EMILY BLUNT and ASHLEY JENSEN star in GNOMEO & JULIET, an inventive 3D animated version of Shakepeare’s classic play, Romeo & Juliet, with music by Elton John.
**GNOMEO & JULIET is in cinemas from 11 February.
Juliet & Nanette, voiced by Emily Blunt & Ashley Jensen
MMM: What was your initial reaction when you were told you’d be voicing gnomes in an adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies?
Blunt: I was really baffled. I remember when I got the call from my agent, they were like, ‘Right, it’s an animated movie…’ I said, ‘Oh great!’ And they continued, ‘It’s called Gnomeo & Juliet.’ And then I went, ‘Oh my God! Really?’ I was like, ‘Oh no!’
But then I read the script and was so charmed by it that I went from going ‘ha?’ to ‘ooohh’. It was really witty. And then I think meeting all these guys and their enthusiasm for the project was really infectious to be around. It was a passion project for them. I’d never done an animated movie before.
Jensen: Well, I’d never done an animated movie before, which is why I was so excited about doing it. It was one of the little boxes as an actor that I wanted to tick off. I wanted to do an animated film. After my mum got over the fact that I was never going to play Shrek’s sister, this was the nearest I was going to get!
MMM: As an acting exercise, how did you cope with the animated process?
Blunt: It was very lovely in there in the sound booth by yourself. It’s a strange discipline to learn because you don’t look in anyone’s eyes. You’re just there trying to make your voice sound lively. I was amazed how flat your voice can sound when you don’t have your face or expressions. So, the whole time Kelly [Asbury, director] was kind of encouraging me to smile and jump up and down and really over act. There was a lot of over acting involved for me.
Jensen: It was almost like being a child again because you felt like you were in your bedroom and it almost felt like nobody was really watching you. So you were just kind of having a bit of fun on your own doing silly voices in the bedroom. There was actually a camera on your face. I don’t know so much about the animation process but the camera was in our face so it could get expressions from our faces that would eventually arrive on the gnomes. It almost felt like you were cheating at times because it was a wee bit too much fun. You were in that box on your own. Kelly [Asbury] was in Toronto, I was in LA, so I was just on my own. I thought, ‘I can’t be getting paid for this as well!’
MMM: What about previous experiences of performing Shakespeare?
Blunt: I actually did play Juliet on stage. She was probably harder than this version but I absolutely loved it. I found it an extraordinary task to do Shakespeare. I’d never trained or had any previous experience with it. I remember after the first two weeks of rehearsals – I was staying with my Nanna who lives in Chichester – and I came back just weeping and she made me a cream tea and said, ‘You’ll be fine, you’ll get there.’ And I did. By the third week it got easier.
But the best thing about Shakespeare is when people forget their lines on stage and start improvising. I remember a scene with Friar Lawrence and the line is, ‘Be plain, good son, and hold me in thy drift; Riddling confession finds but riddling shrift.’ And he went, ‘Be plain, good son, and hold me in thy drift; … tra-la-la-la-la shrift.’ [Laughs] That was the most terrifying part of doing Shakespeare. If you dry, you are fucked!
Jensen: I was in King Lear with Sir Tom Courtenay at The Royal Exchange in Manchester. In fact, that’s where I met my husband. I was playing Regan and he was playing Cornwall and together we fell in love plucking out Gloucester’s eyes. It was great fun. Everyone assumes that I was Cordelia because I’ve got blonde hair but I was Regan and they gave me a long auburn wig. It was great, good fun.
MMM: Do any of Elton John’s songs or albums have any special resonance for you? And which of his songs would you perform on karaoke?
Blunt: I was quite pleased to do Bennie & The Jets karaoke-wise because I never understood the words before I got to see them come up. I was like, ‘Oh that’s what he’s singing!’ But that song… I remember I was having a really rough day at school and my mum came to pick me up and it was on the radio. I remember that piano coming in and I was like, ‘What is this?’ So that’s been my favourite for a while, but Crocodile Rock is awesome as well.
I really feel that a good song can change your life. I think I’ve been a long-time subscriber to that. I think the songs he’s done over the years will live forever, they are timeless. A great song is a great song. I think everyone remembers the first time they heard an Elton John song and I think they have a feeling of nostalgia for people. So it was lovely that it was another character in this film, because I think the story of Romeo & Juliet is quite nostalgic for people as well. It was just woven in beautifully with it.
Jensen: Mine would be Your Song, which is just one of his ones that I… I was actually glad the whole song wasn’t played in this film and it’s just a few bars of it because it makes me cry. You know there are some songs that just make the hairs on your neck stand up? That’s one of those for me – I put it on if I want a good cry.
MMM: How do you find maintaining a career in the UK and US?
Blunt: I think it’s definitely possible. I work here in the UK a lot. But I know what you mean about moving to LA and some people sometimes see it as a snub. That’s not the intention at all. I just married an American!
But it is very possible and I feel great loyalty to the British film industry. I just finished one last year and am about to do another one this year. So I really feel it’s possible to do both and there’s nothing wrong with doing both. I think it’s alright to keep it diverse and do a bit of everything. That’s the fun of it.
Jensen: I think when you go to LA some people feel you’ve defected a little bit and that’s not really the case. Ideally, I would love to work here and in America. That’s in an ideal world. In fact, I came back to Britain recently to do an ITV1 drama that will be out in April for a couple of months. But I’m flying back to LA to do a pilot season. So to work in both places is great.
MMM: What’s your favourite kids film and why?
Blunt: Growing up I watched Old Yeller so many times. I wept every time.
Jensen: I’m thinking of Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music… there are too many to name really. And all the old classic ones like Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs and Bambi.
