A Handmaiden's Tale: Q&A With Abbie Cornish

By Angie Argabrite

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Abbie Cornish isn't a household name in the States -- yet. The 26-year-old Aussie has already been nominated for and won several awards Down Under, for her roles as free-spirited Heidi in 'Somersault' and as free-spirited yet downward-spiraling 'Candy' in the druggie love story of the same name. In 'Elizabeth: The Golden Age,' she's Elizabeth Throckmorton, a favorite lady-in-waiting to Cate Blanchett's Elizabeth I who risks the wrath of her queen for the love of Sir Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen). And yet you may know Cornish best for a role she won't play: the next Bond girl. She confirmed that she was never up for the part, and has never even been contacted by 'Bond' producers. What? A widespread internet rumor with zero basis in fact? We're shocked.

Moviefone: You usually play such contemporary characters, is this your first "corset" role?
Abbie Cornish: Yeah it is. It is interesting actually to come into a film where I felt a lack of knowledge toward the subject and the subject matter, but at the same time it was kind of exciting too, to learn a lot of these things. How people conducted themselves, socially, what was happening at that time and what her profession entailed, stuff like that, so it was fun.

MF: How much research did you do for the role?
AC: There was a historian on board and I would ask him questions every single day, especially about the physicality of Bess. How she would walk and hold herself and things like that. Also, he provided me with some written material on her, and I also searched for some myself. There is a bit written about Bess, but not an incredible amount, so it was kind of like putting pieces of the puzzle together. I learned as much as I could about her real life, and about the tragedies and the joys of it. Also, I found this portrait of her that I loved, and I felt there was something about her spirit that emanated through that portrait. I know it sounds strange just from one portrait, but I got a lot of insight from that as to who she was, what was reflected in her eyes, what she would have wanted, felt, some of her personality traits.

MF: Was the story line accurate around her? Did she really get pregnant by Sir Walter Raleigh and end up marrying him?
AC: Yeah, she did. I think the chronology of those events is slightly different. Of course, when you make a film, you have to let the film become its own entity, but yeah they did, and unfortunately their first child died at 6 months of age.

MF: Was it intimidating to work with Cate Blanchett?
AC: It was very exciting. I really admire Cate's work, and I think she's a wonderful actress and to work alongside someone who has the strength that she does and the focus and who's very talented ... it was a real pleasure. It was exciting to come to work.

MF: You've already won awards and awards nominations in Australia. Do you think about that when you are acting, "Is this going to win an award?" Or are you just excited to get them?
AC: Just excited to get them. With 'Somersault' the thought really never ever crossed my mind until the day someone called me and said that so and so was nominated for AFI this and film critics' awards, and it just really wasn't my focus at the time of shooting. That's all I could think about was actually shooting the film and getting it on to the film in the first place, let alone trying to preconceive the idea of how something was going to turn out or how it would be received. So, no, it's never really the focus.

MF: You started acting when you were 16, or was it younger?
AC: Yeah, around 15 or 16. An agent sent me to an acting audition, and I got on set and I just loved it. I had so much fun that day. I just really enjoyed the process of creating and being able to let it out a little bit, being able to express myself in some way, I was really fascinated by the process. It was a television show, so at the time it was the process of creating a TV show, and then later on I made a film; for me that was even more of an insight into this medium, filmmaking and what that was like. And I just fell in love with it even more.

MF: Now, I have to ask you about the Bond girl rumor. Rose Byrne said it in an interview -- was it a joke?
AC: I don't think she meant it the way it was taken. I think she had read that somewhere else because the rumor had gone around a bit, but it's not true, it's just a rumor, that's what it is. I haven't had any meetings or anything.

MF: So it's not even based on any kind of fact?
AC: Oddly enough, no. It's been like a boomerang that wouldn't go away.

MF: And the 'Bond' people haven't contacted you since it started?
AC: No.

MF: What are you finding the best parts about being more famous now and the parts that you like the least?
AC: That stuff comes along with the job unfortunately. For me, it's just really important to keep creating films that I enjoy the process of and things that are kind of challenging, films that I can learn from or grow from. That's kind of where I'm at, at this moment.

MF: What are the parts about fame that you don't like so much?
AC: That in itself.

MF: Have you had any bad experiences with paparazzi?
AC: Only when we were filming 'Candy.' It wasn't in relation to me particularly, but more in relation to Heath [Ledger]. When we were shooting, we had some problems there, but that's really it that I've seen.

MF: What do you have coming up?
AC: I'm about to go work on 'Last Battle Dreamer' in England with Menno Meyjes and then Jane Campion on a film called 'Bright Star' which is the story of the poet John Keats and his love.

MF: What is 'Last Battle Dreamer'?
AC: It's a Viking film; it's set around 900 AD, primarily in England but also in Viking lands as well. The title really sums it up, actually. It's a love story amidst a battle; Menno describes it as a love story told in blood and glory. Those are his words.

MF: How do you choose your projects?
AC: That changes all the time. It's funny actually, the things that you want to involve yourself in. Your attention shifts with time, which is a really nice feeling as well, but at the moment I'm really excited about 'Last Battle Dreamer' because it has this really imaginative quality to it. It's very dreamlike and very epic. It's kind of like religion on earth in a sense. 'Golden Age' has that as well. I remember Geoffrey [Rush] said the other day that it's like being in opera without seats. I guess 'Last Battle Dreamer' has that feeling to it, life and death and birth and all of these things are a huge theme of the film. So I'm excited about that. With 'Bright Star,' the love story is so pure, so honest, so delicate, and the tragedy of the film is not one inflicted upon another person, rather it's something that happens to two people together. It's just so pure. It just echoes.

MF: Many of your characters are sort of tragic; do you look for that? Has that been a conscious decision?
AC: Each of those characters spoke to me in their own ways, and had their own process of discovery, transformation and all that sort of stuff. You can't really predict it, I mean if you asked me last year what sort of films I would do in the New Year, I would have no idea. That's why when you ask me that question, the only way I can answer is to tell you what I'm about to do, because you just don't know.

MF: Do you have a five-year plan for your career?
AC: Not at all, not even a five-minute one.