Bill Nighy is almost certain to be among the five Best Actor nominees for this year’s Academy Awards for “Living,” which was hailed as a man whose life turned around when he was diagnosed with a terminal illness.
Nye’s career first took a turn 20 years ago. With his party-rockers taking the scene by storm and unrepentantly hard hitting his Christmas record with “Love, Actually,” he suddenly became a star “overnight.”
In “Living,” set in 1953 London, Nye’s Mr. Williams (not his first name) leads a proper and uninterrupted office routine. He will die soon until he is told.
Ikiteru is a remake of the 1952 movie Ikiru, written by Akira Kurosawa (Seven Samurai). Written by Kazuo Ishiguro.
Asked about the prospect of an Oscar nod for the first time in a video interview, “It feels very, very good. I’m very happy,” said Nye, 73. “Especially for this one, given the nature of the film.
“We knew we were in for something good. Ichiro Ishiguro, the great Nobel Prize-winning novelist who wrote our script and the inspiration for this film. I was thrilled to be working with them, but you never know how the film will be received, and the enthusiastic reception of it is very satisfying.”
What makes “Living” so compelling is, yes, it’s about a man facing death, but it’s not depressing.
“Yeah, it’s very rare — that you have a story that you know the ending from early on. Still, it’s uplifting.
“My phone keeps ringing,” Nye said. And the problem is, they’re all saying pretty much the same thing.
“Last night, a man said, ‘I’m a different person than I was when I saw your movie.’ You know what I mean! He said, ‘I want to make the most of every day.'”
“It’s not a new message, but it’s a big message. A big message: don’t spend time in the past that doesn’t exist, don’t get carried away by an imaginary future that hasn’t happened yet. Longing for the life you never had.” Instead of trying to make the most of the life you have, not just the day you have.
“Like I say, this is not a new message, but it’s probably a big message.”
“Living” released on January 13
