WITH his free-flowing red hair, sing-song intonation and legendary hot temper, Douglas Henshall is something of your archetypal radge ‘Weegie’, a role with which he burst into the public eye in the hard-hitting Channel 4 drama Psychos three years ago. Since then, however, he has proved difficult to typecast; other notable roles include the troubled father in Tony Marchant’s Kid in the Corner, Levin in the TV adaptation of Anna Karenina and Michael in Peter Mullan’s Orphans.
His latest role in the new British film The Lawless Heart continues the theme of diversity. Sporting some dodgy Hawaiian shirts and a 99% convincing southern English accent, Henshall plays Tim, a twenty-something prodigal best friend with a serious case of wanderlust. Henshall describes the film as being "a voyage of discovery" for his character, but really it’s a ‘journey thang’ for all involved. The film opens at a funeral; of Stuart, a gay man whose enthusiasm for boating led him to a watery grave. From then on we follow three central characters over the period of a few weeks: Dan (played by the superb Bill Nighy), Stuart’s brother-in-law, who has one eye on the will and the other on an attractive French florist; Nick, Stuart’s grief-stricken lover, and Tim, who quickly embroils himself in a love triangle with a school friend and an enigmatic young woman. Each segment is a neat 30 minutes, starting at the funeral and revisiting the same events in the sleepy seaside town from individual perspectives.
It’s a plot device that’s been put to good use in Pulp Fiction and Amoros Perros, but Henshall was still seduced by its relative novelty. "I really like the structure of the film, the way that it told the same story from three different points of view. I haven’t really seen that before and that really grabbed me. I also think it’s a very warm film, there’s a lot of soul in it."
‘Warm’ certainly seems to be the most accurate description of a film that will prove tricky for the pigeonholers. Whilst there are moments of comedy, they are never
rip-roaring, and any romance is strictly prefixed with a hefty ‘R’ for realism. Indeed, Henshall says the film is more French or Italian in its feel than anything else. "I’m a big fan of European cinema," he says. "I think British cinema should look away from America and more towards the Continent."
The Lawless Heart is the second feature from writing/directing duo Neil Hunter and Tom Hunsinger. The pair first won recognition for their low-budget debut Boyfriends, which explored the nature of gay relationships. "We wanted to broaden the focus out from sexuality and to explore different attitudes to love, sex and relationships," explains Hunter.
Yet the writers and cast must be aware that the sexuality of Stuart and Nick in The Lawless Heart will still cause some people to see it as essentially a gay film. "I would say that’s a pretty narrow-minded way of looking at it," argues Henshall. "I don’t think sexual preferences have a lot to do with it. I just think it’s a good story."
Orientations aside, what does give this film a breath of fresh air is its multifaceted and subtle portrayal of its characters. As we witness events from different angles, the motivation behind the slamming of doors and throwing of strops are revealed gradually, giving the characters an illuminating depth. Certainly there is a distinct absence of routine heroes and villains. Only Charlie, the unlikely object of Nick’s confused affections, and Judy, the long-suffering wife of Dan, steer clear of causing harm. Everybody else manages to hurt people, albeit inadvertently rather than sadistically. "That’s what I like about people," says Henshall. "I’d be very suspicious of someone who just seemed to be always good. I don’t think I know anyone like that. They’d bore me sh**less. I like people for their faults, it’s what makes them human. I actually think all the characters in the film could be quite nice, given half the chance."
Funnily enough, that’s exactly how Henshall comes across; a surprise given that he is notorious for his dislike of the media. (One reason for this could be the real-life threesome Henshall found himself in a few years ago with model Sophie Dahl and the tabloid press.) Perhaps that’s because this year is set to be a good one for the 34-year-old actor, regardless of pesky journalists.
His next on-screen appearance will be in Thomas Festen Vinterberg’s It’s All About Love, alongside Jaoquin Phoenix and Clare Danes, and it’s clear that working with the Dogme director had a profound effect on Henshall. "Thomas is an incredibly talented man," says Henshall. "Working with him was one of the most joyous experiences I’ve ever had. He really tests you, pulling you in every direction." Meanwhile, August sees Henshall revisiting a place he hasn’t been for five years. Not his birthplace - Barrhead - but the boards, darling. "I’m rehearsing at the National Theatre in a production of Tom Stoppard’s The Coast of Utopia. It’s been a long time so I’m scared sh***less but excited at the same time. It’s good to work in a lot of mediums."
Although Henshall is best known for his TV and film work, the actor’s first break was with Glaswegian company 7:84 and in a Donmar Warehouse production of The Life of Stuff. One thing that does distinguish Henshall in his variety of roles and mediums is integrity. Whilst he has accepted that he may not grace the wall of every 16-year-old girl in the country ˆ la Ewan McGregor (himself an old friend with whom he starred in Dennis Potter’s Lipstick on Your Collar), he has yet to ‘sell-out’ in terms of artistic quality. "I don’t know," muses the actor. "Maybe there’s no such thing as selling out in this business, it’s such a fickle profession in the first place. I’ll keep trying to do what I want to do for as long as I can but, like everybody else, I’ve got to pay the rent. Ultimately, the only person I’d be selling out to is myself."
A luxury which allows him to take the odd risk - such as setting up his own film production company and buying the rights to Christopher Brookmyre’s novel One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night. Production, says Henshall, is a natural progression. Does this mean that this salesman and nurse’s son is getting bored of acting? "Oh Jesus God, no!" he replies, being a person whose expletives increase with enthusiasm as much as with anger. "I don’t know what else I’d do."
Save managing his beloved St Mirren football team, which is unlikely given his ‘honorary Londoner’ status (he left Scotland 17 years ago to attend Mountview Drama School and has lived in London ever since), Henshall won’t be penning the old CV just yet. For the man with the best swagger since Byron has come a long way since bemoaning a lack of roles for "small, overweight, red-haired Glaswegians", and we can only expect more to come.
Scotland on Sunday June 23rd 2002