Moseley in “Carrie Pilby”
William Moseley enjoys the best of both worlds; he seems to possess this magical ability to be both famous and anonymous at the same time.
After headlining three “The Chronicles of Narnia” movies, it can be tricky to maintain a low profile—especially with ardent Pevensie fans waiting for him everywhere, even at the lobby of the Makati hotel where he is billeted.
Still, William, who insists on holding on to a certain semblance of normalcy, got to go malling on his first day in the country, where he has been promoting his latest movie, Susan Johnson’s dramedy “Carrie Pilby,” for the past week.
In this exclusive interview with the Inquirer, William exuded the qualities of a conscientious—and self-effacing—actor who is eager to savor life beyond the safe confines of Hollywood.
He related that he had just traveled to Vietnam, taking a train ride from Hanoi in the north to Ho Chi Minh in the south.
“I got sick for two days after eating clams,” he recalled.
In spite of that slight snafu, he enjoyed the vacation so much that he vowed to see more of Southeast Asia. So when the prospect of visiting Manila cropped up—well, it was a no-brainer.
“I will make sure to visit the beaches before I leave this weekend,” asserted William, who is turning 30 next month.
For a memorable scene in “Carrie Pilby,” William and leading lady Bel Powley merited a rave review from The Hollywood Reporter, which described their screen chemistry as “one of the movie’s highlights.”
“It was a long street scene, where Bel and I walked for seven minutes, all over New York, ending up at the Empire State building,” he explained. “All throughout, we were just talking.”
William Moseley
William wouldn’t have been able to pull it off, if he were the type of actor who couldn’t cross the street without creating mass hysteria. Again, the ability to blend in proved crucial.
“It felt organic,” he said of the scene. “One trick I learned is that instead of just mouthing off a line, you should try to add something to it … like pick up a water bottle, any gesture or nuance, really … to make the scene more believable.”
It also helped that his costar was such a firecracker.
“My character seems so amused by the girl that Bel plays. She is a Harvard graduate, a genius and, in a way, I portray her intellectual equal,” he clarified.
William, who got cast in the coveted role of eldest Pevensie kid Peter when he was only 17, has surely learned from his coworkers.
He had the good fortune of sharing the screen with Tilda Swinton in his big debut, “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.”
From Tilda, he picked up the virtue of “quiet confidence.”
For the past two years, he has been going mano a mano with another strong female presence, Elizabeth Hurley, in the E! series “The Royals,” where he plays Prince Liam. He and his queenly mom “hit it off” beautifully on the set, he quipped.
In “The Royals” and “Carrie Pilby,” he collaborated with female directors. He admitted that there was a distinct difference between working with male and female directors.
“My sister Daisy directed me in a short film called ‘The Stranger,’” he remarked. “It was a very Ingmar Bergman mood piece in black-and-white. She had this observation: While a man regards the camera as an extension of his ego, a woman treats it like her child. Women directors are nurturing and caring.”
For the Narnia loyalists, the big question remains: Does he still hang out with the other Pevensie kids: Anna Popplewell, Skandar Keynes and Georgie Henley.
“Oh we got together recently,” he reminisced.
He reported that all his screen siblings are doing well in their chosen fields.
“Skandar now works in government, specializing in Middle Eastern affairs. He graduated from Cambridge. Anna studied Literature in Oxford, while Georgie was accepted to Cambridge, as well.”
William sheepishly pointed out that he couldn’t survive in those top universities: “I am not as smart as Anna, Skandar and Georgie!”
A quick check of his online biography, however, yielded a curious factoid (no, not that one claiming that he was hit by lightning … but it’s true, he confirmed).
Before moving to New York to pursue acting full-time in 2006, William completed Year 13, with “A levels in Media Studies, English and Drama.”
He’s not only handsome; he’s humble, too.