Colm Meaney mentions Rob and Bel Ami

You have another period piece with Bel Ami coming out. Do you enjoy doing that type of work?

MEANEY: It’s interesting because I haven’t done a lot of period work in the past, but I always wanted to because I’m interested in history. Also, as an actor, my background is in the theater and I feel that my strong suit is period work, but I actually didn’t do much of it at all, until the last three or four years. I’m loving it!

Who are you playing in Bel Ami, and what was that cast like to work with?

MEANEY: It takes place in France, in the last 1870′s and 1880′s, with all the shenanigans and wheeling and dealing going on in the business world. The story is about this young man who gets out of the army. He was an officer in the army and he goes to Paris to get a job, but he’s not doing too well. He’s down on his luck. And, he meets a friend of his who was an officer with him in the army, who works the press, and he gets him a job on the newspaper he works for. And then, he meets this guy’s wife, and he meets the wives of the editors, and he ends up having relationships with all these woman, and basically screws his way to the top. That’s the story.

It was a great cast. The three women were Kristin Scott Thomas, Uma Thurman and Christina Ricci. And, Robert Pattinson is terrific. He’s a very, very good young actor. For him, it was an important step away from the whole Twilight thing. I think they’re having some post-production questions about it, so it’s taking a lot of time to come out, but it was such a pleasure to do. Kristin Scott Thomas is such an actress. What an amazing actress. My character is married to Kristin.

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