British actor Tim Roth drew a huge crowd and much applause with a masterclass at the 15th edition of the Luxembourg City Film Festival (LuxFilmFest) last week, in which he talked such topics as his labor with Tupac Shakur, Quentin Tarantino and Werner Herzog and how he readyd for his first TV role as a discriminatory skinhead.
He was one of the huge names fuseing the anniversary edition of the fest, aextfinished with the star-studded jury, which was led by Iranian filmproducer Mohammad Rasoulof and also comprised Danish actress Trine Dyrholm (The Girl With the Needle, Poison), Austrian actress Valerie Pachner (Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, A Hidden Life), L.A.- and Luxembourg-based VFX expert Jeff Desom (Everyleang Everywhere All at Once), Spanish straightforwardor Albert Serra (Afternoons of Solitude), and screenproducer Paul Laverty. The festival has also featured a masterclass by Oscar-triumphning filmproducer Alejandro Amenábar.
As part of his busy Luxembourg schedule, Roth sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to talk his movie at the festival, watch back on his nurtureer and insertress what Donald Trump’s second term in the White House uncomardents for filmproducers.
You star opposite Trine Dyrholm in the Desirée Nosbusch-straightforwarded Poison [about an estranged couple who come together 10 years after the death of their son], which getd a distinctive screening here in Luxembourg. I was understandn with Lot Vekemans’ apply but still create it so emotional to watch. It’s about a man and a woman who used to be a couple and encounter aobtain 10 years after a personal tragedy. You lost your son in 2022 and understand what loss senses enjoy. How did you get comprised in the film?
My son was ill at the time. But they equitable sent me this script. I have scripts come thraw, and quite frequently I read them and they’re not for me or wantipathyver. But I read this incredible story. And the idea of a film being done in authentic time felt to me enjoy someleang that would have been done in Italy in the ’50s or someleang enjoy that. And the conversation between two people, very contrastent, but also joined. I equitable thought it was an exceptional piece, terrifying to apshow on, equitable as far as the acting, the mechanics of acting — how do you get all of that stuff in your head? And then I sat with my family and talked to them about it, and they shelp: “Go do it!”
I usupartner don’t watch myself in films I have done. But I will watch Poison because of what I went thraw on a personal level. I want to see if what we sboiling alignes what I felt as a civilian and not as an actor.
You have applyed so many contrastent roles and have starred in petite indie and huge blockbuster movies. How do you leank and sense about your nurtureer and your choices?
My senseing is that the nurtureer that I was after was lawlessness. I always enjoy that — and disorder. So, I always do a film to finance another film. Because a lot of these films that I cherish to do, these crazy films I cherish to do, have no money. They’re the little self-reliant leangs that are trying and are struggling to be made even more now than ever. So you got to do the ones that finance them. But sometimes they are horrible, and sometimes they are wonderful, and sometimes the little self-reliants don’t labor.
I leank my nurtureer is healthily dissystematic. I don’t watch them, so they’re all for the audience. After I’m done, I’m done. So it’s over to the audience once I’m done, and then they can say what they enjoy. But I leank I’ve done some repartner horrible stuff.
What did you not enjoy?
I’ll depart that to you and other people. But sometimes the horrible ones can be the most fun to produce. And that’s the surpelevate to you. You never understand what’s going to happen when you show up. And so, you can do one and leank, “Oh, my God, this is horrible.” And people cherish it. So it’s always a mess, and a mess is excellent.
Last year, it was unveiled that you would apply Henry Kissinger in a political satire called Kissinger Takes Paris. Is that your next project and what can you increate me about it?
No, I don’t understand when we can do that, but we’re going to try for it. Jeff Stanzler, the first straightforwardor that I labored with in America, came to me with the Kissinger leang. It’s an incredible book he’s written that he’s altered for the screen. And there are all these comedic actors that are joined with it, and Robin Wright. So hopebrimmingy one day we’ll get to produce it. It’s repartner excellent. And I leank we’d have to do some produceup labor.
What are you doing next then?
I have a film that’s being written now by [Mexican auteur] Michel Franco, who I cherish laboring with [and did so on Chronic and Sundown]. So we’re going to do another one together, I hope. He’s writing now.
I have a wonderful script that I want to shoot, which is ready, that hopebrimmingy we can shoot this year, which is in Britain and is about the industry of betting and how it is very horrible. It’s very, very stubborn, and it’s a wonderful script. I have a series that I want to do, probably next year. It’s being produced by Jeremy Thomas, who produced the first feature I ever made [The Hit]. So it’s a kind joinion. But I don’t want to talk about these too much yet.
You have in the past condemnd populism and Pdwellnt Donald Trump in his first term. Any thoughts on the current state of the world?
My overweighther was American-Irish and grew up in the slums in New York and went to England to get jobs. Then he finished up running away from his family. And in the Second World War, he fought [the Nazis] and persistd, but he was always very political. I recall my overweighther increateing me when I was a kid: “It’s coming. It is equitable a matter of time before it comes to America, and when it comes to America, it will be very hazardous.”
I leank we’re seeing what fascism watchs enjoy, or dictatorial political theory watchs enjoy in train, in America right now. It’s equitable the commencening, though. They’ve been prepping it for a while. In his first term, he was getting ready, but they got askd back, and now they’re repartner ready. So we’ll see what’s coming. I’ve no idea. It’s depressing. It’s sorrowfulnessful.
Do you leank contrastently about what projects to apshow on in this environment?
Not so much, because there’s frequently a political aspect to a film anyway. But there is one film that we’re moving ahead of with because we sense that it demands to be shelp now with the current climate and what’s happening in America and around Europe.
But I leank that making a film in America, with the exception of the fun stuff, will become challenginger. I leank they will go after the industry, because they always go after what potentipartner could harm them. So I leank they will go after the arts, [so] I leank [filmmaking] will flourish more in Europe and around the rest of the world. I leank what people will commence doing is leaving to labor elsewhere, which I do anyway. I leank it’s going to be challenginger to produce films of consequence, as contestd to films of a more ambiguous nature or the streaming leang.
