Jason Isaacshas played a plethora of unforgettable roles, which makes choosing a favorite nearly impossible.
It was really surprising.
I didn’t realize how good it would be.
What drew you to playing Archie?
I felt exactly the same.
What drew me is that I knew Tony [Anthony Fabian], the director, a little bit.
We tried to work together before, it didn’t work out.
The pandemic who knew where it was going and what was going to happen?
Dark clouds were gathering outside the house and inside my head.
I read this film, which was seemingly so out of step with the times.
And then I realized, maybe it’s exactly what I needed, because I was having tremendous difficulty.
I’ve got kids, and … fear was filling my days and nights.
Mrs. Harris is such an inspirational figure.
I wanted to believe that was true, and that kindness was possible and necessary.
This is a film.
At some point, life is going to crush her."
Actually, it’s not always true.
The power of kindness wins.
Collaborating with Lesley Manville
That’s such a good point.
No, but you don’t always see that on the screen.
You had amazing chemistry with Lesley Manville.
What was it like working with her?
The thing about this chemistry thing is hilarious.
Did you feel something?
Was there chemistry in the room?"
[“Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris”] is a beautiful script, beautifully written and beautifully acted.
The chemistry was … it’s a great story, and we both fell into those characters.
That’s what actors do.
We’re kids in a sandpit.
I don’t know what the chemistry was, but the chemistry is Archie and Mrs. Harris.
[The film was] also cleverly put together.
Very often it doesn’t, but this time it did.
Do you have any favorite memories from working on those movies?
I was in, 2, 4, 5, 7, [and] 8.
I was in five of them spread over 10 years.
My memory’s all of it.
My strongest memories are at the end because I’m old.
I remember the first day vividly and I remember the last bit.
We’d go to work every day and we’d sit about.
I wanted the rain to go on for months.
I wanted it never to end …
I can’t tell you."
I think he was given a mandate by Warner Brothers: “These films will be around forever.
Let’s make them perfect.”
We filmed from every angle, every size, got it right.
It was days and days, we were standing there watching Ralph.
We were all like, “Get on with it.”
Not that he wasn’t doing it brilliantly, but we’d now seen the speech a thousand times.
I was feeling a bit sorry for myself, because I had three lines over the next week.
I thought, “They haven’t got any lines.
I can’t believe how lucky I am.
At least I’ve got three lines,” and it suddenly perked me up for a while.
About that Lucius Malfoy wig…
There we were as colleagues huddled around eating [assorted biscuits].
None of us took it for granted.
We were all fans.
I remember that feeling, looking around going, “No one’s doing this as a job.”
I’ve been on many films, some of them big, some of them small.
No one’s being cynical here.
There’s no cynicism on this set.
[They are likely] people who know nothing about hair, I feel.
I did many films and TV series in between in which my hair looked like this or different.
People would go, “Is that your own hair?”
And I’d go, “Yes, it’s a remarkable skill.
I can grow it to my waist in about an hour if the sunlight’s strong enough.”
That’s quite magical that people are still Googling it.
You probably had no idea at the time that they would be.
When it comes to me, most people are Googling, “Is ‘The OA’ coming back?”
Is that a gag?
Are we playing a joke on the audiences by waiting a few years?"
I wish it was a joke.
“Am I really Jason Isaacs or am I Jason Isaacs from ‘The OA?'”
That’s what I get a lot.
Is The OA really over?
I hate Netflix sometimes because they cancel everything I love.
They disrupted the entire industry.
The people who worked on the show loved it.
The Netflix people who worked on the show loved it.
They have a different funding model.
They have different priorities, and you’re able to’t hate anyone for making a business decision.
It is what it is.
There’s no bad people working there.
No one did it out of malign instinct.
They’re making whatever decision they needed to make at the time because of whatever priorities they had.
The way we left it, the door certainly didn’t close, did it?
No, you left [“The OA”] on such a massive cliffhanger.
How can we live with this?
We could do it again in 20 years time.
It would still cut.
Did you have a good experience working on that show?
Everything about it was amazing.
I just said I was a fan of “Potter.”
I arrived as a rabid fan of “The OA.”
I was offered it overnight.
They had the most expensive day of the season coming up the next day, which was Grand Central.
Once they shot him there, they were never going to be able to replace him.
He said, “I don’t know.
You know him much better than I do.
What do you think?”
They didn’t write anything at all they thought was clever or weird for the sake of it.
There’s none of the “Twin Peaks” stuff in it, which is self-consciously and entertainingly bizarre.
There are many things I admired about them.
Mostly, as people, they are extraordinary to work with.
You don’t see other series do that.
You see other shows going, “Well, I know what the audience likes.
I loved that piece.
We were all heartbroken when it was canceled, but we’re aware that the door’s not shut.
Reviving Captain Lorca?
Is the door shut on Prime Lorca?
That’s a question that’s live on the internet, that’s for sure.
What was it like working on that show?
And could you see a return to the “Star Trek” universe?
The story would have to be great.
It was a fantastic storyline.
If there’s space, they have so many brilliant series up now.
I don’t want to come back just to squeeze into that sausage skintight suit.
Do you have any superhero or supervillain dreams?
Is there a particular role you would like to play?
I’ve also been Ras al Ghul, I’ve been Lex Luthor.
I’ve been Dick Dastardly now.
[I was] in “Scoob” …
I’ve played a lot of superheroes and supervillains.
Oh, on the screen?
I’ve got a number of mates in the Marvel films.
There’s a lot of eating broccoli and chicken and going to the gym involved.
No, I love the films.
I’ve seen every single one of them, and I do love them.
Even the TV series actually, a lot of the TV series.
I feel like I’m on the conveyor belt.
It’s moving fast towards the Pearly Gates or else the fiery pit.
I don’t know if I can do the two or three hours a day that it requires.
Ask them to do CGI.
It’ll be fine.
When they can do the CGI muscles, I’m all in for it.
“Mrs Harris Goes to Paris” is now playing in theaters.Book tickets now.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
