Just hours before the U.K opening of his new movie, Honeymoon, Harry Treadaway agreed to have Flavourmag interview him on his newest endeavour. Getting into some of the dynamics of ‘Honeymoon’, working with newly minted director, Leigh Janiak, and the beauty of North Carolina.
You’ve seen him in The Lone Ranger and most recently playing Victor Frankenstein in Penny Dreadful.
FM: First off, congrats on the success of Honeymoon at Tribeca and SXSW. There seems to have been mixed reviews about “Honeymoon” elsewhere. Can you tell us a little about your feelings regarding some of the reviews?
HT: I tend to kinda stay well clear of that sort of thing. I am happy that it come out at Tribeca and SXSW. Considering the film being a smaller budget and not a studio film, I was happy that it was released. I think its good to celebrate a film even coming out at all.
FM: The movie itself has been tagged as a horror film, yet some may argue its more of a psychological thriller, albeit, a gory one. Would you agree with Honeymoon being tagged a horror film?
HT: I would agree with it being tagged a psychological thriller as well. The term horror for me leads me to think of Slasher movies, you know, blood and guts. And although there are elements of that in ‘Honeymoon’, there is a grounded reality in it and a drama involved where you spend time getting to know the characters that cause the horror at the end to become more pronounced.
I’m sure its possible to have a marriage without sex, but personally speaking, I would have to lean towards the side of, yes, it is important.
FM: What ultimately led you to accept the role as Paul in Honeymoon?
HT: I read the manuscript while shooting The Lone Ranger, a bigger production in comparison, and the intimacy of the production of ‘Honeymoon’ felt like an exciting challenge to do, contrasting with what I’ve worked on. The idea of telling a story within four weeks and it being about the psychology of two people felt like a good challenge.
FM: Was this filmed in North Carolina or Canada?
HT: It was North Carolina. Canada was, I think, deemed too cold. It would have been too difficult to get into the lakes, as they would have been iced over. Nonetheless, North Carolina was a beautiful place to film, near the mountains. Lovely crew and local people. We had a great ole time.
FM: Honeymoon gives rise to legitimate concerns that a marriage of any age might encounter. Paul seems to take issue with the fact that his wife never mentioned her childhood friend until seeing him again when on the Honeymoon. Could you relate to your characters concern? Do you think its important to relate every past relationship to your new love?
HT: Speaking from someone who isn’t married, I don’t profess to have much insight into what one should or should not do once married. Personally speaking, I would hesitate to divulge every single detail regarding previous relationships to someone who I was going to spend the rest of my life with.
HT: What I find interesting about the film is that is projects the idea that we are all looking for someone to share our lives with, to love, and to give ourselves to. And what happens when something just doesn’t seem usual for the person we have come to know so well. And it seems that anyone in a long term relationship has those days when their partner doesn’t seem the same. And ‘Honeymoon’ is like that. Perhaps even similar to a story about a partner who suffered a stroke, amnesia, or the like. And I loved that about the script.
FM: Can you tell us a bit about working with Leigh on her directing debut?
HT: She’s wonderful! She really was. She was incredibly prepared. I have to say, I am sure she will go on to continue to make some exciting films. It doesn’t feel like she first movie, really.
FM: There come a time in Honeymoon when Paul’s wife, played by Rose Leslie, seems to avoid having sex with Paul. In your opinion, do you think sex within a marriage is important for a marriage to succeed?
HT: I would personally say sex is important. I’m sure its possible to have a marriage without that, but personally speaking, I would have to lean towards the side of, yes, it is important.
FM: Let me say that we really appreciate you taking the time to speak with us, can’t wait to see you again on the big screen, and MUCH success on this movie and future endeavours.
HT: Thank you very much, it was lovely to chat with you.
Movie Synopsis
Young newlyweds Paul (Treadaway) and Bea (Rose Leslie) travel to remote lake country for their honeymoon, where the promise of private romance awaits them. Shortly after arriving, Paul finds Bea wandering and disoriented in the middle of the night. As she becomes more distant and her behaviour increasingly peculiar, Paul begins to suspect something more sinister than sleepwalking took place in the woods.
Treadaway and Leslie give captivating leading performances as a couple that takes new love to disturbing depths. With romance slowing giving way to terror, writer/director Leigh Janiak puts her unique stamp on this intimate, chilling thriller.
The Honeymoon is in cinemas now.
Interview by Lex Young
Harry Treadaway Bio
His professional debut was Brothers of the Head, a feature film about conjoined twin brothers in a punk rock band. Harry played Tom Howe, the band’s rhythm guitarist and songwriter, and his brother Luke played Barry Howe, the lead singer. During rehearsals and throughout the shoot, Harry and Luke were connected to each other for fifteen hours a day, wearing sewn-together wetsuits or a harness.
Since graduating from drama school, he has taken on work such as Recovery for Tiger Aspect (playing the son of characters played by David Tennant and Sarah Parish) and as Mark Brogan on the Channel 4 series Cape Wrath (known as Meadowlands in America). In Control Harry plays Joy Division drummer Stephen Morris.
He made his stage debut in Over There, a new play by Mark Ravenhill alongside his twin brother Luke Treadaway at the Royal Court Theatre in 2009.
Treadaway is also credited as a songwriter, after writing the piece Sink or Swim which he and Luke performed both on film and on the soundtrack of Brothers of the Head. Also he performed his song “Raise This Up” in “Brothers of the Head” as a solo performance during the scene in which Tom Howe’s girlfriend breaks his heart.
In 2011, he appeared in The Last Furlong, filmed in Ireland. He starts as the title character James Furlong. He appeared alongside Johnny Depp in Disney’s The Lone Ranger in 2013 and is playing Victor Frankenstein in the Showtime TV series Penny Dreadful.
