What do you think were Henry James' prime concerns when writing "The Golden Bowl"?
He's very concerned how a young, näive America can intermix with the old, wizened decadence of Europe. The story is a reaction to French novels of the period of infidelity. They would have a party, somebody would grab someone's wife, go into the bathroom, have sex, and there would be no repercussions. James said "That's ridiculous".
Who do you think your character Adam Verver is inspired by?
There's much debate about who Verver is, but there's no question that part of him is JP Morgan. Morgan travelled Europe with his daughter, and he collected all the art of Europe. The conspiracy was to collect enough of the European art to bring it to America. They couldn't at first: the tariffs in America were so high because the laws were "Let's not have any decadence over here". It was very Puritanical.
It sounds like you do a lot of research for your roles?
Oh sure. What else do you do? Sit there looking at the lines? If it refers to something, the fun part is to go there and see it. You come to your own conclusions and sometimes you can be way off base, but it doesn't really matter. Some of it sticks unconsciously, some of it doesn't. I'll do as much as I can within the time that I have. If I have a year, I'll do a year. If I have two months, I'll do two months. If I have no time, I'll do none. Much like a novelist will do. He'll sit and rummage before he writes. Some don't. Kerouac wrote right off the top, on toilet paper!
.
