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In StarzsThe White Queen, he played Richard III with anarch tonewe might call Period-Piece Pronunciation.
Listening to him talk feels a bit like being cradled in a soft woolen blanket.
(The latter premiered to a fairly muted reaction, but people at TIFF seemed to likeCopperfield.)
What is it like to play all these buttoned-up aristocrats?
Its good fun, he says, smiling.
You have to find the human being, within all the seriousness.
What to Wear When Surviving a Lion Attack?
Barnard says, noticing one slim volume.
Probably something very comfortable that you want to die in.
He flips through it.
I think its full of poems.
(It is.)
Biographies are a special favorite, as theyre full of stuff I steal to use in characters.
He particularly enjoyedPatti SmithsJust Kids, and always finds himself rereadingBurtons diaries.
Just like Burton, Barnard says he never wants to play the same kind of role twice.
In the three projects premiering at TIFF, he got the chance to work with three very different directors.
We pass through the History section, which Barnard jokes that he has plenty of experience with.
I dont believe that were any different now than we were 400 years ago, he says.
We show emotions in different ways; thats the exciting thing about different periods.
But the relationships between people, the manipulation between people, its always been the same.
Still, there are definite benefits to projects likeThe Goldfinchthat are set in the present.
One of those historical projects was the BBCsWar and Peace, where Barnard played the shameless striver Boris Drubetskoy.
(My first Boris.)
In the shop, a book with a photo of Tolstoyon the covercatches his interest.
He picks it up and readsthe summary:vlogger…obscure amateur web series.
Thats nowhere near Tolstoy, he mutters.
It appears weve accidentally wandered into the YA section.
Its around here that we give up the pretense of shopping for books.
At the beginning of our interview, I asked Barnard about Wales.
Its an uncomfortable feeling, but he reckons that its better than the alternative.
Cause my egos obviously taken a turn for the worse.
