English actor-musician Jim Sturgess might have shot for long periods in Bulgaria and Morocco for his latest flick,
The Way Back
, but he just can’t get over his experience of shooting the war drama in India.
“Bulgaria was a very tough city to live in. I didn’t really like it there to start with. Morocco and India were just mind-blowing. To be immersed in such diverse culture was just amazing,” he says.
“I was really surprised as I was woken up in India by the sound of the prayers playing on the loudspeakers, like really early in the morning, around 4 am. It was something new and interesting for me. It was a pretty cool way to wake up,” reveals the 29-year-old, who is known for his breakout role in
Across the Universe.
Directed by Peter Weir,
The Way Back
hit Indian screens yesterday. Also starring Ed Harris and Colin Farrell in pivotal roles, the PVR Pictures distributed venture is about a group of prisoners who escape from a Siberian Gulag camp during World War II.
“It was a lifetime’s experience. It wasn’t just about making the film. We were like a travelling circus … When we shot in India with all those kids around us, it was really quite powerful and emotional,” says Sturgess, who tracked down “real survivors living in England” to acquire first-hand information for his part in the movie.
“It was a lifetime’s experience. It wasn’t just about making the film. We were like a travelling circus … When we shot in India with all those kids around us, it was really quite powerful and emotional,” says Sturgess, who tracked down “real survivors living in England” to acquire first-hand information for his part in the movie.
Apart from India, Sturgess can’t stop raving about his co-star Ed Harris.
“To spend a lot of time with an actor like Ed Harris is worth 10 years at drama school. He told me the most important thing to know about acting, and I will always remember it,” he says.