Bruce Herbelin-Earle, from East Grinstead, is one of the cast in Clooney’s new film The Boys In The Boat.
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00:00 Good afternoon, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor at Sussex Newspapers. Fantastic
00:07 pleasure this afternoon to be speaking to someone who is in the new George Clooney film,
00:12 which is out this weekend, The Boys in the Boat. It sounds a fantastic film. And in the
00:17 film is Bruce Herberlin-Earl from West Sussex, from East Grinstead specifically. And goodness,
00:23 the obvious question, what on earth is it like to work with George Clooney?
00:29 I think as an actor, you don't ever expect to get that cool. It's something that you
00:31 always dream about. And so when it comes, you better be ready.
00:36 And you were ready, weren't you?
00:39 I was and it came at such a lovely time. They were supposed to make this film 10 years ago.
00:45 The Weinstein Company had the rights to it and Kenneth Branagh was down to direct and
00:49 then it got delayed. And then, of course, everything happened with Harvey Weinstein
00:53 and the project got put on the coals. And then Clooney picked it up and it's just like
01:00 a year after year, this project has been in development. And in the summer of 22, I believe,
01:06 no, summer of 21, we shot in 22. In the summer of 21, yeah, he emailed me and wanted to Zoom
01:17 after I sent in a tape.
01:19 How on earth do you prepare for a Zoom with George Clooney?
01:22 You don't.
01:23 Is that exciting?
01:24 You don't. Because Clooney has such charisma and has such a way with people that he makes
01:31 you feel very at ease. And from every interview that I'd seen, I was expecting him to be the
01:37 man on camera, you know, and he is, he was. And I never felt nervous or apprehensive about
01:47 talking to him or feeling judgment from him or anything. He was super friendly, super
01:52 nice guy.
01:53 And he takes those personal qualities into his role as a director.
01:56 Exactly. He makes everyone feel at ease and he gets the best out of everyone. So whilst
02:00 also not being overbearing or pernickety or, you know, intense.
02:04 But at what point do you stop thinking, that's George Clooney?
02:09 You got to get over it. You got to get over it pretty quick. You know, like, this is,
02:13 he's just a guy. It's interesting to see how everyone else interacts with him too. We went
02:20 to the British premiere, the UK premiere. I also flew to LA to attend the LA one. And
02:26 at the end of all the screenings, he was mobbed by people wanting to ask him questions and
02:31 say hi and take pictures. And you gain some perspective on that because it's...
02:39 You realize who he is.
02:40 You realize who he is and you feel, you count your blessings that life isn't that intense,
02:49 you know, for yourself.
02:52 You must be on that level of stardom then.
02:55 No, not right now.
02:57 But the lovely thing you were saying, despite his experience, his charisma and everything,
03:02 he was very trusting of you as a director. He was wanting you as directors to show what
03:07 you could do.
03:08 Yeah, it's the ultimate respect, I guess, that a director can give his actors and make
03:14 him feel comfortable. And I also had some ideas that I wanted to float by him or I did
03:19 impromptu in the scene and I felt he created that space for me to do that. So it's like
03:26 I have nothing but respect and thanks to him.
03:29 That's quite surreal, isn't it? George, may I suggest that is quite something, isn't it?
03:34 Yeah. It's like, do you want me to do this? And it's either yes or no, or like, oh, good
03:38 idea, but what about this? And you would just, after a take he'll come and he'll just give
03:43 you that short, simple note that clicks in your mind and you know what you need to do.
03:48 And the other lovely thing is having had this experience and having seen the film a number
03:52 of times now, it absolutely lives up to the experience of making it, doesn't it? What
03:57 makes it such a good film, do you think? I'm so much looking forward to seeing it.
04:01 Yeah, well, I'm glad you said that. I think we're super excited for the UK to get it.
04:07 It's out in LA and the audiences have been really, really loving it. It's such a feel
04:11 good movie. It leaves you feeling enthralled and enthusiastic for your drive home after
04:18 the cinema, you know, like it's a two hour movie. And I think its purpose and aim as
04:23 an entertainment movie and a sports movie in general is just to leave you, to bring
04:31 you into the theatre, forget about your life for two hours and send you home with a smile
04:35 on your face, you know, and if we can give you that gift in this movie. And I think that's
04:40 what this movie does.
04:41 And you're saying too, the lovely thing is, it's about not being by yourself. It's about
04:46 allowing yourself to accept and find help from others.
04:50 Exactly. Like community and camaraderie is the way to experience life, in my opinion,
04:56 you know, because they'll pick you up when you're down and support you when you're high.
05:02 Brilliant. Well, really, I hope to see you this weekend. Thank you ever so much. Really
05:06 great to speak to you, Bruce. Thank you.
05:08 Thank you, Phil. I really appreciate it.
05:09 [BLANK_AUDIO]