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KW:
And how did it reshape you?
FW:
It reshaped my point-of-view of colonialism. It reshaped
my point-of-view of my own sense of source, and my own
place of birth. It made it more organic inside of me,
because it placed me in a position where my job was
to understand and to become more African. That was an
unbelievable opportunity. I could never have gone to
Africa another way and had the same experience. It was
my job and my joy at the same time.
KW:
Was it a life-transforming experience?
FW:
It touched something really deep inside of
me, really. It changed my matrix, my insides. My blood
even feels kinda different. I don’t know how to
describe it. It’s really kind of Eucharistic.
I feel like I ate the place and now it’s part
of my system, part of my being. I’m not claiming
that now I know what it’s like to be African,
but that now I have a deeper understanding of myself.
KW:
What measures did you take to prepare yourself for this
role?
FW:
Well, I started by studying Kiswahili to learn
the dialect. Then, I studied tapes, documentaries, footage,
and audio cassettes of Idi Amin’s speeches. And
I met with his brothers, his sisters, his ministers,
his generals… all kinds of people, in order to
try to understand him.
KW:
You also seem to have undergone a significant physical
transformation for the role.
FW:
Yeah, Kevin wanted him to be bigger, so definitely,
I did gain some more weight for the character. And since
Idi Amin was from the Sudanese section in the north
of Uganda, he was darker skinned. He had more of a blue
undertone. So, we did change the coloring of my skin
to be closer to his. But otherwise, there were no transformations
besides acting.
KW:
Did it help to shoot the film in Africa?
FW:
I certainly don’ think I could’ve played
the character the same way without being in Uganda.
I loved working in Uganda.
KW:
What did you loved about the country?
FW:
I found the people to be very kind and generous. It
was unique because the crew was mainly Ugandan. They
had never done a film before. So, they were learning
the process of making films, but at the same time they
were also helping with the authenticity of the film.
KW:
How so?
FW:
By making sure that things were accurate. They would
speak up about things in rooms or places that wouldn’t
be that way. So it became like a cool sort of give-and-take
situation, with them working more in films, and us learning
more about Uganda.
KW:
How did you find yourself affected by being
in Uganda?
FW:
I think the place fed me completely. Not only was I
in Uganda, but I was around many people who had a personal
relationship with Idi Amin. I was eating the food constantly.
I was culturally hanging out with the people. You can’t
help but absorb the energy, and try to get inside the
culture.
KW:
Would you say, then, that making the movie in Africa
was critical?
FW:
Really trying to understand, inside, what it is to be
Ugandan was crucial to the character, because there
are Ugandan ways of doing things that I was trying to
capture. Even if I had made this movie in South Africa,
it would not have been the same, because it is so specific
to Uganda.
KW:
How do the people of Uganda feel about Amin today?
FW:
It’s kind of a duality. There are people
who hate him, a small amount. And then there are the
people who really admire him, like a hero. And then
there’s a large group who say, “We know
that all these murders and atrocities occurred, but
he did all these great things.”
KW:
What do you see as the movie’s message?
FW:
There’s a couple. One has to do with
the corruption of power, because it deals with friendship,
betrayal, and how power corrupts. Then, also, more importantly,
I think it deals with the foreign powers coming into
a country and dictating the way the people should live
and what they should believe, putting leaders into positions,
and what kind of monsters are created from that type
of behavior.
KW:
How do you anticipate audiences responding to the movie?
FW:
I hope that audiences respond really positively. I think
it’s a very intense, entertaining film, because
you’re brought in on a fun ride, and slowly you
fall into it as James [actor James McAvoy’s character,
Dr. Nicholas Garrigan] does. Nicholas is like the audience.
I think it’s a good ride for people. And you learn
something, as well.
KW:
How do you feel about your performance generating some
early Oscar buzz?
FW:
I’m really excited that people are receiving my
performance like this. It makes me feel good, because
I’ve been working really hard. And this character,
I worked particularly hard on. But I don’t want
to get too caught up in it, because first of all, it
could lead to a great disappointment. You never know
what’s going to happen. In my career, I’ve
had people talking about different things many times,
but then not get nominated. So, I think it’s great
to enjoy the moment, and that’s what I’m
trying to right now. I’m just hoping people are
going to see the movie, because it’s a unique
film.
KW:
In this role, we get to see a more explosive side of
your acting range. Most of the characters you’ve
portrayed in the past have been more measured and relatively
subdued. Why do you think that is?
FW:
I think it’s the character, though there’s
a little transition, because I think I’m marrying
my internal and external life a little more lately.
But I was trying to capture this man’s energy,
and I did a lot of research in studying him. I tried
to capture his “Warrior King” energy inside
of me as much as possible.
KW:
To what extent do you have to channel all your energies
with a laser-like focus to deliver an inspired performance
like this?
FW:
Well, you have to commit yourself and know
that, for that time frame, you have to commit to this
character. But I did call home and speak to my family.
Otherwise, I was pretty much consumed by this character.
Even when I was off, I was continually searching to
find something else new about Amin, and to embed myself
deeper into the culture to the point that, in the end,
I was so entrenched that I could tell what tribe someone
was from just by looking at them.
KW:
After all the work you did to become Amin, how hard
was it to decompress and get him out of your system
to return to yourself, when you finished filming?
FW:
On the very last day of shooting, I remember
wanting to get the character out of me right away, as
much as I could. You literally take a bath to wash him
off you. And you try to get your voice back, because
my speaking range for the role was a lot lower. Luckily,
I went into another part not so long afterwards, so
I was kind of able to push it away a little bit. But
speech patterns, and little sounds, particularly colloquial
things, like the way you ask questions or might respond,
were sticking with me, probably because I’d worked
so hard to make it a part of my everyday way of expressing
myself. It also took a little longer for me to stop
talking about him in the first person.
KW:
Amin died in exile in 2003. Was he aware that this movie
was being made?
FW:
That’s a really interesting question. I don’t
know. They’ve been trying to get this movie made
for about six years. So, I would’ve thought that
they might call him and talk to him. But I don’t
know if he was aware.
KW:
Thanks for the time, and I expect you’re finally
going to get that Oscar nomination for this performance.
FW:
Cool, thank you. Take care.
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