Exclusive: Naomie Harris Talks ‘Collateral Beauty’Posted by Wilson Morales
December 14, 2016
Coming out this week from Warner Bros. is the emotional drama Collateral Beauty, which stars Will Smith, Edward Norton, Keira Knightley, Michael Peña, Naomie Harris, and Jacob Latimore, with Oscar winners Kate Winslet and Helen Mirren.
Directed David Frankel, the film hits theaters on December 16, 2016.
When a successful New York advertising executive suffers a great tragedy he retreats from life. While his concerned friends try desperately to reconnect with him, he seeks answers from the universe by writing letters to Love, Time and Death. But it’s not until his notes bring unexpected personal responses that he begins to understand how these constants interlock in a life fully lived, and how even the deepest loss can reveal moments of meaning and beauty.
For Naomie Harris, the British actress is having a banner year. Although she’s received international recognition from her work in successful franchises such as the Pirates of the Caribbean films, and in the James Bond films Skyfall and Spectre, she’s also appeared in Selena in 28 Days Later, and played Winnie Mandela in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. In 2016 she also appeared in Our Kind of Traitor and Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight, where her performances as drug addicted crack mom to a boy who doesn’t know if he’s gay or not has garnered her critical acclaim.
In speaking with Blackfilm.com, Harris talked about her role in Collateral and working with this cast.
What was the attraction to doing the film?
Naomie Harris: I read the script and I thought that here is loss, which is so rarely dealt with in Hollywood, and I thought here it’s being dealt with, and in such a beautiful and inspiring way, and so I really wanted to be a part of it for that reason, and also because it was Will who asked me to do this role. He said he wanted to work with me, and I thought I always wanted to work with him, and I’ve heard such amazing things about him, and so that’s why I wanted to be a part of it.
How would you best describe your character Madeline?
Naomie Harris: I would say Madeline is everything that I would aspire to be because she is a volunteer grief counselor who has suffered a tragedy in her life, and now turned her life around so that it’s about giving back to other people; like, she’s helping other people overcome their own personal loss, and she’s full of compassion and love and understanding and generosity of spirit, and I think she’s really pretty amazing.
Because this is so much of an ensemble film, how was working along with this cast, although you didn’t have scenes with many besides Will Smith?
fNaomie Harris: Yeah. I mean, it’s a shame that I didn’t have an opportunity to work with all the other amazing cast members, because I would have loved to work with Kate and Ed and Jacob, and so on, and Keira, again, that would be great, but, you know, to be honest, what happens towards the end of the movie, or what have you, it really doesn’t matter for me as a performer because in my head it’s always a complete arc, so I’ve got the whole story in my head, so I know the journey of my character and I know what she’s about and what have you. It’s more for the audience, I think, that that matters.
How was filming in New York?
Naomie Harris: Filming in New York … it was wonderful because I think New York is a character in the movie, and it’s a fantastical version of New York at Christmas; an incredibly beautiful fantastical character, but it adds an extra element, especially because I’m British, so I get to experience what it’s really like because it’s culturally very different to be in London.
How was working with Will Smith?
Naomie Harris: Better than I could possibly have imagined because he’s so generous, and he’s so fun, and this is a movie, because it’s dealing with some really dark subjects, that has the potential to be quite heavy-set, but because of him, and because of how fun he is, and because of how playful he is, he always lifts the energy on set. We had so much fun while making this movie.
Now, because you obviously mentioned you didn’t have scenes with the other people, did everybody get together at some point during a table read or so?
Naomie Harris: We did a table read, first of all, yeah, which is incredibly intimidating, so I was like, oh my gosh. It’s like a Who’s Who, it’s incredible.
What about David Frankel? What do you take away from his skills that you could probably use for your next project or what did you get from working with him?
Naomie Harris: What I loved about working with David is how collaborative he is, because he said from the very beginning, you want to change anything, Allan Loeb is right here. Allan Loeb was pretty much on set everyday rewriting, so he was always like, okay, if this doesn’t sound right for your character, or this doesn’t feel right, then let’s just go for it and change it. I haven’t really had a director who is that fluid with the material, you know. I thought that was really very generous of him.
Is this type of role you go out and do research for, even though there’s going to be a script that simplifies the role of a social worker?
Naomie Harris: Yeah, so I worked with a grief counselor and I also was very fortunate because Will Smith’s wardrobe assistant had actually lost a child at a very young age, and she really came to me and said, I would very happily help you with your research. What she did was before I did each scene, she would come up to me with a poem or a piece of writing from a blog about grief that she had been part of, or something that had inspired her, and she would give it to me and then she would tell me how she would feel in that moment, in that scene. I really owe so much to her.
You’ve had an amazing year, and in the last few years, you’ve gone playing Moneypenny to Winnie Mandela, there’s a possibility you’re going to go to the Oscars for your work in Moonlight. what has this year done for you in the last few months?
Naomie Harris: It’s an incredible, incredible year, and yeah, I don’t know what it’s done in terms of my career, it’s just, I guess, got me more visibility, but more than anything, what I’m really proud about is that here are two movies that I believe in in terms of their message, and that’s what I always aim to be part of. I want to be part of movies that edify an audience; that leave them enriched in some way, and I think so many movies that you go to see don’t leave you feeling anything, and you don’t really feel as though you’ve learnt something about life, or about yourself, so I’m proud of the fact that here are two movies that I can really stand behind and say they have really beautiful messages.
What comes first; story, character, or cast?
Naomie Harris: 100% story. Story, which is led by character, and then cast comes way down. I always say the script is your bible, perhaps because my mom is a writer, so I grew up knowing and valuing the written word.
Why should anyone see “Collateral Beauty”?
Naomie Harris: Because I think it is a wonderful, feel-good, perfect for the holidays, perfect to share with the entire family movie that will leave you feeling inspired and reminded of what is beautiful and precious about life.
Clip – I’ve Been Having These Conversations
