Answers with Jonny Pasvolsky

Answer 1

Your villainous role as Emil Strago sets you directly up against Mortdecai--Johnny Depp--in the pursuit of the most famous painting in the world. What was it like to work with Johnny Depp? Was it every bit as awesome as you imagined?

I could answer that in just a "Yes" -- in one word -- but it really was everything. It was actually beyond what I expected. You never know what people are like and how open they will be and he was so open with me as an actor and as a person. He was welcoming of me and excited, he was great. It's a gift, it's a dream come true...to use all the cliches in the book, it's everything I had hoped it to be. I had looked up to him for a very long time in terms of his work, so it's safe to say he didn't disappoint. He gave it everything.

Answer 2

So, "Mortdecai" is based off the book series by Kyril Bonfiglioli. Did you ever read the "Charlie Mortdecai" series prior to auditioning for the film, or was it the script alone that drew you in?

It was the script alone. I ordered the first book on Amazon and it didn't come before I got the part. I was kind of waiting, waiting, waiting and before I knew it, I was on the plane to London to shoot. So then once we were in that environment, I didn't have time to read much of it. But I read parts of it. I did a film of Macbeth previously, and that's Shakespeare so that's beautiful stuff, but the film was incredibly different than the play was written...and so was this. This was sort of a combination of books. In a way, the one thing that I had to take my cues from was the script, so I didn't really pursue getting through all the books. It was more about understanding the essence of the genre--the energy of the piece and where these people are coming from. The writing and the turn of phrase in those books is actually beautiful and they come through in a really lovely, fun way in the film that Eric Aronson wrote. He made a pretty amazing adaptation. The script was everything.

Answer 3

So from your very first acting role until now, in "Mortdecai", how do feel that you have developed as an actor?

I think a mountain, a huge amount. I have developed in terms of my understanding. My curiosity has increased because the more you experience, the more you fail, the more you learn, the more you discover about yourself that helps guide you towards the roles that you really want. That is the development--it's sort of like the development of you--the actor in a way. Perhaps, you learn to tap more of yourself, the more experience you have.

Answer 4

Do you have a favorite genre to act in? Do you prefer comedy?

It depends. I find in some of the darkest material there is a moment of humor, that I feel, is the one thing that helps and heightens the terrible situation, or the stakes of whatever scene you're in. Anything that provides the ability to release those little raindrops on the pond, so to speak, of humor is key for me. That's humanity to me, that's a real person. Humor is something I've grown up with--my parents, my family, we all love to laugh a lot--but also I think the key is you find yourself hiding behind a bit of humor and that's something I'm certainly guilty of and perhaps it's sort of natural in me.

Answer 5

You're originally from Australia and have starred in a number of different Australian films and television shows. Which of your Australian roles has been your favorite?

I did a show called Mr. and Mrs. Murder with a guy called Shaun Micallef who's an incredibly smart satirical comic actor. He's a very smart man, he wrote it and produced it and I joined him on this to play this kind of lovelorn police officer who is in love with his wife. That was probably my favorite Australian role. He was a real gullible fellow, which is kind of interesting to play with. He would take everything at face value, only to end up the butt of Shaun's character's 'smarts'. It gave my character huge obstacles to try and overcome. Those are the roles that I love.

Answer 6

Does your role as Emil compare to any roles you have played before on television or film or is this completely different?

Absolutely completely different to anything I have had the opportunity to play. I have played characters that have similarities energies in the theatre, but not in television and not in film. I have played the "baddies" but this wasn't your run-of-the-mill "baddie". It's kind of a ridiculous "baddie" in a way. This was by far and away the most fun character I have ever played.

Answer 7

That question's kind of like asking "Who's your favorite child?"...how do you even begin to choose?

Yeah, it took quite a few days to shoot and it was almost quite childish in playing that scene--I know that's not what you meant in saying that, but that's what it made me think--it felt like child's play.

Answer 8

Do you have a favorite scene from the movie or behind the scenes moment?

That's a pretty hard one. When you find yourself in a rollicking bedroom scene with Olivia Munn, or do you prefer a 3-way fight in a moving Rolls-Royce with Johnny Depp and Paul Bettany, or do you prefer a sword fight with Johnny Depp and yourself? I'd probably say that the sword fight was my favorite because there were great physical opportunities for humor. And having seen the film now, they definitely came through and I think that scene really came out nicely.

Answer 9

That's wonderful! You know speaking of David, what was it like working under his direction?

It was jovial. He was very up for what I had to offer. He provided an environment in which I felt I could do anything and he really instilled a lot of confidence in me. That's probably about as much as you can ask for is that you feel confidence when you're in that playing space. To have the atmosphere to go for it, to absolutely throw out every creation that you can come up with, in order to give director a choice of colors with which to paint.

Answer 10

So let's talk about the moustaches in this movie, they are practically characters of their own, were any of them actually real?

Ummm...I felt like lying just then. But we talked about whether I could grow one that could fulfill the image. We had an incredible makeup department that spent quite a long time testing the moustaches and shaping them. They were made for us and they certainly look real and I think they (the makeup dept.) just did an incredible job.