In this interview, the Critic and the Referee speak with Timothy Spall and Colm Meaney, stars of “The Journey.” Since these two well-respected actors have lots of experience and insight to offer, you don’t want to miss this interview: Listen to them discuss this film’s creative process, historical importance, and much more!

About “The Journey”

For our review, click here!

In theaters June 16, 2017.

The Journey is the gripping account of how two men from opposite sides of the political spectrum came together to change the course of history. In 2006, amidst the ongoing, decades-long conflict in Northern Ireland, representatives from the two warring factions meet for negotiations. In one corner is Ian Paisley (Timothy Spall), the deeply conservative British loyalist; in the other is Martin McGuinness (Colm Meaney), a former Irish Republican Army leader who has devoted his life to the cause of Irish reunification. Opposites in every way, the two men at first seem to have little chance of ever finding common ground. But over the course of an impromptu, detour-filled car ride through the Scottish countryside, each begins to see the other less as an enemy, and more as an individual—a breakthrough that promises to at last bring peace to the troubled region. Driven by two virtuoso central performances, The Journey is a more-relevant-than-ever reminder of how simple humanity can overcome political division. John Hurt costars.

*Official Selections of 2016 Venice Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival*

Starring: Timothy Spall, Colm Meaney, Freddie Highmore, Toby Stephens, John Hurt, Catherine McCormack, and Ian McElhinney

Directed by: Nick Hamm
Screenplay by: Colin Bateman
Produced by: Mark Huffam, Nick Hamm, and Piers Tempest
Distributed by: IFC Films

Runtime: 94 minutes
Rated PG-13

Timothy Spall’s Biography

Timothy Spall as Ian Paisley in Nick Hamm’s THE JOURNEY. Photo by Aidan Monaghan. Courtesy of IFC Films. An IFC Films release.

Timothy Spall OBE is one of Britain’s best-loved and most talented character actors. He received wide acclaim for his role as J.M.W Turner in Mike Leigh’s Mr. Turner (2014), for which he won seven international awards, including the Cannes Film Festival Best Actor Award. He trained at the National Youth Theatre and RADA and began his acting career in the theatre, with seasons at Birmingham Rep and the RSC. We recently saw Timothy return to the stage in the most lauded The Caretaker at The Old Vic.

Timothy is perhaps best known for his role as Peter Pettigrew in the Harry Potter film series, and his diverse film work includes: The King’s Speech, The Damned United, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Pierrepoint, All Or Nothing, Lucky Break, Topsy Turvy, Secrets and Lies. TV credits include: Fungus the Bogeyman, The Enfield Haunting, Blandings, The Syndicate, The Fattest Man In Britain, Oliver Twist, The Street, Bodily Harm, Auf Wiedersehen Pet, Perfect Strangers, Shooting the Past, Our Mutual Friend and his own documentary Timothy Spall: Somewhere at Sea.

Other upcoming screen credits include: Sally Potter’s The Party,  Denial with Rachel Weisz and Tom Wilkinson, Nick Hamm’s The Journey and David Blair’s Away. He has recently wrapped on a trio of feature film projects, The Changeover, Finding your Feet with Imelda Staunton and Celia Imrie and Sally Potter’s The Party with Cillian Murphy and Kristin Scott Thomas.

Timothy is currently shooting the first installment of Sony’s Phillip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams for Channel 4 and Amazon, directed by Tom Harper.

Colm Meaney’s Biography

Colm Meaney as Martin McGuinness in Nick Hamm’s THE JOURNEY. Photo by Aidan Monaghan. Courtesy of IFC Films. An IFC Films release.

Dublin-born Colm Meaney is a familiar face to television viewers thanks to his long-running role as ‘Chief Miles O’Brien’ in the hit series Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He also starred in AMC’s western series Hell on Wheels and will next be seen in TNT’s new period drama Will in the role of ‘James Burbage.’

Meaney’s extensive film credits include roles in all three adaptations of Roddy Doyle’s The Barrytown Trilogy (The Commitments, The Snapper and The Van), Die Hard 2, Dick Tracy, The Last of the Mohicans, Far and Away, The Road to Wellville, Con Air, Layer Cake, The Damned United, Get Him to the Greek and more. He appeared in Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa with Steve Coogan, as well as the comedy-drama One Chance, the story of Britain’s Got Talent winner Paul Potts. He also voiced the role of the ‘Miles Standish’ in Free Birds as well as Grandpa in Norm of the North. Meaney recently won an Irish Film and Television Award for Best Actor in a Lead Role in Film for his portrayal of ‘Martin McGuinness’ in The Journey, opposite Timothy Spall and directed by Nick Hamm. He will next be seen in the upcoming film Halal Daddy, to be released this summer.

In 2007, Meaney returned to the stage to star with Kevin Spacey in the highly acclaimed production of Moon for the Misbegotten at London’s Old Vic and on Broadway, for which he was nominated for an Olivier Award. He will soon be seen in the role of ‘Big Daddy’ in Cat on the Hot Tin Roof at the Apollo Theatre in London.

Our Questions

1. We’ve hit the gold mine having the two of you on our show, and we’re truly honored. Looking at your wide body of work, whether it’s on the big screen, television, or on stage, you’ve both had a chance to play a wide range of characters both fictional and historical. What drew each of you to this project, and more specifically, this unique fictional account of two historical characters?

2. Director Nick Hamm and writer Colin Bateman decided to depict the beginnings of how Paisley and McGuinness formed an unlikely friendship via a car ride, which never actually happened. How did the close quarters of a car affect the way that you two related to one another? Was there a difference between acting in that space and acting outside of the car?

3. There were so many delightful moments between the two of you – the dramatic ones, the comedic, the sentimental – it was so rich. This is a two-fold question for each of you, what was your favorite scene to shoot, and if it differs, your favorite scene to watch?

4. When you’re tasked with playing real people, how do you ensure that your performance is more than just an impersonation?

5. From scene to scene, as the audience, we witness these two characters jousting one another, tempting one another, discovering one another. By the time we get to the end of this fictional journey, what do you hope the audience will take away from it? And what did you take away?

6. Getting people out of their homes to see movies, or even plays, is increasingly more difficult nowadays with options of streaming devices and services. Why do you think it is important for people to see a movie like this in the theater?

7. We, here on Why Watch That, always close our interviews by asking what movies or TV shows our guests are currently watching. So, Timothy and Colm … what are you watching?