Matthew Goode stars in Jonathan Teplitzky’s Burning Man, playing a father dealing with tragedy who is struggling to put his life back in order.

Why were you drawn to the script?

If you’d asked me 20 pages into the read if I was going to do it, I’d have said, “Don’t think so. It’s quite out there.” And then obviously because of the fractured narrative, you know, once the penny starts to drop you’re like, “Oh my God! That’s why he’s behaving in such an erratic, extraordinary way.” It was a real challenge. They don’t pop up all the time. And then you’ve got to go do it.

How did you prepare for the role?

There’s a certain amount of power of the imagination. I haven’t had to go through anything like that, thankfully, and hopefully never do myself. You can sense the grief anyway, but it was such a strong script and having a great director to take you through it was a huge help.

Was it difficult to film knowing that some of the story was based on Jonathan Teplitzky’s own experiences?

I didn’t really ever talk to him about it too much. He was very open, he would have been happy to; I just didn’t feel the need to, really. But, I was worried that we’d be sitting there and he’d say, “No, no mate. That’s not how it works. It was more like this.” I was very lucky that never happened.

How did you get involved with your next film Stoker?

It was funny because Colin Firth was meant to be doing it, which I probably shouldn’t be saying, but he became rather too busy. So it suddenly became open again. It certainly wasn’t offered but I managed to get the job. It’s a Korean director, Park Chan-wook, he directed a film called Old Boy, which is amazing. So I was like, I can’t believe I’m going to get this opportunity. With a brilliant script, which Wentworth Miller wrote - he’s ex-Princeton so it’s not a surprise to me. And we’ve got Nicole Kidman and Mia Wasikowska. They’re all so lovely.

What’s next on the agenda after Burning Man and Stoker?

I’m doing a fantastic five-part TV series called Dancing On The Edge, with Stephen Poliakoff. He’s a brilliant English TV director. He’s done films as well. I’ve loved him for ages. I get to be in his new TV series set in the 1920s-1930s about the up and coming jazz scene in London. And it’s in England! I think some of it’s in Birmingham so there’s a bit of travel but, amazing script and filming in England for four months.

 

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