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Brend Blathyn exploded onto the world film scene in the 1996 hit Secrets and Lies, but stayed loyal to small films like Introducing the Dwights. ‘I guess that's my lot and I couldn't be happier'
Brenda Blethyn says she always felt a little guilty about "quitting a good job" to join the circus, but the veteran actress who exploded into the mainstream with her nuanced performance in Mike Leigh's Secrets and Lies says she's learned to accept her unique place in the world of film as matron saint of the independents.
"I've only ever made independent films. I guess that's my lot … and I couldn't be happier about it," says Blethyn, speaking over the phone from Toronto, where she's doing early press for her latest indie release, Introducing the Dwights, set to open tomorrow in Montreal.
"I don't like confrontation. I'm a gentle person and I don't like arguments at all. That's why I feel so lucky to have made movies with such wonderful people. Maybe on big studio pictures there's a lot of arguing and confrontation, but not in my experience. ... Not on the lower-budget movies."
Blethyn says that ever since she and Leigh created the character of Cynthia Rose Purley through improv and workshops, she's been able to explore several different types of characters – from pot-growing granny to domineering mother.
"That's the thing that strikes me every now and then. I play these women who may not be all that likeable, and I enjoy the work very much, but these characters I play are nothing like me at all," says Blethyn.
In Introducing the Dwights, Blethyn plays a mother of two "boys" who are on the verge of leaving the nest. Jean is a former comedian from Britain who lost her career when she moved to Australia and raised a family. Now in her 60s and working as a cafeteria lady, she wants to reclaim her greatness – oblivious to the fact that times have changed, and so have stand-up routines.
"Everyone has met someone they don't like all that much … and there's a part of Jean I don't like much, but I'm not judging her. That's not my job at all. It's my view that you let the audience figure her out. My job isn't to make her more palatable, but to make her a believable person," Blethyn says.
"And I think if you get that part right, the audience has a chance to decide for themselves what to make of her behaviour. I do think Jean is a good person. She loves her boys and she's a good mother, and the boys know that. They love their mum – but things change and she can't handle it. She loses it."
Blethyn says that because she's not a method actor, she never gets too emotionally cluttered by the work, regardless of how loathsome or lovable her characters may be.
"I approach all this objectively. Get as much information as you can about who the character is, and what world they come from. For this part, I went back to the old comedians … who worked the circuit and did balloon jokes and all that bawdy humour, like Tommy Cooper," says the twotime Oscar nominee.
"That stuff is still popular. It's certainly still popular in Australia."
Blethyn spent several months in Australia working on Introducing the Dwights (originally called Clubland) alongside a largely novice cast that includes rising stars Emma Booth and Khan Chittenden.
Over the course of her research, she realized there was a significant difference between British and American humour.
"I think Australians – and Canadians – are steeped in the British tradition where it's more about bringing yourself down a notch. You don't elevate yourself in British humour … and I think that's healthy," she says.
"My mum – God bless her – always used to say if you can laugh at yourself or find something funny in the very worst moments, you can get through just about anything. And I believe that."
Blethyn is living proof that abandoning yourself to the moment and maintaining a positive attitude can be the difference between a life of ordinariness, and a life of constant surprise and revelation.
A former secretary for British Rail, Blethyn says she had no designs on becoming an actress until she was called on to fill in for an actress who didn't turn up for a play. She was hooked.
"It seemed irresponsible to give up a good, well-paid job to act, but I applied to theatre school, got in, and eventually joined the National Theatre Company."
Blethyn says she still loves theatre, and considers it the purest form of performance because it's immediate. It also allows the performer to play out an entire dramatic arc in sequence – without breaking for lighting set-ups and camera shifts.
"In film, a lot of a given performance – where you create certain moments for your character – ends up on the cutting room floor. You can't do anything about that," she says, laughing.
"The most you can hope for in a movie is that you have a good group … and there's mutual respect on set. For instance, I think it's very important to support you fellow actors, so if there's a scene where you know you're not on camera, I think it's important to be there anyway, and deliver the lines to your (scenemate)," she says.
"That's the kind of support that makes a team, and acting is a team effort in a lot of ways. There's a whole camaraderie because you're out there together without a net. I love that feeling of family and I love ensembles. … Which is probably why Introducing the Dwights was such a lovely and pleasurable experience … even with Jean in the picture."
