B.L. You have given us yet another wonderful performance in Possession.
J.N. Thank you.

B.L. You are no stranger to acting in period pieces. This storyline is so interesting because it weaves between the past and the present with you playing a Victorian Poet set in the 19^th century. What was the appeal of this script for you?
J.N. It isn't overall a period film. It is set very much in the present, but the action in the past is a very separate part of the movie. I suppose, in a way, it is set in no time.

B.L. Yes, but your part is clearly set in the 19^th century.
J.N. You know, I can safely say that this will be the last period role I shall play, but I think that this was a very different kind of film. I have already had enough of playing period roles, but it explodes the notion of period stories or histories being separate from our own - which is why I have had enough of playing them. Period stories often in films get into a subgenre where we swoon at the idea of the nostalgia of the past and the glory of the scenery. I think that's almost what the characters in the present day do with these supposedly real life characters of Christabel and Ash. Within the movie they put on to them everything that they wish to see. It's only as the film develops that we see the objective truth of what happened and they are faced in the present day with facing up to their own responsibilities for their own feelings and their own actions.

B.L. Neil LaBute, who co-wrote and directed the film, has given us a number of earlier films that deal with relationships. How was it working with him?
J.N. Well it's always been a theme that's fascinated many a writer. I was doing a production of the The Way of The World years ago, which was written in the 1700's, and contains one of the great lines of literature, I think. "Men, Men, Women, Women ..It has always been a fascination". But yes, he did do a terrific job with Laura Jones, who did the screenplay that he adapted for the movie.

B.L. Did you have to prepare in any way to play the Victorian poet Randolph Henry Ash?
J.N. I had to spend a lot of time in make-up chairs rather more than I would have liked. Then there were three different makeups to do and no one could decide anything. Plus also, they offered the part to someone before, which rather threw me. They offered it to Sean Connery first. Sean and I are often up for the same roles, you know.

B.L. I was going to ask you that, you had that James Bond thing going when you were a little boy, right?
J.N. (laughing)Yeah, when I was about nine.

B.L. Is it easier for you to play someone who is based on a real person, or someone who is written for a movie?
J.N. People have said that the character of Ash is based on an amalgam of various poets who did live; non-fictional poets, but I didn't find much help with that really. I spent more time trying to understand the relationship with Christabel and his wife rather than anything else.

B.L. There are quite the romantic undertones in Possession. Was this something that intrigued you about playing Ash?
J.N. The idea of romanticism and the romance are two totally different things in my book. It's easy to take things from the romantic period and say this is all about swooning, melting, soaring strings and throbbing heartbeats. I think that there is a very strong romantic notion beneath many of our behaviours and tastes nowadays.

B.L. Obviously because of the different time periods you didn't get to actually work with Gwyneth Paltrow and Aaron Eckhart, but did you see them a lot on set?
J.N. Oh yes. It was shot at different times because we had to inhabit different parts of the story, but we didn't shoot them in different sections. We were all working in the same period of time in the movie. So we occasionally bumped into one another when we were going to the make-up trailer.

B.L. You recently spent some time in Toronto shooting the upcoming TV movie with Sean Hayes called Martin and Lewis. What has that been like?
J.N. Hectic and a bit frightening. I haven't really seen any of it yet, so I hope I don't upset anybody by doing it. I don't think that I am most people's idea of playing Dean Martin.

B.L. Oh, I can picture it.
J.N. I approached it as a fun thing to do. He certainly had an interesting life and the film focuses on the ten years of the Martin and Lewis partnership, which was an amazing period for both of them.

B.L. How did you like working with Sean?
J.N. Great, he was terrific and so talented. We had a lot of fun.

B.L. You also have a feature coming out next year with Mel Gibson and Robert Downey Jr. called The Singing Detective. Do we get to hear you sing again in this?
J.N. Uh…. No.

B.L. That's too bad. We heard your fabulous voice in Gosford Park, that's a shame.
J.N. Well, who knows. I may have a few musicals coming my way in the near future. They are always fun to do, so we'll see.