Jim Broadbent on “Le Week-End” and Philip Seymour Hoffman

We posted about Jim Broadbent’s (Horace Slughorn) film Le Week-End way back in March, when it was released in theaters. In a new interview, Jim has spoken about his role in the film,  Philip Seymour Hoffman, rebellion, and acting.

In the interview, Jim is asked about fellow actor Philip Seymour Hoffman:

On the phone with Broadbent, I ask if he recognized Hoffman’s angst.

‘Not at all,’ he says, and somehow I’m not surprised. ‘I don’t have a desire to play a traditional leading man at all, really. I feel completely free from it. I mean, I have a very low boredom threshold — I hate repeating myself, hate doing the same thing, so I’m always looking for a new adventure and doing something totally different than what I’ve done before. Although, I say I have a low boredom threshold, but I’m perfectly happy to be on film sets and sit around for hours doing nothing, which is a different sort of boredom,’ he says, laughing.

Does he prefer comedy or drama?

I don’t differentiate, really. The overlaps between them are huge. To get drama — if you’re accurate in finding the truth in it — is often inevitably funny and vice versa. I sometimes wouldn’t know whether to describe what I’ve been doing as comedy or drama.

Jim also talks about the way that Le Week-End was made:

It was a beautiful way of working though: a very light crew and not top-heavy with the technicalities of filming. We were in a couple of mini-buses running around Paris and shooting in an economic and fast way, which is very pleasing.

Jim further reflects on relating to the rebellious side of his character in the film:

Our youths are more rebellious than we turn out to be in the end. I certainly understood that and from both my own personal experience and observation, Nick’s sort of disappointment in himself. As you get older you see that in people your own age, who have promised more than they’ve been able to deliver. So that was something that rang very true.

Check out the full interview with Jim here.

If you missed it, make sure you check out the trailer from the film here. Le Week-End is available now on DVD.