November 2001
Empire (Australian edition)
In Person: Dougray Scott
by Michael Adams

Code-breaking, leukaemia, and rumours of being the next Bond - it's just another day at the office for this M:I-2 villain.

Dougray Scott, rising star, arrives for his interview with his entourage after being stuck in traffic. But he hasn't been holed up in a limo on Mulholland with stylists, publicists and assorted hangers-on; Scott's entourage is limited to his twins, who he's just picked up in the family car. And the gridlock isn't on Mulholland Drive but in London, which in an LA-obsessed industry, is the city he's still happy to call home. After his turns as a corrupt cop in Twin Town and as Prince Henry opposite Drew Barrymore in Ever After, the now-35-year-old actor was thrust into the spotlight as rogue agent Sean Ambrose in M:I-2. Not that he's going to now be typecast as an action hero, with upcoming parts including the haunted maths geek Tom Jericho in the WWII code­breaking thriller Enigma and as a leukaemia patient who's manipulated by John Malkovich's Tom Ripley in Ripley's Game. But, then again, the ultimate action role could be his, with much speculation that he's to be the next James Bond.



On Bond rumours:
"I'm not suave enough."

 Despite the growing hype, Scott is down-to-earth about his measure of fame and genuinely serious about his craft. Even better, he laughs a lot. "If I've any career plan, it's to do as many diverse movies as possible," he says. "I find it captivating to work on a character who understands something I don't at all. I'm really drawn to it because it makes me discover things about people's lives."

This process of discovery is meticulous for Scott. To play the gaunt, glassy-eyed and
nervy Jericho, he lost the bulk he'd put on for the physically demanding M:I-2.  For Enigma, he learned the funamentals of code-breaking.  It just makes me feel comfortable," he says. "Jericho had numbers in his head all the time so studying it and talking to people who understand it it gave me a better insight into his mind." So, to achieve that dejected mood did he listen to joy Division before each take? He laughs and, inflected with his Scots' brogue, it actually comes out "Ho, ho, ho".  Most endearing. "No, God, I like joy Division. It's to do with the mind - if you think about all the things the characters experienced, it has an effect on you naturally.

The attention to detail is something he brings to every role, be it villain or victim. To make M:I-2, he trained with Navy SEALs and former SAS members, while he brought veracity to Ripley's Game by spending a lot of time with leukaemia patients and learning frame-making, his character's profession. You get the sense that if acting doesn't work, he'll still be able to support himself. Code-breaker by day, frame-maker by night.

While his career is now firmly in the ascendancy, there were setbacks. His role as Téa Leoni's love interest in Deep Impact wound up on the cutting room floor. He says he wasn't fazed.

"It's  captivating to work on a character who understands what I don't."
Losing the role of Wolverine in X-Men when M:I-2's shoot went over-time was more of a bummer. "They postponed filming for me for three months, which is very flattering but I couldn't do it," he says. "You just move on. I haven't actually seen the film yet but Hugh's a fantastic actor and I'm sure he did it well."

In the end, missing out didn't hurt Scott's career. Even before M:I-2 became a massive hit, Tom Cruise had sent Hollywood a clear message by casting Scott: this guy's good and bankable. "It has made a huge difference," he says. "I now have a choice in what I do. After M:I-2, I did Enigma, then a play with Sam Mendes, then Ripley's Game."

Yes, but is he going to take the lead in the most successful franchise of all time? Scott has been quoted as saying he wasn't suave enough to be 007. "Ha, ha. I think I was just trying to deflect any questions about James Bond. Until someone officially says, 'We want you to be the next JB', I don't have anything to say about it." Does he protest too much? This all sounds a little like a diplomat refusing to confirm or deny. So, if asked, would he do it? More laughter. "I think I'd have to say, 'I'm not suave enough.' Ha, ha."

InBrief

Born: 25 November 1965, Glenrothes, Fife, Scotland

Height: 180cm
A bit like: Hugh Grant meets Christian Bale. High Point: M:I-2 and its subsequent casting power.
Last three films:
Enigma (2001)
M:I-2 (2000)
Gregory's 2 Girls (1999)

Next up: Ripley's Game
True but strange: One of Dougray's early roles was in 1997, opposite Mickey Rourke in 9½ Week II (also known as Love in Paris).

Enigma is released on October 25

©2001 EMAP Australia