Baird Wallace: Actor
JAY
Hi Baird, thanks for your time. Can you tell us about the casting process you had with Tea with Mussolini?
BAIRD
They had been casting for a long time in Britain and the USA. At the time i was 17, attending an English school in Rome. I got called in for an audition, my first audition ever. It did not go well. I remember the casting agent told me I was terrible. It was taped, however, Zeffirelli saw it and had me come in to read with him. Things progressed from there.
JAY
Were you familiar with Franco's work prior to filming?
BAIRD At the time, I was focussed on music. I played cello in several school orchestras and we toured a European country for a week each year. I had seen Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet in class and even decades after the film, was still taken with how beautiful Olivia Hussey was. I also saw The Taming of the Shrew. My mother had bought Brother Sun, Sister Moon on VHS, so I had seen that. After filming started on Tea with Mussolini, my best friend's mother mentioned she had been an accountant for the production company, and that Zeffirelli had liked her face and put her in the film - we re-watched and there she was.
JAY
How did you learn about getting the part?
BAIRD Pippo Piscotto, one of the producers, contacted me. I'm sure he spoke to my parents first, as I was a minor, but I remember him giving me the news.
JAY
Tea with Mussolini is loosely based on Franco Zeffirelli's life, is that right?
BAIRD
Yes. Zeffirelli made an autobiography and to be fair, there may be a little debate about the accuracy on some of the book's details.
JAY
What was it like working with Zeffirelli as your director?
BAIRD
I felt completely comfortable. I got to read his autobiography and we would talk about his life. An Italian magazine ran a photo of him aged 14, alongside a photo of me aged 16. It was pretty remarkable - we were almost identical.
JAY
Did you have to learn the Italian accent for the film?
BAIRD
That’s an interesting question, because Zeffirelli is an Anglophile and what's interesting is that in the movie I worked to have some British influence in my speech, but young Luca, played by Charlie Lucas, had an Italian accent. So, an American actor living in Italy had to have a British accent and a British actor living in England had to have an Italian accent.
JAY
Was time taken out of school due to filming?
BAIRD
Yes. I took time off the last two months of what my British school called lower sixth form, and what an American school would call your junior year. Then we filmed throughout the summer break. When school resumed, I took a few days off here and there for pick-up shots.
JAY
What was filming like?
BAIRD
It was great. Normally, time is against you. For instance, if you are acting for TV, you are allowed a rehearsal and then one or two takes but Franco did not operate under those constraints. I remember getting up to around 85 takes one day (the lighting was perfect, the sound wasn't right, the camera was on the wrong angle, my sweater was wrong, I was saying the words with the wrong accent.) Zeffirelli is a perfectionist. He also believes that making a pearl requires irritants, and would seek to create conflict - antagonising people, and firing people, etc. My dresser, an incredibly nice woman, who was probably in her 50s at the time, was fired almost daily. At 17, I had a certain amount of arrogance, as well as the thick skin one grows in high school, that being verbally abused was not something I worried about. I also understood that whatever Franco said, I was there because he wanted me there.
JAY
And the cinematographer was none other, than David Watkins.
BAIRD
He was great to work with. A good family friend, he would tell many, funny stories. I'd seen so many of his films and visited him at his home in Brighton for years after we wrapped. He wrote two autobiographies, which I own. His lighting was always so natural. He passed away in 2008. H invented a light called a "Wendy-light", which he uses a LOT of lights from a distance. This allows actors to move around without the intensity of the light varying too much. When they brought one to the set, he explained to me that he had invented it, and started to explain how it worked. I was studying physics in school, and I asked if it worked because of the "inverse square law", and he was thrilled that I was familiar with the concept. I think that might be why he took a shine to me. He was really lovely, kind and funny man.
JAY
Getting to work with three Dames, Maggie Smith, Joan Plowright and Judi Dench, as well as two icons of American film, Lily Tomlin and Cher, what was it like?
BAIRD
Amazing. Judi and Joan were great to work with and Maggie is as she is; funny and sharp-witted. Her son, Chris Larkin plays a Scott's guard in the film towards the end - I am his translator. He was probably in his late 20s, and just seemed like such a cool, adult guy to me as a 17 year old. I'm still occasionally in contact with him. Cher told me stories about working with "Nicky" - Nicholas Cage - about how he was able to create amazing energy when he worked. Of all of the cast Lily Tomlin really stood out as being supportive and kind. I keep in touch with her from time to time - when I lived in NYC, she would send me tickets to her Broadway show, and when I lived in LA, she invited me to her sets.
JAY
When was the premiere?
BAIRD
It was in December, 1999. It premiered in London and it was a Royal Gala (meaning it was hosted by a member of the Royal family, in this instance, Prince Charles). It was one of the fanciest parties I've ever been to. I got to meet Prince Charles, but for security reasons we weren't allowed to bring cameras. My family was assured official photographers would take plenty of pictures. The only one we got has me facing the Prince, who's back is almost entirely to the camera. However, anyone who sees the picture immediately recognises him by the distinct silhouette of his head.
JAY
Finally, any advice you want to give aspiring actors?
BAIRD
I might not be the right person to give advice. I guess I have two suggestions - First, always be working on your craft, whether through reading scripts, taking classes, working, whatever. Don't jut wait tables and hope. Secondly, I've heard many people say, "If you can imagine doing anything else, you shouldn't be an actor". I think that is terrible advice. If you can't imagine doing anything else, you don't sound like you have the creativity to act well. You should be able to envision yourself doing EVERYTHING else.
I guess, finally, if you find good teachers, hold onto them.
JAY
Thank you, Baird.
BAIRD
My pleasure!
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