Behind the Movie War Horse: Interview with Emily Watson

Emily Watson, English actor was asked to play the role of Rose Narracott in the movie War Horse. Before she considers any role she looks at her children’s schedule. Is there a holiday, she considers how long she’s going to be gone and where she’s going,  how far away will she be from her family. She said when here children were younger it was easier because she could keep them with her but now has to leave them in school. In fact, she missed the first day of shooting War Horse so she could be home for the first day of school. I can’t blame her, I would want to be home for that too.

She said she just loved the scenery of where the movie was filmed. She said they filmed in the most beautiful part of England. “It’s in the southwest, in the county of Devon which is very fecund and rich and it’s a real,  very traditional …..in the middle of it is this moorland called Dartmore where you can stand on it and you are not be able to see any sign of human habitation whatsoever. With these ancient outcrops of rock so that, that was pretty special to be there.”

Emily felt the movie was filmed beautifully and as an anti-war film you really get the idea that that particular war was pointless. 4 years of carnage and so much loss of life and a terrible miss treatment of animals. Steven Spielberg captured all of that beautifully without making you watch all of the carnage.

Emily was also asked about how she liked working with Steven Spielberg. She described him as a director with a lot of experience, “a lot of incredible technical feats and he’s a great action director, but he’s still very focused on performance.” And I have to say that everyone’s performance in War Horse made it an amazing and educational movie to experience.

Because of how important being a mother is to Emily Watson, I really loved Emily. I asked her what advice she would give to other mothers and she said that mother’s shouldn’t be so hard on themselves. Being a mother is hard. As a mother you have to make sure that you take a break and get some sleep. I felt like she was speaking directly to me. I’m always second guessing myself and worrying that I’m doing it wrong. From one mother to a mother, just let it go and move on. Believe you are a good successful mom providing for your family.

A little bit About Emily Watson:

Watson’s status as a leading actress in major Hollywood productions was cemented in 2002 with her roles in Red Dragon (2002), the third installment of Thomas Harris’ Hannibal Lechter series; the futuristic Equilibrium (2002); and, most notably, in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Punch-Drunk Love (2002), playing opposite Adam Sandler. While returning to the stage in 2002 and 2003 on both sides of the Atlantic, Watson has expressed interest in again working with Anderson. Emily Watson lives in London, England, UK, with her husband, Jack Waters.

All travel and expenses were covered by Disney and DreamWorks.