METRO HERALD Tuesday, December 10, 2013
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60 seconds Tulisa charged over nicOLAs cAgE, 49, has had a prolific career that’s included an Oscar win and four Razzie nominations. He recently played a caveman in animated film The Croods
Is it true that before he asked you to play a cowardly Neanderthal, Croods producer Jeffrey Katzenberg had asked you to voice Shrek? Yeah, and I’d said:
‘I don’t want to look like that guy.’ Now I wish I had done it. When he showed me pictures of Grug and said: ‘You see how I see you, Nicolas? What do you think of that?’ I had enough presence of mind not to say anything but yes.
Did you see yourself the way he did? No, I have trouble with the
idea of living in fear. That’s never been who I am. Grug is an overprotective father and takes it too far, to the point where his family feel like they’re surviving, not living. But any father who cares about the ones he loves is going to worry.
REX
by AnDREi HARMswORTH
making the film? Very close. Look, I’m not going to be one of these guys that’s going to be, like, lamenting things. But is Tim Burton one of my favourite directors? Yes. Did I see some of the drawings of where he wanted to go? Yes. And I will tell you, they were fantastic and it would have been a mind-blowing experience. Did I have a concept of how to play the character? Yes, and I can tell you it would have been gutsy. So maybe Warner Brothers got scared because they had two artists who weren’t afraid to take chances. Where’s your Best Actor Oscar for Leaving Las Vegas? It’s safe.
Let’s just leave it at that. But look, I don’t take criticism seriously and I don’t take praise seriously, both would be a mistake. If you buy into the negative that is the internet What are the two biggest risks today, or the cynical critic, it’s you have taken personally and not unlike listening to an abusive father that’s trying to cave you professionally? Did they in and you can’t function. If pay off? Well, in both you buy into praise, cases I have no regrets. you might get lazy And yes, in terms of and say: ‘Well, emotional wisdom, I don’t take criticism I’ll just keep I guess they paid doing that.’ You seriously and I don’t off. In my work, have to the risk was to be take praise seriously – uncomfortable.stay a dramatic actor both would be a who’s acting like Is that philosoan action hero and mistake phy something that was a challenge you’ve picked up because no one thought I could do it. And if you from experience? say I can’t do something, I have I learned that from David Bowie. to do it. And in my personal life, I I said: ‘How do you do it? How do have been a romantic and I have fol- you keep reinventing yourself?’ lowed my heart. That can get one He said: ‘I just never got comfortable into trouble as we all know, three with anything I was doing.’ I knew marriages later. those were words of wisdom from a great artist and I took those Grug pioneers the hug. Are words seriously. It’s not always you a hugger? Hey, I’m in touch going to appeal to everybody but, with my feelings. It’s important to if you’re honest, there’s a very say ‘I love you’. You never know good chance people will relate what’s going to happen. to that.
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Does doing animated features connect with your love of comic books? Look, the truth is
I’m not obsessed with comics. I don’t read comics as a 49-year-old man. Not that there’s anything wrong with that but I have other interests that are more in tune with where I’m at right now. But I will never forget the impressions comics gave me as a child. The characters became a modern mythology that’s touched the world. So animated movies are like cousins to comics.
Pictures of you dressed as Superman for Tim Burton’s aborted movie surfaced online. How close did you come to
‘set-up’ cocaine deal
On your Wikipedia page, there’s a section about all the houses you own or have owned. Do you mind this information being so public? What can I do about it? The issue is people’s misperceptions. They try to blow it out of proportion in terms of excessive spending but, really, it’s because I believed in real estate, and look what happened. You can’t dump real estate fast enough and when the whole thing went in the wrong direction, I got caught up in it. But, hey, everything happens for a reason.
stephen Applebaum
The Croods is out now on DVD and Blu-ray.
AXED X Factor judge Tulisa Contostavlos has been charged in connection with the supply of class A drugs. The 25-year-old, who was arrested after allegedly helping an undercover reporter buy cocaine, is expected to plead not guilty at
Westminster magistrates’ court on Thursday next week. Her lawyer, Ben Rose, insisted she Tulisa: Charged was a ‘vulnerable young woman’ who had
been treated as ‘fodder’ by ‘greedy’ journalists. ‘The entire case has been manufactured by the Sun On Sunday and Mahzer Mahmood,’ he said. ‘The law clearly forbids such conduct on the part of police.’ Mr Rose argued the newspaper used its readers’ money to fly the singer to Las Vegas and offer her a phony £3million film contract.