FILM INTERVIEW: FREIDA PINTO
Finding Her Own Hollywood Calling in the Epic Film, ‘Immortals’
Despite her relatively “brief” appearance in Slumdog Millionaire, Freida Pinto has wowed film fans across the United States with her charming personality and stunning good looks. After taking on a supporting role in Woody Allen’s You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger, the lead female role in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and tackling the titular role in the biopic production of Miral, Ms. Pinto adds the forward-looking Oracle to her diverse resume in this week’s release of Tarsem Singh’s Immortals. Starring opposite a cast of Mickey Rourke, Henry Cavill, Luke Evans, Isabel Lucas, and Stephen Dorff, Ms. Pinto talks about her experience on a male-dominated set and what she’s learned about Hollywood post-Slumdog Millionaire.
Parimal M. Rohit: What was it like being amidst so may men and one of only two lead women on set?
Freida Pinto: You do understand before you take the project on that it is a guy’s film. You know that before you get in. On set, I do remember this tunnel scene that was shot for ten days straight -- the big fight scene ... the crew, the camera people were shooting this ... with men. I had a break so I left for New York. When I came back, the moment I stepped into the studio that day, I saw Brendan (Galvin), the DP, go [big sigh], "A woman on set! Finally!" I think, as much as you have all those men on set, it’s nice to be in that privileged position where we (with Isabel Lucas) were the only two women on set. We get that little extra pampering, if we can call it that at all.
PMR: With the most professional intent possible, was this the first film you ever posed nude? Or was that scene a body double?
FP: Body double.
PMR: You have already worked with some iconic filmmakers, such as Danny Boyle and Woody Allen. Now you’ve added Tarsem Singh to that list. How was working with him different from the others?
FP: Tarsem’s style is very unique. There isn’t anyone else who has his style. When someone has done something that’s so unique, I feel as if they would want to excel in an area where they know that they have no boundaries, they can do whatever they want. I think that’s where you thrive.
PMR: In portraying the Oracle, how did you get into character? What did you have to learn in order to do justice to your role?
FP: I did read a lot about Phaedra, and different books said different things. At the end of the day, it just ends up getting all confusing. So for me, it was great to know all of that for knowledge sake, but when it came to stepping on to set and getting into Phaedra’s skin, it was Tarsem’s vision. That’s when the books were put to rest.
PMR: You’ve had quite a career since Slumdog Millionaire, working on films such as You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger, Miral, and Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Adding Immortals to that list, describe the whirlwind ride that has been your career.
FP: It is a bit of a whirlwind ride, and it’s amazing what has happened so far. I think it has taken me almost a year-and-a-half to figure out what Slumdog was all about. It just happened so fast to someone who had never seen a red carpet before. It was very crazy, if I could call it that. I’ve come to terms that this is what I’ve always chosen for myself, and now I have it. So instead of thinking of it as a dream, let’s just embrace it and make the most of it, instead of constantly living in it and saying, "My life is a dream!" I think I am out of that phase now.
Relativity Media's 'Immortals' is released on November 11, 2011.
