• Home
  • About MomStart
  • Contact Me
  • Today’s Topic
  • Savings
  • Disclosure/Terms of Use
  • Cart
  • Purchases

MomStart

Forget the Mommy Guilt, it's a new day

  • Tech The Halls Holiday Gift Guide 2020
  • Movies
  • Travel
  • Tech
  • Recipes
  • Crafts
You are here: Home / Movie review / Maleficent Interview: Diaval The Conscience of Maleficent Sam Riley

Maleficent Interview: Diaval The Conscience of Maleficent Sam Riley

June 2, 2014 by Momstart Leave a Comment

I really wanted to take my family to see Maleficent this weekend but we were way too busy. We had classes that the kids take, and they had extra classes. Then on Sunday my husband and I took a fitness class and it kicked our butts. So we went home for a quiet dinner and haven’t seen the movie. So as soon as we have enough time, maybe on Friday night or the kids to get out of school early on Wednesday maybe I could go take them then. No, I can’t do that because we can’t leave out dad, this is a family affair you know!!! We all have to go see Maleficent together.

sam riley maleficent's bird man interview

One of the best characters in the movie is Diaval. He looks completely evil and well maybe that’s what happens when you turn a raven into a human. Maleficent saved his life when she turned him into a human, which shows you she’s not completely evil. She does however, turn him back into a raven whenever he gives her advice she doesn’t want to hear. And as they are together for 16 years, he finally get a backbone and says I don’t care what you turn me into, you needed to hear it. He’s good, he’s so good, for a moment I thought he would be the one……(I PROMISED no spoilers)image

We had the opportunity to interview him as part of the Maleficent Press Junket. Here is the interview with Diaval, the conscience of Maleficent played by Sam Riley.

Q: What was it like to work on a new but yet old fable?
SR: Oh it was, it was really exciting. Most of my films are sort of independent-type cinema that not many people go and watch usually. The script was really great. I loved it and the lady who wrote it had written the Lion King as well and lots of other big, lovely Disney movies. They do a lot of remakes and rehashes of things these days, but, I thought the way they did this was really interesting. I mean, what would make a woman or a sorceress curse a little baby? It’s like one of the worst things you could possibly do. Before, everything (was) so black and white and these days, I mean, ladies are still waiting for a prince sometimes but to just lie there asleep it’s not really the modern way is it. The fact that Angelina, obviously, was going to play Maleficent was very exciting.

image

Q: Was there research you had to do to figure out how to get into your character? Or did you have creative license because it wasn’t something that you knew?
SR: Well I watched the old cartoon and things but it doesn’t really do very much in that. The raven always looks half asleep or something. They organized it so that they could bring in a real raven into a room about this big. I’d never seen a real raven before. I thought they were like crows but it’s like this big and it could do tricks and stuff, which is pretty scary.

When it gets its wings out it’s as long as the table or something. You know, really huge. They’re very intelligent and they’re kind of vain as well which I thought was funny. I just watched this raven in a room for awhile, just to see if anything would, like, rub off on me and, that I could steal something from it while I’m the man part of the thing. There was a really nice lady who helped me doing a movement coach. we, like, tried to copy bits of his movements. By the end of the session I was actually running around the room flapping my wings. It was horrific, yeah. She was, like, “We should film this.” So I was, like, “Under no circumstances do I ever want to see myself running around a room on YouTube going [SQUAWK].” It was awful, but it helps. ‘Cause when you do something really stupid and embarrassing at the beginning, then, you know, like when she turns me from a bird into a man at the beginning …… it makes you more relaxed, you know. I should have done it before coming in here actually.

Q: How much hair and makeup did you have to go through every day?
SR: Um, it’s about three and half, four hours something? I couldn’t really complain ’cause there were other people that had been in there since three o’clock in the morning,’Cause they have to wake them up that early so that they’re ready to work at nine, you know? SO the ladies and guys that were putting all this stuff on, they really work some of the hardest ’cause they have to be there at that time and then the whole day they have to make sure things aren’t falling off.

image

I’m a really good sleeper. I used to be anyway. I’ve just had a baby((Whole room says “Awwwww”) Thank you very much. After a couple of weeks I managed to be able to lie down in the chair and while people were, like, gluing things to my face I could actually sleep through it which is pretty impressive. Until one morning they turned the seat back up and realized they stuck my nose on the wrong way, it was sticking up. So they wouldn’t let me do it anymore after that.

Q: What’s your most memorable scene?
SR: Um, the first one really ’cause I was really nervous. I met Angelina before, obviously, we rehearsed and things like that, but I’d never seen her in the full costume. They drive you from your little trailer whatever on a golf buggy which was pretty — they don’t usually do that on indy  films anyway. They had this amazing set there and she was already stood there so I was worried that I’d been keeping her waiting or something which wasn’t a good start…

…she had her back to me and, you know, with all, the way it was all lit amazingly or something and then when she turned around it was like… It’s weird because it looked, you know it’s not real, you know, the cheekbones and everything and the contact lenses. But when you look at her in all that stuff it kind of, it looks — natural is maybe not the right word but it fits, you know. You don’t think it looks fake or something. In fact I only really saw her in costume for like the first four weeks of the shooting. So she, it was strange to see her in her normal clothes afterwards. You got so, you got so used to seeing Maleficent every morning…

Can you tell us about your audition?

SR : Um, yeah. It was pretty classic, really, which is more or less they send you the scenes, you know, they email you them and then you learn them at home if you’re a good boy then you… I flew to London and met Rob and the casting director. And then you do the scene and the lady plays Angelina or whatever. I had a feeling… but you never really know, you know. Sometimes you think you’ve done it well and then you never, it’s still don’t call us, we’ll call you type of thing.

Um, and I didn’t hear anything for quite a long time so I just thought — and my agent who is really nice said, "Yeah, but you’re not really Disney material, are you?" So I was like… But he’s got a great sense of humor. Um, yeah. I sacked him. So, uh, and then about three weeks later my American agent rang, which is always at night in Europe, and, um, he said, "What are you doing?"

image

I said, "Oh, I’m in a pub." And he said, "Well, buy yourself another drink because, Angelina saw the tape and you’re Birdman." So exciting.

More from my site

  • Maleficent Interview: The Creative Robert StrombergMaleficent Interview: The Creative Robert Stromberg
  • Maleficent Interview: Sharlto Copley, Practical Jokes and Mad Kings To Good DadsMaleficent Interview: Sharlto Copley, Practical Jokes and Mad Kings To Good Dads
  • Maleficent Interview: What’s Important To Angelina Jolie #MaleficentEventMaleficent Interview: What’s Important To Angelina Jolie #MaleficentEvent
  • Kaya Scodelario A Strong Female Character In Pirates Of The CaribbeanKaya Scodelario A Strong Female Character In Pirates Of The Caribbean
  • Exclusive Interview with Marvel’s Kevin Feige and Ant-Man’s Peyton Reed #AntManEventExclusive Interview with Marvel’s Kevin Feige and Ant-Man’s Peyton Reed #AntManEvent
  • Ant-Man’s Bad Guy Interview with Corey StollAnt-Man’s Bad Guy Interview with Corey Stoll

Filed Under: Movie review Tagged With: birdman, interview, Maleficent, maleficent's birdman, movie, sam riley

Share on Yummly

Yum

Recent Articles on Mom Start

Don't let back pain ruin your anniversary plans!

Visiting a Doctor – on my Smartphone! #GetWellWithAmwell

Disclaimer: Compensation was provided by Amwell via Momtrends. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions of Amwell or Momtrends. I’ve been experiencing a lot of back pain for about a month. It all started after a long week of work, where I had been sitting in […]

Tech The Halls Gift Guide 2020

Tech The Halls Holiday Gift Guide 2020

Thank you to our partners who have sponsored our 2020 Tech The Halls Gift Guide! This post contains affiliate & Amazon Associates links. Just in time for Cyber Monday, we’re launching our 3rd annual Tech The Halls Gift Guide! Here you’ll find the best in gadget gifts for the whole family listed in one place, […]

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Find Kids Auditions


Kids Auditions

Featured Video

Recently On MomStart

Recovering files from a failed hard drive

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard: How to Restore Lost Files in Minutes

Thank you to our partner EaseUS for sponsoring this post! Now that so much of … [Read More...]

Skoove

Learn to Play Piano With the Skoove App!

Thank you to our partner Skoove for sponsoring this post! My husband is a … [Read More...]

How to Make Memories with Your Kids that Last Forever

This is a sponsored guest post. As moms, for sure, many of you can relate to … [Read More...]

Our Living Room Makeover With VIZIO

VIZIO M-Series Quantum 65” Class 4K HDR Smart TV: The Perfect Gift (Especially Now)

Thanks to VIZIO for providing their M-Series 65” SmartCast TV for review! Our … [Read More...]

Crucial® X8 Portable SSD

Five Ways to Boost Computer Literacy in Your Kids While Schools Are Closed

Product sample provided. This is a guest post by Natasha Hendrix, Customer … [Read More...]

Modern Mother’s Day & Futuristic Father’s Day Gift Guide For Techies

Modern Mother’s Day & Futuristic Father’s Day Gift Guide For Techies: Online Shopping 2020

Product samples provided; this page contains our Amazon Associates … [Read More...]

Vintage Weddings: Make Your Day a Blast From the Past

This is a sponsored guest post. As we move into a more digital age, we find … [Read More...]

Is It Time For Us To Start Embracing The Esports Revolution?

Is It Time For Us To Start Embracing The Esports Revolution?

This is a sponsored guest post. Last year a 16-year-old from Pennsylvania … [Read More...]

  • Visiting a Doctor – on my Smartphone! #GetWellWithAmwell
  • Is It Time For Us To Start Embracing The Esports Revolution?
  • 4 AirFryer Desserts to Make For Valentine’s Day
  • Augmented Reality Craft: Create DIY Valentine’s Day Cards That Come to Life!
  • Valen-Tech Gift Guide 2020

Recipes

4 AirFryer Desserts to Make For Valentine’s Day

Keto Lemon Garlic Turkey

Keto Lemon Garlic Turkey: Your Best Thanksgiving Bird Ever Thanks to Topsy Turkey (Plus Giveaway!)

Hotel Transylvania 3

Hotel Transylvania 3: Plan a Spook-Tacular Sleepover!

Double Crusted Sausage Pixxa

Ghostly Pumpkins Double Crusted Halloween Pizza Recipe

Fancy Italian Coffee Recipe

Funfetti Stuffed Cotton Candy Cookies Recipe @Smuckers #HolidayTips

  • 26 Out-of-This World Star Wars Recipes
  • Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation Cocktails
  • Keto Ricotta Pancake Recipe

More Recipes

We Work With

Louise Bishop: influencer & brand ambassador
dealspotr.com

Archives