Q&A: An Englishman in New York

In the new British feature An Englishman in New York, acclaimed thespian John Hurt reprises one of his greatest roles. He last played the legendary homosexual eccentric Quentin Crisp in The Naked Civil Servant (1975), which was based on Crisp’s autobiography. The new film takes place in the '80s and '90s, telling the story of the last years of Crisp's life once he became a resident alien in Manhattan.

The director Richard Laxton introduced cast members Hurt, Cynthia Nixon, Denis O’Hare, Swoosie Kurtz and Jonathan Tucker after the North American premiere. Hurt was especially thrilled to be presenting the film in Tribeca. “One of the great things was making it here. It was absolutely imperative in terms of the very city itself, which provided Quentin with so much happiness.”

For his part, Hurt admits that he was somewhat reluctant to return to such a signature role. “You better let sleeping dogs lie,” he reasoned. “I wondered whether there is anything more you can add.” Hurt says that the evolving screenplay and Laxton’s vision convinced him that, “Actually, you could say quite a lot more about him. You could say something much more personal.”

Hurt recalled a moment from the set of the earlier film The Naked Civil Servant during a café scene. The director asked Hurt, “How far can the actors go in turns of camp?” Hurt adopted his uncanny imitation of Crisp’s voice for the anecdotal punch line, “‘It is impossible to go far enough.’”

Nixon plays Penny Arcade, performance artist. “I looked at some footage of her,” the actress explained, “but she is also very much a device of the film. I really focused more on the role she played within the structure of the script.”

O’Hare introduced two friends of Crisp’s in the audience, on whom his composite character was based. “It’s terrifying to have people you’re actually playing alive!” O’Hare also recalled his own amusing introduction to the witty Englishman. Crisp had actually reviewed O'Hare's stage debut, writing, “Mr. O’Hare, I suppose, is a good actor, but he’s entirely unintelligible."

As the evening closed, the topic turned to gay rights, and Tucker talked about films like Milk and Englishman changing the dialogue. Laxton feels there’s still a long way to go in eradicating homophobia. “I was bullied as a kid in school for being gay. Actually I hadn’t even come out, so everyone else sussed it before I did. Must have been the dress,” he joked. O’Hare chimed in last with a reminder about Crisp’s unique place in New York’s gay history. “He wasn’t the gay community. He wasn’t anything but himself. I think that’s the triumph of finally getting acceptance. You don’t have to be emblematic. You have to be yourself.”
 

An Englishman in New York screens throughout the Festival.

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