In Paul Bettany's new film Wimbledon, he plays a pro tennis player who has lost his ambition and fallen in rank. Fortunately for him, he meets a young player on the women's circuit (Kirsten Dunst) who helps him recapture his focus for the championship.
The Master And Commander star took a crash course in competitive tennis with a former Wimbledon champ, but his greatest achievement was bonding with his son Stellan through changing his nappies. He discusses the surprising bits about fatherhood, which include battling germ warfare at home and trying to relate to his wife, Hulk star Jennifer Connelly, without feeling the urge to belt out a children's song.
Could you describe performing your tennis serve in the film?
Every serve is real and if it's just me on the screen, it's a real ball being hit. If there's two players on the screen at the same time, the moment the serve is over it's an imaginary ball. It has to be in order to complete the meticulous choreography of each point. Every match, every point is choreographed by Pat Cash, who won Wimbledon himself and he, as a professional tennis player, would repeat the choreography accurately enough to be able to get the coverage on camera.
As somebody who didn't grow up very sporty, did you ever stop and think, 'What have I got myself into?'
It was when I saw Andy Roddick play I went, 'Oh my goodness.' They move beautifully and they've been doing it since they were four years old. I suddenly realised that what I've done is tantamount to having said, 'I would love to play Rudolf Nureyev. How long do I have to learn ballet?' Their bodies are so well organised when they move.
Do you have a new appreciation for tennis?
Yes I have. I grew up in the Bjorn Borg/John McEnroe era, which was all about these amazing battles to win Wimbledon. In England, tennis is quite a middle-class sport. You have to have money for the racket, for the club, for the coach, so I never sort of played. It was a bit of a dream to suddenly be with the best coaches in the world trying to whip you into shape. It was really wonderful. I made a promise to myself on the last day of shooting; I broke my racket and said, 'That's it until the movie comes out.' Then I would start playing again because I want to really enjoy it. As the start date of the movie got closer the pressure was such that I stopped enjoying my mistakes. It stopped being just fun and I would like it to go back to being fun.
What was it like working with your romantic partner in the film, Kirsten Dunst?
What I like in a partner who I'm working with, whoever it is, is that you want somebody who you feel relaxed with and they feel relaxed with you and you trust each other. Then you can make happy mistakes. Kirsten has been doing this since she was a foetus, I believe, and therefore she is enormously relaxed in front of the camera and that makes everything much easier.
Your character isn't exactly loved by Kirsten's father in the film. Did you ever have to deal with a disapproving father in real life?
I once dated this very, very posh girl and she took me to meet her parents. Everything was going very well in that kind of old English, class-riddled misogynistic way, where the girls were washing-up after dinner, and the father was having a cigar with me and we were having a drink together. He was laughing at my jokes and everything was going swimmingly well and he asked me, 'What does your father do?' I said, 'He teaches your daughter.' That was when an icy chill entered the room and I realised, 'I'm not wanted here.'
