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I like him a lot.
I mean recognising that hes a bastard in a lot of ways, but I definitely liked the character.
Certainly, playing him was a lot of fun!
I just think hes not terribly tolerant of bullshit.
So, its not me bringing it out necessarily.
Subjectively, hes a dick, but thats fun to do!
Thats a tricky question!
He misremembers things and it angers him.
But, its an objective movie.
How much of it is really his version, anyway?
The Alzheimers is built into the movie nicely and I hope not in a heavy handed way.
When I first read the script, that was one of the things I liked the most.
The fact that his relationship with his father wasnt a fraught or tense relationship.
It was incredibly sort of complicit.
Theyre almost like little boys together, and what Barney loves about the guy is his authenticity.
The guy doesnt give a shit, in a way that Barney cant, but is trying to do.
Hes just is who he is, and Barney loves that about him.
Hes got a lot of vitality.
He doesnt shut down ever.
Those scenes were really exceptionally fun things to do.
You gotta keep up with him, you know?
Itll always come back, but itll land in a different place than you thought it was going to.
It was like, Just go with it!
He didnt do that all the time, but he did when it was necessary.
Then he realised that we didnt have the time, and didnt.
I was like, Thank you for not doing that.
It would have been a pain in the ass!
I really like wearing that stuff, and its absolutely vital too, for doing this kind of thing.
That stuff cues you, and the actual physical weight of it on your face helps you.
So, its an incredibly important part of it.
They had a young French Canadian guy creating the make-up.
Hes really good, and also really collaborative.
I really participated in it more than you do oftentimes with that.
He came in and was like, What do you think you want to look like?
It was very different, and he was amazing.
A really, really big mane of hair, which I cant believe I had!
The make-up guy was like, This looks great.
You should have this crazy hair when youre young.
So, we went for it!
Again, the guy really did a great job of making it look like me.
It was convincing enough that it wasnt freaky looking when I would see it.
What was actually harder and stranger was the younger thing.
It was actually much more worrisome to me, and was more jarring to see.
We all think we still look like that, and then youre like, Holy shit!
I dont look like that anymore!
I look like the old guy!
Paul Giamatti, thank you very much!
Barneys Version appears in UK cinemas on 28 January.
