He’s played the romantic hero opposite many of cinema’s current leading ladies, but after winning the hearts of audiences in films such as Mamma Mia! and An Education, British rising star Dominic Cooper is showing a much darker side in his new film, The Devil’s Double.
Cooper plays two roles in the movie, about idealistic Iraqi soldier Latif (Cooper) who is recruited and forced to undergo plastic surgery to become the body double of Uday Hussain (also Cooper), the sadistic, violent son of dictator Saddam, during the late 80’s.
Usually an actor tries to find something human within the character he is playing, even if it is a very evil person, however Cooper struggled to find any qualities in Uday. “One of the main problems that arose was playing somebody that ultimately I despised,” he revealed.
“I could see no redeeming features about him and the more I unearthed about him, I was repulsed by him. And to keep our hero interesting… having worked out this rather cartoonish, ludicrous – although compelling, entertaining – disgusting figure, it was then important to keep the solid hero in the piece equally as interesting.”
Another challenge was to act against himself - shooting scenes as Uday first, and then Latif with the acting linked together by some movie magic. “Technically, it was going to be challenging – to act in a space when you don’t have someone to react and respond to and therefore develop a scene with” the actor said.
“I’d do Uday once, do that (camera) move and then I’d run off, change and step in as Latif and the camera would repeat the move and then you could paste the two images over one another and the two figures were in that.”
Critics are already talking awards with the performance, something Cooper tries to take with a pinch of salt. “It’s very, very nice that anyone would even mention it and I’m very careful with what I say about it,” he said with a smile. “Your reaction can be taken in so many different ways… I don’t know, I love it… it’s very nice. But these things arise and come up and then they vanish.”
Finally, is there any truth to the rumours that he will replace Daniel Craig as James Bond? “I haven’t heard about Bond but I love that. When is Daniel going? I’d love that.”
The Devil's Double is out now.
