Ending 2018 with one of the most anticipated releases so far, Mary Poppins Returns has finally hit UK cinemas.
Coming 54 years after the first film, this festive tale sees Mary, in the form of Emily Blunt, coming back to help a new generation of Banks children to see the brighter side of life – as well as, of course, making everyone in the nearby vicinity look at the world with rose-coloured glasses.
Of course, there has to be something to spoil the sunshine. Actor Kobna Holdbrook-Smith plays the character of ‘Frye’, who alongside Jeremy Swift’s ‘Gooding’, is tasked with repossessing the Banks family home, after they fall behind on their payments – though ‘Frye’ is definitely the more sympathetic of the two.
Also currently starring as Ike Turner in the dazzling West End production of Tina: The Musical, Holdbrook-Smith is a man of diverse talents – other past projects include Doctor Strange, BBC drama The Split, and Hamlet at the National Theatre. We spoke to him about what it’s like being a part of such amazing projects, and how he got started…
Did the original Mary Poppins mean a lot to you?
Kobna Holdbrook-Smith: My brother Kofi and I used to watch it when we’d visit Ghana; we’d have a copy there, and we’d watch it when we were little’uns, so it was definitely a part of my upbringing and my enjoyment as a child.
Since Mary Poppins is a film that has so much sentimental value for so many people, did it feel like there was lots of pressure to really deliver, on set?
KHS: Surprisingly, I didn’t feel any pressure, no coercive pressure, but there was certainly an excitement about it. There’s nobody who was on set that didn’t know the valency of Mary Poppins – it’s such an iconic piece. What I would say is that Rob Marshall, the director, had this very clear idea of how he wanted us to play, but I didn’t feel like we had to do what we were told, it just felt like what we were doing was what was good for the film. It was a very fun set: very warm, very busy, a lot of hard work, a lot of long days, but it didn’t feel scratchy or pressured or irritable, which is the case on every film set except that! But no unpleasant [moments]… it was all about serving the text and serving all the charm and beauty that the original has given so many people, seeing if we could honour that in what we brought to it.
You’re also playing Ike in Tina: The Musical – for which you’ve also gotten a WhatsOnStage nomination. Congratulations! How’s it all been since the show opened in April?
KHS: Thank you. I’m unspeakably proud of Tina. Adrienne Warren is built by, and sent from the Gods. She’s an absolute wonder. I mean, you’ve seen her yourself, I’m not exaggerating – well, I am exaggerating – but I’m not lying, she’s an absolute comet; out of this world. The cast are like family – warm, dedicated, funny, sweet. There’s no beef, no difficulty, we’re just getting along. And we get tired, and we get a bit grumpy when we’re tired but we still love it, and that’s what we’ve been blessed with; a show that feels good to do. To play Ike is easily the best theatrical role I’ve ever played. I’ve always sung, but I’ve never whipped the covers off the singing. When the auditions came up, I was a bit timid, like, “I’m not sure if I’ll be able to sing”; but I’m so glad I was wrong about that. It’s been absolutely wonderful. I keep using ‘so’ as an intensifier because I don’t have the words for how happy the show has made me, professionally, personally, and what it’s given me, I couldn’t have predicted.
Adrienne Warren as Tina Turner; Kobna Holdbrook-Smith as Ike Turner. Photo credit: Manuel Harlan
In Mary Poppins Returns, you play Frye – the ‘nice cop’ of the villain’s accomplice duo, if you will. Is preparation for a villain and preparation for a villain different?
KHS: (After a beat) I’d say it is, yeah. I was about to say, “No, acting’s all the same,” but it’s definitely different. I think I’m a nice guy, I certainly get cast as nice guys a lot, so it was nice to play someone who was sweet and timid on camera. Preparation for it was really just about finding as big a heart as I could and putting it in my chest.
You have a lot of range – you’ve been in Marvel and DC projects, Shakespeare, Disney… where do you feel most at home in a character?
KHS: Firstly, that’s the very best thing anyone’s ever said to me – I’m really in it for the range. I think there are two types of actor. I think some actors inhabit and other actors transform, and I think they’re both perfectly valid, and both perfectly common. I like to transform; I like people coming and saying “Oh, you really look like Ike!” when they wouldn’t have thought so before. I find that really gratifying. I think where I’m most at home when I’m conducting these investigations, like “What’s true? How does he, or maybe even she, how does my character move? Why does my character like… fennel? In what way would they sing?” Those questions are what interest me.
I’ve read that you had a love for acting when you were young, but were a little tentative to pursue it. What was your first inkling that you thought, “I’m just gonna go for it”?
KHS: When I did my GCSEs – I didn’t get very good results, and I thought “I don’t know what I’m gonna do in the future!” (He laughs.) And then I thought, “Maybe I’d like to be an actor?” But I didn’t really know how; I’d barely heard of drama school, I knew that there were places that people went to learn, but I didn’t know the names of them. But when I eventually got to drama school, it started the shift between wanting to be an actor who was famous, to wanting to be an actor who acts. So I feel like the question has two answers: the first is, when I was a kid and decided that I wanted to be an actor. And the second part is a bit later, when I decided I wanted to act; be co-responsible for telling stories and to find out the truth of people and play it, and mine the detail of where they join up, the story and the character and the plot.
So would you say you’ve made an active decision to stay out of fame?
KHS: There have definitely been forks in the road where I’ve opted for the choice that might seem to other people, less lucrative, or less shiny. But to me, the choices have always been about what’s the best that I can do in that situation. There was a time where I was asked to audition for a really prominent soap opera, but I just didn’t think… I thought the part was interesting enough, but I didn’t think it was time to step away, so I did the theatre for a few more years. It’s not that I eschew money or fame, it’s more that I trust that if I just follow the right artistic choices, eventually maybe I can afford a house! (He laughs heartily.) If I can’t, I’ll still be happy enough.
Mary Poppins Returns is in cinemas now
