Jessica Biel in The Illusionist
Jessica Biel stars with Oscar nominated actors Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti in The Illusionist, a twisted tale of romance, magic and murder. Set in turn-of-the-century Vienna, Biel plays a duchess whose love for the master illusionist, Eisenheim (Norton), drives the evil Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell) into a jealous rage. Launching an investigation into Eisenheim’s stage show, the Crown Prince will stop at nothing to destroy Eisenheim’s reputation and rip the lovers apart.
Jessica Biel on The Attraction of The Illusionist: “I was really interested in this woman who, in my opinion, was stuck – this modern woman stuck in 1900. I felt like she could have easily been me, just put back in a time where I was restricted by so many things, society’s restrictions and family and all the stuff that you have to not do and not say and everything.
I was intrigued with bringing that person to life. I also had only done modern characters who were very expressive and talk with their hands and this and that, and with her, she’s just bubbling under the surface at every moment. There’s so much going on, but everything’s placid and perfect up here. I was really interested in working with those elements, as well as an accent, which I’d never done before. And dressing up and really creating a person and really stepping into the shoes of someone that I really had no idea [about] or I had no previous experience…”
The experience was different from what Biel anticipated. “It was probably harder than I thought. I definitely didn’t expect it to be easy but I put a lot of pressure on myself to get the accent really right, and that was a constant worry and challenge every day. That was my main thing, and creating a relationship and a love between two people in a very short amount of time that never really could express itself until one moment. It was a challenge. It was a big challenge every day.”
Jessica Biel Photos at NewsToob
Jessica Biel on Coming in Costume to The Illusionist Audition: “It was really last minute and kind of chaotic. The person who was supposed to be playing the role, I don’t know who that was or what happened, but there was an opening and literally at 6 p.m. one night I got a frantic call from my agent. It’s like, ‘Can you do this audition tomorrow? Can you have an accent? And can you be great?’
I went in and I read with the casting director and we worked it through. She sent it to Neil [Burger, writer/director] who was already in Prague. This was like two weeks before they were going to shoot. He liked it and Edward [Norton] hadn’t left yet, so they brought me back the next day to read with Edward. I just thought, ‘You know, I’ve got nothing to lose. I’ve got one opportunity. I’m going to go for it.’ So I bought this crazy outfit, fully decked from head-to-toe. I looked like some crazy person walking down the street. And it worked. I thought, ‘Either I’m gonna be totally laughed at or they’re gonna love it. One or the other.’ I have no inhibitions at this moment and put it out there. I walked in and I think there was a little shock at first and a little bit like, ‘Oh God, no.’ And then [producer] Michael London said, ‘Oh, thank God. At least we have one costume out of the way.’ It put me at ease. I was like, ‘Awww. You love it. Okay.’ I had a good audition and they set it back to Neil and I waited for four days to know yes or no. It was yes and the next day I had to leave for Prague.”
Making an Impact in The Illusionist: Even when she’s not onscreen, Biel’s character always seems to be front and center in the film. “I just tried to create a woman that you are instantly attracted to, not just because of what she looks like on the outside but because of her brain and because of her wit. Because you know that just looking in her eyes, she’s got passion and there’s something going on under there and she’s not just walking around being a duchess. She wants more out of life. That’s what I felt about Sophie. She always wanted more. She doesn’t want to be a duchess and she doesn’t want to be somebody’s wife. She wants to be in love and she wants to do something with her life. I felt if I could create that person, then you would remember seeing her on screen and you would think that you see her more than you actually do.”
The Mostly Male Cast: Was it daunting being the only female in such a male dominated movie? “Maybe a little bit, a little intimidating on the first few days, but that’s fun,” confessed Biel. “It’s really fun to be the one female around. It was a bit of a boys club. All those guys kind of went to school together and I’m a little bit younger than them, they’re all around the same age. They knew each other before, but they were cool. They treated me really well and kind of brought me into the inner circle and it was fun. I was just treated as one of the guys, which is how I would prefer it anyway.” This artilce taken from www.mystarlinks.com.
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