Doubting Thomas

9:20am Saturday 28th June 2008

LIKE rugby and coal, Matthew Rhys says, the Welsh are sort of raised with Dylan Thomas. So, naturally enough, as part of his audition for drama school, he did a piece from the Welsh writers play, Under Milk Wood.

It didnt go down well, though, recalls the actor known to TV viewers from the US drama series, Brothers And Sisters. When I went in, they said what are your pieces? and I said Henry VI Part III and Under Milk Wood and the auditioner said thats rather obvious for a Welshman. I hadnt thought of that.

Happily, he was accepted at Rada (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) and they must have liked his audition as they put him forward for the Patricia Rothermere Scholarship. And he won it.

Now Rhys finds himself playing Dylan Thomas in the film The Edge Of Love, which focuses on the Welshmans love for two women, wife Caitlin and Vera, the childhood sweetheart he meets again after his marriage.

It was daunting for a Welshman born and raised in Cardiff to play such a Welsh icon, and one born in Swansea, meaning there was a difference in accent between Rhys and the man he was playing.

Thomas tried to lose his dirty, Jack Swansea accent as much as possible, says Rhys. In that respect, I was doing the same C trying to mask my Cardiff accent.

Thomas went for an all-out, very plummy English accent when he came to London. We werent making a documentary and it would have been alienating to the audience if Id tried to replicate that accent. Its probably the only part Ill ever play whereby Im attempting an English accent and, if I slip and a Welsh bit comes through, Im not going to be shot down for it.

He tucked in heartily to another side of his portrayal, as he needed to put on weight for the role.

The pictures we know of Thomas were at the end of his life when he was considerably larger, says Rhys. Ive never put weight on for a part before.

You soon notice that other people notice. Oh, you look healthy or LAs being kind, they say.

I went to a nutritionist because you can put on a lot of weight easily, but you can clog your arteries.

She advised me how to gain weight healthily.

She said you should definitely not put more than a stone and a half on. But I ignored all her healthy weigh-gain plan advice and hit a lot of pies and Guinness.

Some may see the depiction of Thomas in the film as unflattering, but thats not something that the actor thought about. He never approaches a script with any judgement.

THE one word that cropped up a lot during research was how child-like Thomas was. And to me, theres an innocence and a sincerity that comes with that, but ultimately a selfish desire of what he wants.

He was very tormented. He had a lot of demons inflicted by his own parents which he never really resolved. And he was terrorised by his relationship with Caitlin. It was so intense and destructive.

As well as referring to the vocal archive of Thomas, Rhys spent time with his daughter, Aeronwy.

Both she and director John Maybury told him not to do an impersonation, giving him a greater degree of freedom in his performance.

Aeronwy helped in the slight physical attributes that he had. I asked her what he was like physically and she said a slug. I tried to slow my walk a bit and stoop a bit more.

Rhys is currently based in the US, playing gay lawyer Kevin in the Emmy Award-winning series, Brothers And Sisters, which also stars Sally Field, Calista Flockhart and Rachel Griffiths.

Im very happy there, the writing is fantastic. I enjoy the courtroom stuff, I just pretend Im Tom Cruise in A Few Good Men, he says.

Life in LA has its drawbacks, like having to get up at five in the morning to watch the rugby on TV.

He and other Welsh actors in Hollywood, including former flatmate Ioan Gruffudd, make up what might be called the Taffia. We tick every cliche, he says. In fact, were getting a little over the top. On St Davids Day this year we all got together and cooked a whole Welsh lamb.

ö The Edge Of Love (15) is now showing in cinemas. Brothers and Sisters: E4,Sunday, 11pm, repeated Monday, 10pm.

COMPETITION The Northern Echo has copies of The Edge Of Love soundtrack for five winners of an easy-to-enter competition. Composer Angelo Badalamenti is best known for his collaborations with David Lynch, and won a Grammy for his score for the TV series Twin Peaks.

To enter: name the actor who played Agent Dale Cooper in Twin Peaks. Send your answer, together with your name and address, on a postcard or the back of a sealed envelope to Edge Of Love competition, Features Dept, The Northern Echo, Priestgate, Darlington DL1 1NF. Closing date for entries is July 4.

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