actually stealing houses from old women and then selling them. They became quite famous for doing that and seducing them.
 
Lastly, are you surprised by the success of Mamma Mia?

I always thought it was one of those that could go either way. Knowing the great success of the theatrical production the question was: can this jump out of the screen, as it does in the theatre? Will people respond to it, relate to it, and have as good a time in the cinema as they do in the theatre? Will it work not being live music and live singing?

The answer is that it does, if not more so. With a performance like Meryl’s [Streep] who is so energetic and exciting, I’m not really that surprised. It seems to have captured the hearts of people in rather bleak times in England. We need to escape and go on a two hour holiday!

They have done that and they seem to keep coming back over and over, which is great! It’s such a pleasure, it really is a pleasure, to have people coming up to you and say ‘It really cheered me up. I was feeling a bit down and I really enjoyed it.’
 
The Duchess is released on DVD and Blu-ray on 16 March from Pathe Distribution Ltd

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