What attracted you to play Edmond Dantes as your first leading role?
Mainly because he's not your traditional hero. There's a little dark, a little light - it's a good, interesting range to play. And it was the first time I got to be the star of my own film. I didn't watch any of the previous "Count of Monte Cristo" movies, as I didn't want to take anything from the others, so I based my character on the book and talked it through a lot with Kevin [Reynolds], the director.
You look pretty accomplished with a sword. By doing those scenes, were there any childhood fantasies played out?
I think I'm playing my whole childhood fantasy by being an actor. It's wonderful to get the opportunity to play different characters but yes, I did enjoy the sword-fighting. I've done some fencing before, so I didn't want Kevin [Reynolds, the director] to replace those scenes with stunt doubles. Everything Guy Pearce and I did in those scenes was us.
Did either of you sustain any injuries?
One time we were shooting a scene and I did this lunge which was supposed to go under Guy's arm but I missed and caught him on his side. Guy never said anything until the next day when I asked him about it. He just turned around and said, "No worries mate, these things happen." He was pretty cool about it, but I think he had a hard time breathing for a couple of weeks!
What was it like working with Richard Harris?
All my scenes with Richard were in prison, which was great because it was just him and I. I got to have great conversations with him, professional and personal ones, so I got to know him quite well. I remember one time he said to me, "Jim, you need to lighten up, have a Guinness." And I said, "I think I can lighten up better if you sing MacArthur Park." So he did. I loved the way his thought pattern worked with his script, through his notes and how he learns his material, it's remarkable. And he's a great storyteller. I probably heard about a thousand stories in roughly two weeks. He really is a wonderful man.
