Aurelio Zen

[rufluvr]

Thanks for posting the Caterina interview, Rai. She comes across as a really decent person, and we have to give her props for knowing what an amazing an actor Rufus is. It sounds like it was rather trying for her to overcome her awe of Rufus, and just "act" with him. Totally understandable. ;D We feel for her, but it is a problem a lot of us would love to tackle, hee hee. Can relate to her being blown away with his performance in Dangerous Beauty and then watching it countless times. Same thing happened to this Ruf-fan too.

[anyother]

"At first I was blushing in every scene, and then one day I said to Rufus, “I have to understand that you are a human being; that you eat like me, that you drink water like me. I have to break up this image I have of you as a god.” It was very hard having to kiss my favourite actor in the world,’ she says, shaking her head at the memory."

Sounds like she could be a Rooftopper. Except the last bit, that is.

[GreenEyesToo]

Thanks for the link, Rai!

Dec 26, 2010 0:47:45 GMT judypatooty said:

Caterina sounds like a really lovely person! (And she obviously has been a Rooftopper for many years!)

LOL! You mean this bit?:

‘My Rufus! I was in love with Rufus from the first time I saw him in the film Dangerous Beauty 12 years ago. I have watched that movie more than 20 times – I know it by heart in English, in French and Italian, and for me Rufus is one of the best actors in the world. He is a god! So I panicked when I had to do an audition with him. I cannot look him in the eyes – but he is so generous, so humble, so there to help and support me. At the end of the casting he came over and said, “I hope you get the part.” I was so happy when I did,’ she says.
Ooh, I hope she wasn't gushy like that all through filming - how embarrassing for him!

[anyother]

TV choice interview:

www.tvchoicemagazine.co.uk/interviewextra/rufus-sewell-zen

And some preview pics (sit down first):

[wichiwoman]

Thanks for the article, anyother! Knocking down little old ladies and getting sandwiches and tea!

Some good cap-it pics too!

[nell]

Dec 27, 2010 15:45:09 GMT GreenEyesToo said:

Thanks for the link, Rai!

Dec 26, 2010 0:47:45 GMT judypatooty said:

Caterina sounds like a really lovely person! (And she obviously has been a Rooftopper for many years!)

LOL! You mean this bit?:

‘My Rufus! I was in love with Rufus from the first time I saw him in the film Dangerous Beauty 12 years ago. I have watched that movie more than 20 times – I know it by heart in English, in French and Italian, and for me Rufus is one of the best actors in the world. He is a god! So I panicked when I had to do an audition with him. I cannot look him in the eyes – but he is so generous, so humble, so there to help and support me. At the end of the casting he came over and said, “I hope you get the part.” I was so happy when I did,’ she says.
Ooh, I hope she wasn't gushy like that all through filming - how embarrassing for him!

No she can't be a Rooftopper - she's only watched it 20 times ;D

Thanks for the link Rai. Great interview. I think I'll go with fleas rather than bedbugs. We don't want to start any more rumours do we ?

What we wouldn't give to have been that little old lady hey ! Maybe she was a Rooftopper in disguise. Now there's a plan ;D

Nice pics too. I can't help wanting to administer first aid in the top one (just imagine a little old lady that gets swept along while all the time dabbing at his face with her hanky )and is it just me or can I see shades of Jacob Hood in the bottom pic ?

I had wondered if he'd lay off the sandwiches talk after we all ever so gently extracted the urine - maybe when he drops those comments into interviews now he'll forever be reminded of us ! Aaahhhh what a thought

[vmaciv]

I hope she was absolutely that gushy and I hope someone was taking photographs as well. Pictures please. I did enjoy all the interviews. I always feel a little sad for Rufus. It is sad that the movie industry seems content to retread the same tired actors rather than take a fresh approach but all good things come to those that wait. He is a clip. He has a wondeful sense of sarcasm and dry wit.

[judypatooty]

Woohoo! I found some online software that allowed me (in the U.S.) to watch the Zen clip on the BBC iPlayer!!!!

Do a search for "Expat Shield".

(Only drawback I can see is that it is ad-supported, so while I was typing this post ... with Expat Shield running in the background) a small banner popped up with an ad asking me "Do you want to Live, Work and Study in USA?" LOL! Um. Yes.

It was an ad for a green-card service of some sort.)

[anyother]

Thanks Judy, it worked for me as well. I can't wait til January 2nd now...

I just love the things he can do with his eyebrows - sigh.

[kissmekate]

Thanks for all those interesting interviews and wonderful pics. I hope Zen WILL air in Germany soon and we'll have Rufus all over the TV magazines too.

The little-old-lady story has some kind of Petruchio quality to it

And I loved Caterina's tale of how excited she was to meet her "god"

[GreenEyesToo]

Thanks, anyother - I missed this earlier. Poor injured Rufus.....

I think it's worth posting the whole TV Choice interview here:

After a five-year absence, Rufus Sewell returns to BBC1 in a new Rome-based detective drama called Zen.

What grabbed you about the role?

What’s interesting about the books Zen is based on is that they vary in tone. A lot of it is funny and a lot is dark and a lot of the main character is Italy itself. For me it had the right outlook, my character Aurelio Zen is not on top of the world, he’s not a corridor-striding winner and that made it something I knew I’d have fun playing.

Does he have any of the traditional police vices – drinking, smoking and gambling?

Traditional human vices! I think he smokes like a trooper, he drinks, he loves his food, but they’re not particularly vices.

He might not be a big success but he gets the beautiful girl after falling for his colleague Tania (Caterina Murino).

Who knows what will happen? It’s not all a happy ending. He might get the girl but the next morning they’ll have a horrible argument and he’ll get something wrong. That’s what makes it interesting to me. The other day we drove past a really nice car and someone said, 'Wouldn’t it be nice if Zen got a car like that?' I said, 'Yes, but it would have to end up in the River Tiber after a night.'

Was it fun living and working in Rome?

It was wonderful but in terms of the Italian-ness of the drama, I made the decision not to try to act that too much, it could become an affectation. You see typical Italians with the hand gestures and you see others who are not typical, I decided to play one who’s not. He has his hands in his pockets or a mobile phone in one hand and an ice cream in the other.

Had you worked in Rome before?

One of the best times I’ve ever had was in Rome making a film called The Honest Courtesan. I spent four months in the city and it was the best experience of my life. Cheesy though it sounds, I do feel very lucky to get the chance to do it again.

You did some guerilla filming near Roman landmarks including the station. How was that?

I took out an old lady who wasn’t one of our extras! We had loads of people who were trained to bump into me as I was running through the station being chased by the police and I’d push them out of the way. But they couldn’t stop a poor bemused old lady wandering into the middle of it. Luckily I didn’t knock her over, I grabbed her and ran with her in this bizarre way for about 15ft with her looking at me like, ‘You freak, what are you doing?’

What did bystanders make of it?

I think they thought I was a raging pervert!

Episode one includes an impressive cave scene where you’re under water. Are you a good swimmer?

No, I’m useless but I didn’t have to do much, I was just bobbing up and down. I was also surrounded by hundreds of grown ups looking after me and handing me little sandwiches and cups of tea, it was hardly dangerous.

Have you done many stunts in the past?

My line on that is the opposite of Tom Cruise’s. I think it’s important that the audience sees it’s someone else doing it and that I’m safely off having a cup of tea somewhere else. I have a vision that if you get killed doing a stunt, they’ll have a minute’s silence while someone calls casting! I don’t think it’s worth the risk.


You can always tell the real interviews from the cobbled-together-from-other-sources ones, can't you? This one has Rufus's self-deprecating humour all the way through it. But you can't fool us, Rufus, we all know you keep your hands in your pockets because your natural inclination is for Italianate hand gestures! ;D

And I LOVE the little old lady story! Wonder if we'll see that on screen?

[kygal]

Well.....I did it. Bought a region free dvd player and the Zen dvd. If the darn thing does not work you will be able to hear me scream all the way in the UK!

Oh...did I mention that I am a nurse and should be the one to administer any medical treatment Mr Zen/Sewell should require.

[rumantic]

I'm coming to your house to watch it!

[kygal]

Jump in the car Rumantic...but better make sure it works ok first..haha.

[rumantic]

I'll keep my fingers crossed