Part of Finnegan and screenwriter Garret Shanley\u2019s research process was to really throw themselves into the world of shamanism in the Philippines, which plays a huge role in the events of the film. They met with various witch doctors, black magic practitioners, and other relevant people, applying much of what they had learned to the script. But this research was something Strong himself did not partake in \u2013 for very good reason.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy character is very skeptical, so in a way I didn\u2019t really want to find out about it or fall in love with the notion of this very different type of medicine,\u201d he reveals. \u201cBut I did talk to Lorcan about it. And he said that he and Garrett had been to the Philippines and had seen a ceremony like the one that Chai undertakes in the movie. And they found it really fascinating.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo that was enough for me, I kind of understood that the purpose of all that was to be mysterious, unusual, and a little bit almost supernatural. But the fact that it was rooted in reality, I thought, made it all the more powerful.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/12\/Mark-Strong-as-Felix-in-Nocebp-cc82d30.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Another thing that attracted Strong to Finnegan\u2019s work was the strong political underpinnings of his films. Whereas Vivarium took aim at the Irish housing crisis, Nocebo makes pointed criticisms of colonialism and the exploitation that occurs under global capitalism, and this was something Strong was especially keen to explore.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s one thing making a movie or telling a story that is entertainment, but to be able to address an issue like Lorcan does in the film of class, of privilege, of different societies coming into contact and different cultures coming into contact \u2013 I think that makes it much more interesting,\u201d he explains. \u201cAnd I love the idea that there\u2019s this sort of very privileged, easygoing couple with the life that we all supposedly aspire to, suddenly having the rug pulled out from under them because of a very tragic event that could easily pass for a random piece in a newspaper that nobody pays any attention to.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s very brave of Lorcan to bring that into focus. Also, the idea of fast fashion that he kind of incorporates in there \u2013 the idea of where are these clothes coming from that we\u2019re wearing? Who\u2019s actually doing all the work behind the scenes, and what conditions are they working under? We\u2019re benefitting from their work, so what does that all mean? I loved that there was a strong political message threaded through the whole thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The cast for Nocebo is not particularly large, but Strong was delighted to work with both Eva Green and Chai Fonacier \u2013 \u201ca huge star back home in the Philippines\u201d \u2013 while he also had kind words for his young co-star Billie Gadsdon, who plays his daughter in the film.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe is just a joy,\u201d he says. \u201cI mean, we got on really well \u2013 we did lots of dancing together off camera, we laughed around, she\u2019s got a lot of energy and I was happy to sort of absorb that energy. And the two of us got to know each other as well as we could off-camera so that all the stuff that was on camera would be as believable and as realistic as possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer sister [Beau Gadsdon] is also an actor and funnily enough, I\u2019ve just worked with her in a movie with Ian McKellen, in which she also plays my daughter. So all the members of the Gadsdon family are eventually going to be playing my children at some point!\u201d<\/p>
That film with Ian McKellen is The Critic, one of many movies featuring Strong scheduled to arrive in cinemas in the coming months. Indeed, in addition to Nocebo, the actor has a role in another new release coming out this very week \u2013 the animated feature Charlotte, which tells the true story of a young German-Jewish painter who fled Berlin on the eve of the Second World War to seek a new life in the South of France. As well as Strong, the film features the voices of Keira Knightley, Jim Broadbent, and Sam Claflin \u2013 and the actor says it was a \u201cfascinating\u201d project to be a part of.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hadn\u2019t been familiar with the story, but I liked the people very much when I met them and they asked me to get involved with it,\u201d he explains. \u201cAnd there is something quite satisfying about doing voice work, because you\u2019re not on display quite in the same way as you are in a [live-action] movie.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was really interested to learn about her,\u201d he adds. \u201cIt\u2019s an incredibly tragic story but sort of imbued with a sort of artistic love of life, that bittersweet thing that makes for great stories. I play an artist who admires her work and takes her under his wing, and they become very fond of one another \u2013 just at the point, unfortunately, when all the National Socialist problems start to kick off in the Germany that they\u2019re living in. So they managed to have a sort of short relationship, which revolves around her art and their mutual artistic taste that is then brutally destroyed by the advent of the Nazis.\u201d<\/p>\n
Perhaps the most exciting project on the horizon for Strong is T\u00e1r, the new film from director Todd Field which has already been released to huge acclaim in the US following a Venice Film Festival premiere earlier in 2022. The film \u2013 which stars Cate Blanchett as a fictional composer-conductor and is already being tipped to pick up several Oscar nominations \u2013 will arrive in the UK early next year, and Strong can\u2019t wait for audiences on this side of the Atlantic to see it.<\/p>\n