The film "Adam" is a departure for British actor Hugh Dancy, best known for playing Prince Charmont in "Ella Enchanted," the handsome love interest in "Confessions of a Shopaholic" and the handsome love interest and nerd in "The Jane Austen Book Club."
Dancy, 34, plays Adam, a brilliant but socially awkward man with Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism. Adam is living on his own in New York when a lovely young woman moves into his building and an unlikely romance begins, full of touching moments and heartbreaking misunderstandings.
Dancy, who comes from a family of academics — his father is a prominent philosopher and his mother works in publishing — studied literature at Oxford University.
Engaged to Claire Danes, Dancy divides his time between London and New York.
Excerpts from an interview:
Question: How did you get involved in this project?
Answer: The quality of the writing and intelligence of the script (by Max Mayer) triggered my interest. I liked it that you don't know right away that Adam has Asperger's. Instead of stereotyping or putting a label on him, you get to know him as an individual first.
Question: What did you do to prepare for the role of Adam?
Answer: I put a lot of work into understanding Asperger's, the condition Adam lives with. I started my research on the Internet. I found several books that were useful. I was absorbing all forms of information on Asperger's syndrome, which takes many forms. And I met people with Asperger's.
Question: What were the unique challenges of this character and film, made for less than $1 million and filmed in 25 days?
Answer: The biggest challenge was staying within the parameters of Adam's character. I was looking to hit all the notes. Because we had 25 days, the rigor of it was rewarding. Every day we had so much to film. The scenes are all pretty rich and layered. You can't use your normal reactions. I had to clear my mind and think about what was going on inside Adam. I worried about hitting the right emotional pitch.
Question: What does this movie teach about the difficulty of relationships?
Answer: I've had enough experience in relationships to know that none of us is blessed with telepathy. We all have to struggle for empathy. Empathy is something you never have to stop exercising, even if you've been in a relationship for 50 years. In the most general sense, anyone (who) has ever been in a relationship will get something from this movie.
Question: Is your favorite movie the most recent one you've made?
Answer: I think I'm getting to the point where I can say I think this role (of Adam) will always stand out because of the unusual demands, because of my understanding of the character. I love this movie and I'm proud of it. It's a film that stays with people.
Question: When did you know you wanted to be an actor?
Answer: Consciously? When I was 17.
Dist. by Scripps Howard News Service