Dougray Scott in Focus:  Articles and Interviews

DOUGRAY SCOTT'S grin is as wide as the Forth Bridge as he talks about his great passion - Hibernian Football Club.

The handsome Scot hit the headlines over his relationship with wife Sarah Trevis just days after Enigma co-star Kate Winslet split with hubby Jim Threapleton.

He proved that when I asked him what rates most highly among his hopes - holding aloft an Oscar, the coveted golden statue that most actors would give an arm for, or seeing Hibs win the Premier League?

"Hibs winning the title. Aye, absolutely," he replied without hesitation.

Dougray - whose films include Twin Town, Ever After, Deep Impact and Mission: Impossible 2 - has been a regular at Easter Road since he was in short trousers.

He's such good mates with Hibs boss Alex McLeish that he was the actor's special guest at the premiere of Mission: Impossible 2 in London.

"Some people might think that I'm only friends with Alex because I am a film star," said Dougray.

"But it is one of the nicest things that has happened to me because he is an extraordinarily nice man. Alex's family know my family from way back.

While Dougray's in full flow about all things Hibernian, I light the blue touchpaper by inquiring whether he was upset a few years back when Wallace Mercer, the then chairman of city rivals Hearts, raised the issue of whether the two Edinburgh clubs might amalgamate.

His reaction was utter outrage. "That was unbelievable," he said. "The guy does not understand football. He doesn't understand life. How could he think that would have been acceptable?

"Take away Hibs or Hearts and Edinburgh loses its heartbeat. Take away that and it would become a ghost city. Wallace Mercer should never be allowed near football again."

Dougray's enthusiasm for Hibs is only matched by the passion with which he discusses his craft.

For instance, he is proud of Enigma, in which he stars with Kate Winslet, and very pleased that the World War II drama is to play a major role in the Scottish People's Film Festival.

"Anything that promotes film- making is good," he said.

"I think that Scottish film-making is in a healthy state because there are many very talented people - directors, actors, writers - out there.

"Sometimes people don't know where I come from because of the characters I play.

"But I am incredibly proud of the fact that I come from Fife and I am Scottish and that this sort of success in film is not unobtainable to people like me. That's very important.

"I hope that wee boys and girls with the same background should maybe take inspiration from what has happened to me. If I can do it, they can do it. The important thing to remember is that it's about being happy and really having a go."

As he's letting rip, a publicist arrives with a late lunch for Dougray, a chicken and mayonnaise sandwich, which he offers to share.

The incident is so typical of his generous nature that you understand why so many people take to the Fifer.

He certainly clicked with Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise and the pair became firm friends when they filmed Mission: Impossible 2 in Australia.

Despite rubbing shoulders with Hollywood big names such as Cruise and Thandie Newton, Dougray - who was named most promising student in his year at the Welsh College of Music and Drama - remains down to earth.

But that doesn't mean to say that he takes his screen success for granted.

He injects a huge amount of determination into his work. Before the cameras roll, he tries to do as much preparation as possible.

Before Mission: Impossible 2, in which he played a baddie who fights Tom Cruise in a high-speed motorbike duel, he talked with real-life action men from Special Services, Navy Seals and the SAS.

Then, when Enigma director Michael Apted signed him up for this film version of Robert Harris's best- selling Second World War thriller, Dougray immersed himself in the secret world of Bletchley Park, the wartime base for the Allies' codebreakers.

Months before filming began, he read all he could find on this aspect of the war and talked with codebreakers and mathematicians. All so that he could get under the skin of his movie character.

"It was very demanding work, but one day it all just seemed to click in my head and I could see it all clearer than ever. I knew how to play this character.

"I suppose all that research now means I will be better at crosswords because you start to think cryptically."

For Enigma, Dougray also became even slimmer than usual - he lost more than a stone on a cabbage soup diet, to portray a character on the edge of a nervous breakdown.

"I ate cabbage soup one day, then the next I ate vegetables, the next day it was fruit," explained Dougray.

"You feel really hungry at the beginning, but then you get used to it." And, of course, his hair was cropped to a 1940s short, back and sides style.

It resulted in a highly effective performance in a film which is best described as a combination of Brief Encounter and The 39 Steps.

It's also a movie in which Dougray, with his first top-of-the-bill role, grabs his opportunity.

"This is a film that I'm very proud of," he said, simply.

And you can bet that Dougray's feeling of satisfaction will be shared by the audiences who will flock to see Enigma and a performance that underlines that the talented Scot has most definitely arrived in the big time.

Scottish Peoples Film Festival: Sponsored by McEwan's and the Sunday Mail

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