Tsunami, The Aftermath
Tim Roth plays Nick
Tim Roth plays Nick, a hard-nosed reporter dispatched by an international news agency in the Thai capital on the day of the tsunami to cover the disaster. At the start, he is an archetypically cynical hack, but he is gradually softened by the sheer suffering with which he is confronted.
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Tim, who since moving to America sixteen years ago has become one of the most in-demand British actors in Hollywood, was drawn towards the dramatic change that Nick undergoes during the course of the three-hour drama.
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The actor, who has made his name with outstanding films such as Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Planet of the Apes, Vincent and Theo, The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead and Made in Britain, expands on the transformation that Nick experiences.
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"He is a journalist who is sent to Phuket from Bangkok to cover the story.
To begin with, he thinks it's just going to be an overnight job, a quick 鈥榗ome in, come out.'
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"He doesn't realise the scope of the problem here. Then he goes on a journey through his own personal hell - as well as the hell that's happening around him."
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Tim, who also made a striking directorial debut with the extremely powerful movie The War Zone, carries on: "I liked the fact that he knits the stories together.
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"There's also an irreverence to him, which is all front because underneath he's suffering, too. So you have a dual aspect to him which I thought was good. I liked his arc. He's a really interesting character."
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The character of Nick helps to point up the dilemmas journalists face when they confront catastrophes of this enormity. Tim reveals that he has a close personal connection with journalism.
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"My father was a journalist for a time, and I know that you have to bury your emotions quite often. That seems to be the nature of the job. Whereas in fact, the people I admire don't do that. People like Robert Fisk and so on, they wear their hearts on their sleeve, and I think that that's a good thing.
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"But Nick's one of those who thinks that he should bury his emotions. But that breaks him - it really gets to him. And that's what makes the tsunami such a life-changing experience for him."
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Tim who received an Oscar nomination for his role in Rob Roy for which he also won a BAFTA says that, "I don't know if I necessarily like Nick. I wouldn't want to be around him too much! But I suppose I can relate to him. I've never been in his situation; I've never been in a disaster.
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"The closest I came to seeing that kind of tragedy face to face was when I was in Ethiopia; we were going into a war zone, and the people were coming out. That was heartbreaking.
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"But in a natural disaster like this, I have no idea how I would react. I don't know if I would react in the way that Nick does, I have no idea."
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Key to Nick's character is his strong friendship with his Thai photographer, Chai. "It's like a marriage of sorts," Tim observes. "They have found themselves in very difficult and tragic situations quite often.
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"Chai gets a thrill out of that, but just wants to get back to his family. I think he's had enough. Whereas my character is never really going to have a family - he's just going to keep moving. He's a gypsy."
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Tim continues that he really enjoyed working with Will Yun Lee, the actor playing Chai. "It was lovely. He's very charming and very focused.
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"We'd just go about our business really. It's not one of those characters that require a huge amount of homework. It takes care of itself, especially when the script is so good."
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Tim admits that he had some reservations about shooting in locations that were actually affected by the tsunami.
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According to the actor, "I was worried that it would be too soon. And I was also worried because the media that covered the aftermath are quite often referred to as the second tsunami, and I wanted to be sure that we weren't going to be a part of that.
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"But I thought that the script was very strong. It tries to deal with those issues in a responsible way. Beforehand I was worried it would be an action movie, but when I read it, it was the opposite of that.
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"So it's a very thoughtful and incisive piece, and I think that we're trying at least to pay homage to those people that were in this terrible disaster."
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The actor reveals that he has often been profoundly moved by recreating the scenes of devastation. "I was shocked by the art direction. It's extraordinary. When we went to the set of the wiped-out hotel, I was really taken aback.
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"I think the people who had experienced it, who had actually lived through the tsunami were equally taken aback. It was very shocking. So the art directors did a very, very good job. Quite remarkable."
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The actor goes on to praise the director, Bharat Nalluri, who has held together this immense and demanding project. "He's very engaging, and he loves actors, it seems! Actors always moan because they only get a couple days off here or there.
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"But Bharat is on set every single day. He's in the heat every day dealing with incredibly emotional circumstances, and he remains very light in spirit.
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"I like him. He can communicate with actors very well, and his notes are very precise. And he will challenge you. So I found him very spry, very engaging and rather lovely to be around."
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Finally, Tim outlines what he has gained from working on this production.
"I've learned a lot about the tsunami," he reflects.
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"I've learned about the Burmese situation, I've learned about the land grabs, and I've learned that outsiders have a very poor notion of just what it is that the Thai people are. Above all, I've learned that the people here are stronger than the tsunami. And that's very positive."
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He concludes that "being in Thailand and being around the people who live here has been an inspiration. I think that spending a great deal of time out here is good for the soul."
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