tMF | The Movie-Fanatic

A Single Man, The Weinstein Company's Oscar bet this year, is a fascinating study of characters. Based on the novel by Christopher Isherwood, it depicts one day in the life of George, a middle-aged gay Englishman who works as a college professor in Los Angeles and whose lover, Jim, has recently died.

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Playing Kenny, "a pretty-boy college student who appears to be stalking George (Colin Firth)", is Nicholas Hoult. During its LA Press day, tMF was able to secure a phone interview with the young British actor. It must have been a tiresome day for Nicholas Hoult, but I never noticed, even once, any indication. Hoult was quite charming, seriously answered all my questions and even volunteered to add a few tidbits or two. What's so interesting is that he's very courteous, unlike some of the young actors based in Hollywood.

Even though playing a gay role might have been controversial for Hoult, it was the least of his concerns. For me, this kind of attitude is the mark of a serious actor.

For Hoult, it was never about him, the person, but rather the actor and the characters he portray. More of Nicholas Hoult and our interview after the jump!

Is it enough to judge the character of a person by his voice alone? In the case of my phone interview with British actor Nicholas Hoult, that's my best bet at the moment.

Playing 'Unconventional' Characters: Fresh from his stint in London's West End where Hoult plays the lead in 'New Boy', it took him just a few days to study his character in Tom Ford's directorial debut, A Single Man. As Kenny, Hoult plays a young college student, with a rather ambiguous sexual identity, who pursues George, the lead character portrayed by Colin Firth.

Says Ford about Hoult getting the role:

The (one who was originally cast) actor didn't show up the first day he was due. He was attached for six months and we had made his costumes. O was so lucky and I cannot imagine anyone but Nicholas Hoult in that role. I had seen Nicholas' tape a few weeks earlier and I was kind of kicking myself. I had a sick feeling inside that this guy was perfect for it and that I was working with another actor. But it just came together.

Ford refused to name the said actor, but we noticed Jamie Bell's name attached to the movie way way back. "I don't think Bell could have delivered the kind of performance Hoult did in the movie, said my friend (and his review of A Single Man will follow this interview). Here's the trailer:

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This is not Hoult's first time to play a gay character - in the stage play from Russell Labey entitled New Boy, he plays a student with (almost) the same identity of sorts. As expected, there's some speculation as to his sexuality, to which he responded with obvious non-challant. Finding an interesting script is first and foremost, his priority at the moment. What's next is to study the character - being gay or not actually has no bearing in the scheme of things. Without being arrogant, Hoult was trying to convey that he's quite assured of himself.

People can speculate all they want, it really doesn't concern me. If someone I knew said something about me, then it would bother me because I knew the person. At the end of the day, I'll probably just ignore it since that someone who said something, anything about me, I know nothing about.

It was obvious Hoult has responded to the same question dozen of times, but he never showed any indication of irritation or impatience. With a British accent which keeps on getting more and more familiar, Hoult explained that Tom Ford's passion and dedication to Isherwood's book allowed the acclaimed designer to convince the young actor to bare in a skinny dip scene.

This is not the first time that I felt conscious about doing a scene, in Skins, I had to kiss a guy, and we're both 17 years old, so... This time, it also felt a bit kind of odd because we were getting spray tans so it makes you feel like you're wearing clothes, even though you're not.

In the popular TV series, Skins, he was referring to a scene with co-star Mitch Hewer. He recalled it was not a pleasant thing to do, but he had to do it.

On Tom Ford and his co-stars: As director, Ford was the hands-on kind and as one of his actors, he gave Hoult time to explore his character and make it his own. Although the pressure was already with Hoult, who only got a few days to spare. Colin Firth was more than a co-star to Hoult, "he's more of a mentor', he said, and finds it relatively easy to work with their scenes.

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Working with cinema's acclaimed leading men: Hoult seems to have gained a reputation as the young actor who got to work with some of today’s most talented actors. Aside from Hugh Grant in About a Boy, he was also cast alongside Gabriel Byrne and Julie Walters in Wah-Wah. But the film that made heads turn is The Weather Man with Nicholas Cage. He even wrote for Blockbuster's blog to promote his movie with Cage.

Type of Movies: While some of his contemporaries may prefer watching the latest film and enjoying the special effects, Hoult seems to prefer a more diverse type of cinema. Says Hoult:

When it comes to the kind of films I like the best, I try to keep an open mind. I'll see anything, really. It's always fun to find something new. I watch old films with my parents, romantic comedies and other girly films with my two sisters, and action films with my bloke mates. I'd really like to do an action movie one day. It would be so much fun, all the stunts and stuff, just not the dangerous ones obviously. I'm a huge "Bond" fan, and really looking forward to the new one. I also reckon Bond fans will like Pierce Brosnan in "The Matador". He plays a fed up assassin, and though his character is nothing like Bond, he's still really cool.

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Looking Ahead: Hoult said he's looking forward to his latest film, Clash of the Titans, because it'll be the first time for him to be involved in a big-budgetted movie. This is, of course, a remake of the 1981 film version of the myth of Perseus (to be played by Sam Worthington) and his quest to battle both Medusa and the Kraken monster in order to save the Princess Andromeda.
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Photoshoots: Profiles and High Fashion - At 6'2", Nicholas Hoult could rival even the most seasoned of male models. He offers something quite different - he's never 'generic' in all the photos I've seen of him.

The thing is, he is fascinating to watch on the big screen and with an almost 'chameleon' quality, he can offer many faces as he pose for the camera. Aside from the photoshoots, he said something quite amazing:

You know, you can play a murderer, as I did in [BBC detective show] Wallander, and no one asks if you've killed anyone. But if you play a gay character, people start questioning your sexuality. [ read more ]

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Photographed by Tom Ford himself, Hoult appeared in the latest editorial at Out. Showing a kind of maturity beyond his age, Hoult captures the glamour, style and extravagance of Ford's high fashion theme. Six high-definition sampling make up the online showcase of Ford's Out editorial.

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What's on your mind? What can you say about Nicholas Hoult as an actor? Have you seen his films before? Are you looking forward to his latest, A Single Man, from first-time director Tom Ford? Let us know what you think!

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Acknowledgment: tMF wishes to thank the staff at The Weinstein Company for arranging this interview with Nicholas Hoult, and to S. @Palisades Media for the fantastic support!
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