Matthew Rhys is not above getting starstruck.
Whereas filming the brand new BritBox homicide thriller Agatha Christie’s In the direction of Zero, the actor, 50, says it was “intimidating” working with the legendary Anjelica Huston for the primary time.
“I used to be nervous as a result of these sort of Hollywood dynasties do not come round fairly often,” Rhys tells PEOPLE. “Actually, I consider [the Hustons are] the one household to have three generations of Oscar winners. Working with that caliber, you are at all times involved as as to whether you can hit the ball throughout a web in a approach that they anticipate. I additionally grew up along with her father [John’s] movies and her movies. It is at all times intimidating assembly massive stars.”
Across the begin of filming, Rhys says he’d lately watched Huston, 73, in 1990’s The Witches together with his son Sam, 8, whom he shares with longtime accomplice Keri Russell. (Russell additionally has son River, 17, and daughter Willa, 12, along with her ex-husband Shane Deary.)
“I watched it and was like, ‘Christ, she’s so good on this,'” he says.
BBC
Rhys says Sam was in New York whereas he was in England taking pictures, so he “sadly” did not get to satisfy Huston.
“I used to be too shy to go, ‘Look, I am as a lot of a fan as my son, however it might actually blow my son’s thoughts if I might have an image with you,'” he says. “She’s a uncommon individual I might ever wish to have an image with, however then I could not convey myself to ask.”
Throughout their time on set collectively, Rhys says Huston turned out to be simply as nice as he’d imagined.
“She clearly has mischief via her,” he says. “She nonetheless has a fantastic twinkle in her eye. I used to be just a little bit shy and just a little bit quiet round her, so I wasn’t probing or joking in any approach, and actually, I solely had a couple of scenes along with her. I did not have as many as a number of the different forged, and I used to be much more envious of them. Once I was round her, I simply tried to be on my greatest conduct and never say something silly and embarrass myself.”
BritBox
In In the direction of Zero, Rhys performs a troubled detective who tries to untangle a poisonous internet of jealousy, deceit and dysfunction. Together with the A-list firm, one other perk of the job was attending to be “the final one in since you want 5 minutes within the make-up chair.”
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“You do not have to fret about in the event you’ve had a late night time or creasing your costume,” he says. “It is the best, actually. I am getting older into these components now like Gary Oldman in Gradual Horses the place you are similar to, ‘I might be rumpled, I can lie down. I haven’t got to fret about wanting pristine.'”
Although Rhys and Russell, 49, needed to break their ordinary rule of not going longer than three weeks with out seeing one another whereas he shot In the direction of Zero, they made it work.
“I went right into a fourth week, after which clearly it is simply all of the FaceTime and all that stuff,” he says. “It is a miracle how we survived with out it.”
Agatha Christie’s In the direction of Zero is accessible on BritBox.
