“The most exciting thing about this moment is that so many more people are going to see this film,” said Riseborough, who is known for her chameleonic work in “Birdman” and “W.E.”
In a phone conversation on Tuesday afternoon from London, where she is shooting the HBO limited series “The Palace,” a political satire about a year in an unraveling authoritarian regime, the British actress discussed the groundswell of support from her famous friends, what appealed to her about the role, and the performance this year by another actor that has moved her the most. Here are excerpts from the conversation.
Congratulations! Were you watching the nominations?
My other half, Karim [Saleh], was watching them — I try not to think too much about it, if you know what I mean. And then he saw it on the screen and just burst into tears.
How much did you expect to be nominated?
Not at all. Even if there’s support for a film or a performance, it’s very difficult to even comprehend being included in the conversation when you’ve not been part of the other conversations — the Critics Choice Awards and SAG — the things that we all celebrate and that we look toward to direct us.
What has it been like to see so many of your friends get behind the film?
The thing that feels most exciting is being acknowledged by your community. It’s a marker by which we measure ourselves in so many ways — by those we aspire to be like, or those we admire. So it’s huge. A wonderful, warm feeling of being supported and recognized.
How did you get involved in the film?
Michael Morris, the director, and I had worked together on “Bloodline,” and a couple of years later he brought this script to me, by Ryan Binaco, a brilliant young screenwriter who had written a love song to his mother. Immediately I knew that I wanted to make that film and two years later, we did — after a good, long stewing period of not being able to get it financed. We shot it in 19 days, and it was all one or two takes, mostly, because we didn’t have a lot of time. By the time we got to actually making it, it felt like an explosion, because it had been in our bones for so long.
