The former James Bond on new film A Long Way Down, talking to strangers at bus stops and his admiration for British TV host Richard Madeley. By Catherine Shoard


Hello, Pierce. Are you at home in Hawaii?
No, I’m in Paris.
     
Your character in A Long Way Down, Martin Sharp, asks the others what their three wishes would be. How about yours?
I would wish for a healthier planet. A cure for cancer. Let me see . . . ooh, a fuller bank account. That’s alright, isn’t it?

Sure! So do you share any of Martin’s feelings towards fame?
No. I’m not as narcissistic or idiotic, thank God. I do understand where he’s coming from: fame is a very seductive thing, and it can turn around and bite you as quickly. Martin is a kind of lost soul. I don’t think he was a very good actor or talk show host; he just wanted the glory of it all. He was not a very sound fellow. He learns a little bit of grace and humility as the story goes on.
I read that you partly based him on Richard Madeley.
I looked at many (hosts), but Richard came through. I like Richard; he does such a good job with people and communicating. Ironically, I was in France while I was on another film but about to set forth with this picture. I was by myself having lunch and looking at the script and wondering who this character was and all of a sudden there was Richard, sitting with his wife, this lovely lady, Judy. And I did chuckle to myself. I thought: should I tell them? And I thought: no, that doesn’t bear talking about, really.

What quality do you think the best talk show hosts have?
They’re good listeners. They have the common touch. An accessibility to one’s own self-deprecation. But it was the inner pluck of the fellow that I was interested in. Where his head was at. I do believe he was very much in pain from the deep humiliation of which he speaks. That was the point for me with which I could really connect. The real bravado of showing yourself every day on TV and being completely disconnected and lost within who you are.

Do you find humiliation an especially galling emotion, too?
Oh, humiliation is poisonous. It’s one of the deepest pains of being human. When you lose yourself. And then, being an artist, you’re constantly dealing with the self — as an artist, actor, painter, writer. You’re always constructing and destroying something within you. So when you do show it all and it doesn’t fly . . . (Laughs) It can come with a burning sting of being not worthy. It’s a potent brew and you have to learn how to deal with it. So I could identify with that.

Sorry to hear; you’ve kept that quite well-hidden.
(Laughs) Oh, it runs parallel with every other emotion as well. It’s not that I go around feeling humiliated.

Do you think the film might help combat any taboos that still exist around depression and suicide?
I don’t know if it’s going to combat the trauma and deep suffering of those who find themselves at the end of their tether. I’d like to think, perhaps, that somebody will see it or read about it having found themselves in deep despair and think: God, dash, darn it — brand new day, let’s pick myself up here and sort out this problem and get on with my life; it’s not worth creating such sorrow for my family and friends.
It’s a film that puts a lot of stock in the comfort of strangers.
That is very powerful; when you meet somebody on your travels in life, standing at a bus stop and you just find the person open and pleasant to be with and you share whatever’s on your mind on the day.

But your fame and profile must make this kind of random connection less likely.
I’ve travelled a lot. He precedes me, really, the man that I’ve become, the actor that I’ve become. Having played the James Bond role does put you on an international stage like no other role, really. And so it’s somewhat a gift that keeps giving — I like to look at it like that, to embrace it. It allows me to make my own films, to work. It’s such a capricious game. I only accentuate the positive of it all really. Anything else would just be ridiculously stupid. (Laughs) I’ve always been a jobbing actor and I hope to continue to be so. — Guardian News & Media