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Veteran British actor Bill Nighy has jetted into New Zealand on a whirlwind tour to promote his latest movie Their Finest.
The 67-year-old is much-loved by fans for his starring roles in Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter and of course his aging rocker character Billy Mack from Love Actually.
The dramedy is based on the Lissa Evans’ 2009 novel Their Finest Hour and a Half.
It’s a movie within a movie with Nighy playing Ambrose Hilliard, an aging actor making a propaganda film for the British government trying to revive flagging wartime spirits.
In his interview with The New Zealand Herald Nighy said reactions from those who had seen the film had so far been very positive.
“The first thing you should know about the film is that it’s a cracking good night out,” he says. “It’s a film that’s about big things but it never forgets to entertain. You get to laugh, you get to cry and it gives you something to think about it on your way home.
“That’s not PR. That’s just the way it operates. I’ve been all around the world with this film and that’s how people respond.”
The film also stars Gemma Arterton and legendary British actor Richard E. Grant.
MLAFs (major Love Actually fans) will know that Nighy recently reunited with writer-director Richard Curtis and the cast for a short Love Actually sequel that was released for a Red Nose Day fundraiser for British charity Comic Relief.
There’s no word yet as to whether a full sequel to the 2003 box-office smash is in the works.
Their Finest opens in cinemas around the country this Thursday.
