"Cold Mountain," a film based on Charles Frazier's National Book Award-winning novel and written for the screen and directed by Academy Award-winner Anthony Minghella, tells the story of three people whose lives have been uprooted by the Civil War and whose physical and spiritual survival depends on one another. Jude Law stars as the wounded Confederate soldier Inman who fights his way home to Ada (Nicole Kidman) who must protect her father's farm from ruin and attack. Renee Zellweger (Ruby) plays a feisty drifter who rescues Ada and teaches her about self-reliance.
The all-star cast also includes Donald Sutherland, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Giovanni Ribisi, Natalie Portman and Brendan Gleeson, among others. Gleeson plays Stobrod, an itinerant fiddler whose playing is a key part of the story. (Minghella acknowledges that he is actually a great fiddle player.)
Gleeson was online Wednesday, Dec. 10 at 2:30 p.m. ET to talk about the film and his other projects.
Gleeson most recently co-starred in "28 Days Later" and "Gangs of New York and will be seen next in John Boorman's "Truth" (his third film for the director) and the highly anticipated "Troy." The Dublin-born actor's other film work includes "Dark Blue," "Tailor of Panama," "A.I. Artificial Intelligence," "Mission Impossible II," and "Braveheart."
"Cold Mountain" opens nationwide on Christmas day.
The transcript follows.
Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.
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Georgetown, D.C.:
Hello Brendan -
It looks like there are quite a few European/non-American actors in the film and the film was shot in Romania, if I'm not mistaken. How did you get into the spirit and mood of the people and the region of that time? Thanks.
Brendan Gleeson: Dirk Powell had a lot to do with maintaining my focus. He's an old-time musician and part of that whole culture. (He was the music supervisor while we were in Romania.)
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Herndon, Va.:
Why do you think that the English/Scottish/Irish always play such great American Southerners?
Like Kenneth Branaugh and Liam Neesom, for example?
Brendan Gleeson: Because that's where the southerners came from, I think, and the connections are still strong.
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Alexandria, Va.:
I've read that you started your acting career a little "later" than others ... what made you decide to get into the field and how did you do it?
Brendan Gleeson: I turned professional at 34 but had been involved from many years before that. So I took the plunge and got lucky, I guess. When Braveheart happened, I stopped doing theater and concentrated on film work. So far, so good.
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SW Va.:
Saw the movie last night (for free!) at a preview. Is your character the same as the man playing for the dying confederate soldier? I was a little confused by that.
Brendan Gleeson: Well-spotted. The music I play in that scene is part of my redemption in the way I discover something there that goes beyond a few drinks. (It's the beginning of Stobrod's change of heart.)
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Princeton, N.J.:
Betweeen working with Jude Law, Nicole Kidman and Renee Zellweger, what was the best part of the shoot for you?
Brendan Gleeson: (SPOILER ALERT) Finding a daughter.
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McLean, Va.:
You have worked with some fabulous directors. Martin Scorcese, for one, seems to have encyclopedic knowledge of film history. Does he bring that to the set and use it to help the actors in anyway?
Brendan Gleeson: At all times. He'll tell you he's stolen a shot from something or other. Unfortunately I don't have an encyclopedic knowledge like he does. But you can feel how technically brilliant he is, but it's more than that. His feeling for film and acting is unparalleled.
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Washington, D.C.:
I've really enjoyed your work, especially in Dark Blue and Braveheart. What is your favorite film that you worked on and why?
Brendan Gleeson: Thank you. A number of films come to mind. The General is probably my most prominent leading role so far. I developed a great relationship with John Boorman during the making of that film, so I guess if I had to pick one, that would be it. But I was loathe to say goodbye to Stobrod when filming of Cold Mountain finished and delighted to say hello to him again at the premiere this past weekend.
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Somewhere, USA:
(SPOILER ALERT) Mr. Gleeson, so you are playing the father of Renee's character? He was one of my favorite characters in the book. I am anxious to see how he is portrayed.
Brendan Gleeson: (SPOILER ALERT) Well, I hope I did him justice. I like him anyway. He's different physically from the book but I think the soul is recognizable.
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Vancouver, B.C.:
Hi, thought you were great in 28 Days Later. How was that empty London street scene filmed? It didn't look CGI, it totally creeped me out.
Brendan Gleeson: Thanks. Very early in the morning in small snatches. I wasn't witness to it. But the motorway scene was filmed where we had five minutes to get the shot and I think the empty London scene was done a similar basis.
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Arlington, Va.:
The love story is not really played up in the book, does the movie take it a step farther?
Brendan Gleeson: The love story is intrinsic to the journey as it was in the book and drives the movie.
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Brendan Gleeson: I think it's pretty similar.
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Washington, D.C.:
I had a hard time reading the book and can only imagine how long the movie version will be! Does the movie take a faster pace? The book was filled with so many flowery words and descriptions.
Brendan Gleeson: The movie flies. All the descriptions are visually evident and therefore, more immediate, so don't worry about the words. But seriously, the pace is perfect. It does not feel like a long movie.
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Washington, D.C.:
What was it like to work with such an all-star cast and Academy Award- winning director?
Brendan Gleeson: It felt as it should be. Everybody has an idea of how this work should happen and in this case it did.
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Falls Church, Va.:
Did you do all the fiddling for your character in "Cold Mountain"?
Brendan Gleeson: Yes and no. I played all the tunes and sang all the songs but at times needed help to maintain the audience's presence in the theater. In other words, they have a soundtrack but some of the fiddling is mine.
We went to Nashville for a week and laid a soundtrack before we began shooting the film so I would play the fiddle with the soundtrack in the background.
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Brendan Gleeson: Stuart Duncan was the fiddler and Tim Erikson sang for me on occasion.
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Washington, D.C.:
Do you think the film will open big?
Brendan Gleeson: I hope so but I know that word of mouth will be the strongest push and I feel good about that.
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Falls Church, Va.:
What do you think of so many non-Americans being cast in this film?
Brendan Gleeson: Mingehella talked about not wanting to cast by passport -- that it didn't matter what nationality he/she was as long as they were the right person for the job. Personally I felt right taking on Stobrod because I knew who he was and I think that goes for the rest of a very talented cast also. We worked very hard to get the cultural thing right.
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Arlington, Va.:
Did you have any preconceived ideas about your character before filming? Did you read the book?
Brendan Gleeson: I read the script first because whichever you do first is what sticks in your mind. So I knew him from the script first and then I read the book. I had known of him through the music a year before but held off reading the book for that reason.
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