Does hair make the man?
Multi-dimensional British acting talent James Frain has something to say on the matter…
By Jemima Hunt - In Style Magazine November 2001
The strange thing about James Frain is that though in person he reeks
of charisma – all big green eyes, wolfish smile and tangles of curls –
his gift as an actor is to disappear. In over 20 films, he has
crossed centuries and continents with his characters and costumes –
from swaggering around in a black leather coat as a Seventies Irish
gangster in Nothing Personal, to donning ruffs and pantaloons in
Elizabeth, modelling prison stripes as the baddie in Reindeer Games,
and going the Napoleonic knee socks way in The Count of Monte Cristo,
which opens early next year. But the character closest to the 32-year-
old's psyche is… the loss adjuster he played in the BBC's recent
production of the William Boyd book Armadillo. "I wore a chalk-
striped Hackett suit, a pink shirt and red polka-dot tie to meet a
bunch of bankers. Then a sheepskin jacket to meet a bunch of
builders. What the loss adjuster does is become like the people he's
with. Rather like an actor." Rather like Frain, who off set likes
nothing more than to sling on his favourite sheepskin coat, jeans,
denim jacket and Red Wing boots and grab a bite at his local Notting
Hill café. "When I start looking really bad, I know it's time to get
another movie," he grins. "Because when I'm not working, no-one's in
charge of my grooming."
IS: Do you ever brush your hair?
JF: No. The hairstylist for this shoot asked me how we were going
to "control the bounce". I told her we couldn't.
IS: How important are costumes in becoming a character?
JF: It depends. In Nothing Personal, the costume designer managed to find
some old pairs of Seventies underwear. Sky-blue nylon Y-fronts with a
white detail. You don't necessarily have to wear underwear from the
period to steep yourself in a character. It was a kind gesture though.
IS: What have been your favourite costumes you've worn on film?
JF: I loved the Thirties jazz look I had in Vigo. I wore a pinstripe
suit, tank tops and a beret. And some of the sharp Sixties suits I
wore in Hilary and Jackie, when I played the conductor, Daniel
Barenboim, were beautiful. It was a shame that they were rented.
IS: Do you keep your outfits?
JF: I take as much as I can. I still wear the black leather coat that was
made for me for Nothing Personal. I wore two beautiful Paul Smith
suits in Armadillo, but couldn't have either, so I kept a load of T-
shirts. I would have liked the brown contact lenses I wore in
Elizabeth. Oh and the ruff would have been useful…
IS: Have you always enjoyed dressing up?
JF: Definitely. When I was six I was given a Red Indian outfit which I
loved wearing. I also had a policeman's uniform. I was rather like a
one-man Village People.
IS: What's your favourite decade in terms of style?
JF: The American Seventies. It's a look actor Samuel L Jackson has now
and the funky musicians had at that time. I also love punk, which
again was a Seventies thing. Johnny Rotten in his Seditionaries T-
shirt and beret was a hero when I was a teenager. I suppose it's the
figures who are around when you're a teenager who influence your
style and how it remains. Does this mean kids in 15 years' time are
going to be dressing like Eminem? Probably.
IS: Do you ever wear suits?
JF: Not often. Although sometimes a man's just got to wear a suit. When I
get the urge, I usually wear a pinstripe suit I own from Jigsaw. It
has a Seventies look.
IS: What do you wear to parties?
JF: A couple of years ago I was in Los Angeles shooting a movie for
Miramax. It was around the time of the Oscars and I found myself
invited to the Miramax Oscar party. I didn't have a suit, so a friend
talked me into buying a beige one from Gucci. I arrived at the party
and everyone else was in black tie. No-one could have missed me that
night. I was the guy in the light suit. It was a lovely suit – just
the wrong occasion.
IS: If money was no object, which designer would you wear?
JF: Vivienne Westwood. I love everything she does. To me, she epitomises
what is cool about British style: which is to say, make it up
yourself. It's the punk thing again – the mixing of styles that means
you can wear tailored suits with ripped-up T-shirts.
IS: How have the girlfriends you've had influenced your style?
JF: By stealing my shirts. You can always tell when a girlfriend is going
to split up with you because suddenly all your favourite clothes
start disappearing and you have to hide everything.
IS: Who has been your favourite leading lady?
JF: The question should be which leading lady hasn't been a pleasure. I
got to kiss Charlize Theron in Reindeer Games. Obiously, we had to do
a large number of takes to get it right. And in Where the Heart Is I
did a sex scene with Natalie Portman – her first one. She was
nervous, but it's always rehearsed and there are about 50 people on
set.
IS: Are you naked when you shoot sex scenes?
JF: Sometimes. Otherwise you wear attractive flesh-coloured underwear.
Meanwhile, the make-up woman powders your back and you've got
indigestion and are trying not to burp. Sexy, eh?
IS: How would you sum up your style?
JF: That's a difficult question to answer. Style is about what you feel
comfortable in. I like mixing new stuff with vintage. I go to the
flea markets in New York and LA and Portobello Market here in London.
I don't feel comfortable in clothes that are all new. Although
whenever I go shopping with my sister, who's a stylist, she always
tries to get me to be smarter. She says I'm too scruffy.
IS: Do you like clothes?
JF: I love them. I can talk clothes for hours with my sister. I can't
talk about football. I don't know anything about football. Does that
mean I'm not a real man?
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