EMBARGO – NOT FOR PUBLICATION BEFORE 29TH DECEMBER 2016
Michael Fassbender demonstrates a perfect roly poly, Marion Cotillard says Edith Piaf was hard to shake off, James McAvoy reveals how he became addicted to his Xbox, Frank Skinner asks everyone what they would put in Room 101, Gary & Paul O’Donovan talk about Rio and Pete Tong The Heritage Orchestra perform live the studio
In his star studded one-hour New Year Eve show (Saturday 31st December) Graham welcomesaward-winning actorsMichael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard and James McAvoy, comedian Frank Skinner, Irish Olympic rowing champions Gary & Paul O’Donovan, and DJ Pete Tong andThe Heritage Orchestra.
Michael, talking about the potential success of his latest film Assassin’s Creed, in which he stars with Marion, says, “100 million copies of the gamehave been sold and if only a few of those go to the movie it will be great!”
Asked about performing his own stunts, he says, “I learnt all about the Parkour, or urban gymnastics, elements of the game but got to perfect the roly poly!”
Challenging Graham to undertake one, Michael demonstrates his finely tuned skill.
Asked about enjoying herself on set, Marion talks about working with her husband Guillaume Canet, “The film was called Love Me If You Dare and we started doing stupid things. One day I gave him a Polaroid camera and told him I wanted a picture of an arse and that he had five minutes to get it. I should have said I wanted a woman’s bottom because one of the crew was happy to pull down his pants straight away! Guillaume in return dared me to get a picture of a penis with my hand in shot and if I didn’t I had to walk across the whole set naked.” Asked if she got the shot, she laughs and says, “Of course!”
Talking about playing Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose, Marion says, “It was the first time I had trouble getting rid of a character. I was ashamed of that because it was a job and as an actress I shouldn’t have been affected by a role. But I had lived six months with her and entered another dimension – I didn’t see my friends or family because when I did they would find me weird, with my shaved head and eyebrows, and I didn’t like it. It took me a while to shake her off. When you do movies a lot of the time you fall in love with the person, and then at the last ‘cut’ you will never share your life with that person again - it can be brutal.”
Proving she hasn’t forgotten how to lip sync amazingly, Marion reprises her role for a rendition of Edith Piaf’s Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien, bringing a tear to Frank’s eye.
James, admitting he once got addicted to video games, says, “When I went to Ireland to film Becoming Janemy partner got me an Xbox and I thought, ‘What have you done? You’re going to ruin the job for me.’ I stayed up three nights in a row playing Oblivion. I was working 16-hour days and then staying up all night playing the game. By the end of it I looked like I was on crack cocaine and I was forgetting my lines. On the final morning I was eating pizza, drinking coke and still playing the game when the driver collected me for filming so I ejected the game and burnt the CD on the cooker. I haven’t got into computer games since. I’m done.”
Asked about bulking up for his new film Split, James says, “I did a bit, but there’s only so much my frame can bulk up without looking like an apple. I did power lifting for a good few months. There were a couple of times I felt like Arnold Schwarzenegger– not because I was getting ripped, but because I’d heard he used to wear a nappy when he was at the height of his prowess as Mr Universe because when you go to the outer limits of what you are capable of, your body can release its contents! And I’ve got to be honest, I came close a couple of times to needing a nappy!”
Talking about getting injured on the set of the film, he says, “It was my own fault. I was meant to punch a bit of wall that was made of Styrofoam but in my acting fury I missed that bit and broke my hand. I carried on with the take but went totally white and started shaking. The technical actor in my head was saying, ‘You’re really scary, this take will look so alive and amazing!’ When I asked the director if it was going to be in the movie, he said, ‘There have been better takes!’”
Frank, talking about his own experience of computer games, says, “I went to an arcade and played FIFA, the big football game. I’d never played it before and I was playing it furiously and sweating. I was doing alright but didn’t really understand it and then I noticed the machine had rejected my money. I was playing the demo!”
Revealing that encounters with the public are not always positive, he says, “A woman came up to me the other day and asked if she could take my photo, saying, ‘My husband loves you but I am not interested in cars. I thought, ‘She thinks I’m one of the Top Gear blokes, but which one?’ Then her mate came up and said, ‘What are you taking a picture of him for? He’s that comedian.’ And she actually deleted the picture in front of me! She could have kept it for the anecdote!”
Asked what Graham’s guests would put into Room 101, Michael says, “Border Control,” Marion says, “Ads for kids at Christmas. There are a lot of things out there that shouldn’t exist.” James would like embarrassing videos banned from the internet, “I was at a charity gig and had a bit of a boogie at the end of the night and now it is online!” and Frank says, “Flying ant day!”
The O’Donovan brothers join Graham for a chat.
Talking about taking Silver in the Olympics, Paul says, “We barely qualified to take part, let alone win. We weren’t expecting to win.”
Asked if they knew they were being so funny in the interviews they gave after the win, Gary says, “Well, we weren’t trying to be serious. We’ve been asked the same questions a lot of times after races, but in Rio they put a camera in front of us!”
And on the huge reaction to their win back home, they say, “We had no clue and we had no perspective on it. It was a shock. The homecoming was crazy, but at home we are just the same two fellas.”
Asked if,because of who they are now, they are‘lady magnets,’ they joke, “It’s no different to how it ever was! It’s much the same but we couldn’t say, our mum is in the audience and our gran is at home watching.”
Revealing they have the next Olympics in their sights, Gary says, “We are enjoying what we are doing, we love being on the water and even if we hadn’t been to Rio we would still be rowing. We’ll go to Tokyo and try and win a medal there.”
Pete Tong and The Heritage Orchestra perform Right Here Right Now live in the studio before Pete joins Graham for a chat.
Talking about his sell-out tour, he says, “It’s craziest thing I have ever done. Christmas 2017 tickets have just gone on sale – it’s mad! I’ve DJ’d all my life but working with the orchestra takes it to a whole other level, it’s like driving a Formula One car. I love it!”
And finally,for the last time this year, Graham pulls the lever on more foolhardy audience members brave enough to sit in the Big Red Chair.
The Graham Norton Show, BBC One,31st December BBC One 10.25pm
Pictures are available from PA
Notes to editors – all quotes in this release were said during the recording but won’t necessarily appear in the final show.
The Graham Norton Show returns on 13th January with guests that include Ben Affleck, Sienna Miller, Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling.
Graham Norton’s Big Red Chair broadcasts on 6th January BBC One 10.35pm
For further information please contact Mary Collins 07769 670516 or at
31stDecember 2016