Steve Coogan Opens Up About Facial Rape in ‘Hamlet 2′

Posted by Josh Radde (josh@filmschoolrejects.com) on August 25, 2008

Early in Hamlet 2, Dana Marschz (Steve Coogan) seems to be down on his luck. His staged production of Erin Brockovich is not testing well with the high school critic and Marschz expresses his feelings by remarking “I feel like I’ve been raped…IN THE FACE!” Not only is this maybe the funniest line I’ve heard in a movie all year, but it’s also an example of the type of irreverence and no-holds-barred attitude this movie displays. I had a chance recently to see the film and meet British comedian Steve Coogan at the AMC Theater near Navy Pier in Chicago to talk about Dana Marschz and comedy, in general.

When asked if the character was always intended to be American instead of British:

“Well, I wasn’t the first choice for Dana, but a much larger American comedian couldn’t do it. But I met with with Andy (Fleming, director) and Pam (Brady, writer) and it was always known that Dana would be American. Because the character is so naval-gazing, raw, and emotional he had to be American–Brits are too guarded.”

When asked about specific character traits such as wearing roller skates and having a blond haircut:

“We had a long debate as to what’s funnier–roller blades or skates. Hours of phone call debates and eventually (Andy) just put me in skates and watched me for hours, sitting there laughing. Having long, blond hair was very important to me. We talked about how he would behave. We had talks, tried some things out, figuring out how Dana would gesticulate. There was a scene where he cries over the colors of folders, we tried things out, collaborated on moments. You know, I would take care of the funny bits and Andy would make sure I would commit to the emotional bits.”

On playing a less-than-intelligent person:

“I like to play flawed, damaged characters. And human. The challenge is to like a character despite his flaws. I’m not good at playing cool, I like to play someone who’s kind of fucked up. I don’t want to be the smartest person in the room. It would’ve been easy to play Dana as a cynic or a failure. But I really wanted someone you’d care about so that it wasn’t just a string of gags on screen.”

On the prospect of fame in America:

“Not interested in it. What’s nice about fame is that you get to do international work with fame. In Britain, I’m quite big, here though, in America, I have to catch the scraps that real famous people miss, like Hamlet 2.”

On the rave reception at Sundance:

“I didn’t know if people would get it or not. Filming a movie, you know, it takes so long that you forget if its funny. It’s nice to hear people laugh. I always expect the worst so anything is a bonus. I’m British. I don’t whoop and cheer. When people like it, I say ‘calm down, it’s not THAT good.’”

On his relationship with Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright (Coogan had a brief part in last year’s Hot Fuzz):

“Simon and I go way back a long time. He used to be my live-show supporter. Then he went and screwed up our tour plans by becoming a movie star. Edgar and Simon are kindred spirits, I think, and I like the movies they make.”

On Elizabeth Shue mocking herself:

“She wasn’t the first person they asked. They had asked a few female actresses whose profile wasn’t nearly as big as Elizabeth’s and they were insulted by the prospect of making fun of themselves. But Elizabeth got the joke, she has a great sense of humor. She also does have this skepticism about the Hollywood industry so what you’re seeing is probably not too far off.”

Hamlet 2 is one of the funniest movies released in a long time and is easily the funniest movie released this summer. Do yourself a favor–go out and see it and behold the glory of Hamlet 2 (the movie itself is great, but the staged version of “Hamlet 2″ within the film is simply magical). If you weren’t sold already just check out “Rock Me Sexy Jesus,” which has a sing-a-long video available on YouTube now.

Read more articles by Josh Radde