Interview: Armie Hammer, Lily James and Kristin Scott Thomas On Netflix's Rebecca

What is it about this production and role that prompted you to accept it?

1/5

Armie: The book is beautiful. It was voted one of the best books of the century and it is an incredibly gorgeous book. But the thing that attracted me the most would probably be the fact that Ben was directing it. I love Ben Wheatley and I want to work with him any chance I can. I think he's an amazing director and the biggest thing for me was just the opportunity to work with Ben.

Lily: I really love the novel. It is complicated, dark and romantic and had so many elements to it from thriller, gothic and horror. As an actor, you get to exist in all these movies in one production so it was an easy decision to be a part of this reimagination of a classic novel.

Kristin: I love the novel and the various different versions of it. I really enjoyed the character of Mrs Danvers, the jealous woman who lives in the past - she is an intriguing character and I wanted to portray her. I loved the casting and working with Ben Wheatley, Lily James and Armie Hammer. It is a beautiful project.

Ben Wheatley is known for his work in horror and thriller. What have you learnt from him since working with him?

2/5

Armie: I learnt a lot from Ben. He is one of my favourite directors, I love working with him and his projects. He has this incredible ability to change so much and every one of his movies is very different from the last. I've learned also through him that even though this is art, it can be treated like a normal job. Ben doesn't like things to feel fancy nor complicated, he likes to feel like he's working hard and doing a good job and I think that's very valuable.

Lily: He is a very strong filmmaker. He knows his vision and what he is trying to do. He is so courageous for taking on a Hitchcock film and with such a strong point of view. It is rare in the way he explores and delves into the depths the human psyche and the darkness within us all. His movies reflect all of that in some ways.

Kristin: I did not know Ben Wheatley prior but I have seen one of his films. I discovered somebody who knows so much about film and is almost like a walking encyclopaedia. Through him, I discovered the allure of making horror and ghost films and the joy and pleasure you can get, which I had not really considered up until now. It was something that surprised me.

Rebecca is a novel that many know and love. How much pressure was there to live up to the hype?

3/5

Armie: I didn’t feel much pressure to live up the fans' expectation as much as I felt the pressure that I put on myself to try to do as good of a job as I could. I think that the more important pressure than exterior pressure is the internal pressure you put on yourself to do a good job.

Kristin: The book is a stupendous novel that I have read more than once. It comes from a world that is very specific to Daphne du Maurier, who I am a great fan of her novels. I’m actually very interested in her life. Just before I made this film, I participated in the making of a documentary about her where I did the voiceover so I learnt various stuff about her. Mrs Danvers in the novel is very different from Mrs Danvers who had created in the film for 2020. All of the backstory we invented for our Mrs Danvers originated from the novel. The rest of it is very different.

There have been previous adaptations to Rebecca, including one that won an Academy Award. So how does your portrayal of Maxim depart from the past?

4/5

Armie: We weren’t trying to remake the Hitchcock film. We were trying to make an adaptation of the book. Hitchcock did the same thing: he made an adaptation and he changed things from the book such as how Rebecca died and a bunch of other things. We wanted to stay true to the original source material so we wanted to make the book as opposed to remake the Hitchcock film.

What were some of the challenges you faced doing the role?

5/5

Armie: There is a lot to the Maxim character that is challenging but at the same time he's so interesting and beautiful. He's challenging and complicated because of the trauma that he's been through and what he carries with him. I like that he's got these issues and I wish he was better at communicating and talking to people about what he was feeling - I think it would help him out a lot. But at the same time, no one's perfect.

Lily: My character is very reactive and that was something I struggled with as I wanted to be more proactive. I was frustrated at times with my character. There were some scenes where Ben cut where my character finally got to let leash. In the end, in the fabric of the movie and how Ben directed it, he took those away from me because she is really disempowered throughout most of the movie. And I guess it heightens the shock of her choice when she stands by her husband given the fact that he murdered Rebecca. The fact that you have seen her with little power before is important in that decision. My challenge was at times just bottling up everything she is feeling and not being able to express it. There wasn’t a lot of cathartic moments in the film where she lets rip.

Rebecca starts streaming on Netflix on October 21.