| "I was surprised to be offered Ever After,"
says Scott, better known for playing villains. "A lot
of people said I couldn't do it but I've always wanted to
challenge myself. I always take risks. I never want to be stuck
in a rut or play the same people. So if somebody says I can't do
something, then I'll do it. I want to try, even if I think I
might fail."
When Scott admits he has delivered a disappointing
performance, it's a safe bet he is referring to his first big
break, the dreadful Another 9 1/2 Weeks, in which
he starred alongside Mickey Rourke. This was followed by a much
edited appearance as Tea Leoni's love interest in the sci-fi
blockbuster Deep Impact.
His route to Hollywood, while not always successful, has been
seemingly effortless. After working in television, he landed the
role of a corrupt, cocaine-snorting policeman in the film Twin
Town. In the UK the film was slow to take off, but in
America it earned cult status and brought Scott to the attention
of Cruise, who invited Scott to his home for a game of pool.
Scott won the game and his biggest part to date.
Mission: Impossible II is a virtual two-hander between
Cruise and Scott. "I wasn't really expecting that,"
says Scott, "But it was a fantastic experience working with
Tom.
"He has the most incredible focus. I've never come
across anything like it before. His catchphrase is 'whatever it
takes'. I adore him."
Scott knew from the age of 14 he wanted to act. Who
encouraged him? "Nobody. Nobody in Glenrothes acts. My
careers teacher laughed out loud when I told him what I wanted
to do. He suggested that I go to the docks and be a
fitter." The inspiration to dress up, to become somebody
else, came from his salesman father. Every day Scott would watch
as his father transformed himself into the kind of rep who could
sell freezers to Eskimos.
"The clothes were incredibly important, it was like
putting on a costume. Then there would be the combing of the
hair, the putting on the hat, the smile in the mirror. He could
walk into a shop, suppress everything he was feeling, and come
out with this wonderful sales pitch."
The family moved to Glenrothes from Glasgow before Scott was
born because his father wanted to give them a better life. But
it was a tough existence for Scott, his older brother and two
sisters. The family lived on the edge of a grim council estate.
As the youngest, Scott spent a lot of time on his own.
Football was his passion and remains so. A season
ticket-holder at Easter Road, he is back in Scotland this week
to cheer on Hibs. It was probably on a journey to a game that he
told his father he wanted to be an actor. Scott was 17. He
found, to his surprise, that his father had also acted, in
Glasgow's Clyde Unity Theatre after the war.
With the encouragement of his parents, he ignored the advice
of his careers teacher and secured a place on a drama course at
Kirkcaldy College. From there, he went to the Welsh College of
Music and Drama, where he won the award for most promising
student.
He is known as a somewhat reluctant celebrity. Interviews are
given rarely and he prefers to be judged on his roles rather
than his personal life.
Scott lives in London with his wife, Sarah Trevis, a casting
director, and their twins, a boy and a girl aged three, Gabriel
and Eden. Getting fan mail and being asked for autographs take
getting used to.
"I don't feel as though just because I am in films I am
better than anyone else," he says defensively. "When I
walk to Tesco with my shorts on and my hair all lanky I don't
know if people are staring at me, because I'm too busy thinking
about shopping with the kids."
He might not feel like a star but he gets the star treatment
in Hollywood. When he stays at the famous Four Seasons Hotel,
his "people" insist on sending a stretch limousine,
even if he is heading just a few blocks away. "It's
embarrassing, I ask them can they not just send a Lincoln or
something" he says, without a trace of irony.
In his next film, Ripley's Game, released in Britain
next year, he stars alongside John Malkovich as a picture framer
suffering from leukemia who is inveigled into committing a
murder.
To prepare for the role he spent months under the guidance of
a master craftsman in London learning how to frame paintings. He
also spoke to experts on the disease as well as sufferers. One
woman from Scotland, who he will not name, changed his life, he
insists.
"I'm a bit sensitive about talking about her," he
adds, hesitantly. "She opened her heart to me about her
illness and I really want to be positive about leukemia. I have
every confidence that she will get better.
"She taught me a great lesson in life. To appreciate
things." And does he? "Well I think so. I remember my
father too telling me to be happy and I certainly try to
be."
To lighten the mood, I ask what it was like working with
Malkovich. Thankfully he is happy to answer, saying he is a
great admirer of the actor. They bonded off-screen as well as
on.
"I couldn't even begin to tell you the type of
conversations we had. It was a real laugh," he says.
Malkovich, Robert De Niro and Al Pacino are all heroes of
Scott's, along with his all-time favourite actor, the late Alec
Guinness. He says the key to understanding Guinness's greatness
is versatility, a quality often used to describe Scott.
It is a trait he will draw on again soon. He has just agreed
to play Dylan Thomas in a biopic, again be produced by Jagger.
Scott declares the script about the poet and legendary carouser
to be one of the best he has read.
I cannot help but feel sorry for the make-up artist required
to transform Scott's handsome features into those of the bloated
alcoholic genius. Given Scott's obsession with character, I also
fear for the actor's liver.
Enigma will be shown at Edinburgh's Odeon cinema on
Saturday, August 18, at 6pm, and at the UGC on Sunday, August
19, at 1pm. It will be released nationwide on September 28
Copyright
2001 Times Newspapers Ltd
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