Jeremy Irons was recently a guest on Studio 360 with Kurt Anderson.
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âYou canât play a bad guy thinking, âIâm a bad guy,ââ Jeremy Irons tells Kurt Andersen. âYouâve got to say, âWhy does he make that choice to behave in that way?ââ Itâs all about playing the gray areas.
Irons knows from despicable; for 40 years, heâs been our best bad guy â the possibly murderous Claus von Bulow in Reversal of Fortune; the deranged twins in Dead Ringers; the fratricidal Scar in The Lion King. Ironsâ latest complicated character is Rodrigo Borgia, a pope with mistresses and illegitimate children, in Showtimeâs The Borgias.
Itâs a good thing Irons was bad at science. âI wanted to be a veterinarian,â he tells Kurt, âbut I didnât show any signs of a scientific mind.â The headmaster thought he would join the army; his mates thought heâd become an antiques dealer. Instead, at 64, Irons is as busy in film as ever. Kurt wonders whether Irons ever agonizes over the roles he takes. âNo, Iâm pretty sanguine about that. I sort of know what I want to do and it comes just through appetite. I mean you see a bacon sandwich on a full stomach you think, âI donât want it.â And then, you know a day later you look at it and think, âIâll eat that.ââ
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Bonus Audio – Jeremy’s 3 for 360
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