What made you so right to play Tony Wilson?
I just felt I could do it better than anyone else. I know the Manchester music scene and I worked with Tony on a local television programme. Also, I was aware of Factory Records growing up, I bought Joy Division's records, although I was slightly too young to see them live. I used to go up to the Ha莽ienda like other young people in Manchester. The subject matter was the closest thing to my heart, though, and I felt very propriatorial about it.
Some people have been saying you're just doing a riff on Alan Partridge.
If you think this film is me doing Tony Wilson combined with Alan Partridge, you're wrong. Tony comes out of this film as a flawed hero, and he's not quite as grotesque as Alan.
Should people be expecting a historically accurate movie?
Basically, certain parts of the story are invented for dramatic purposes, and to have a laugh as well. Other parts are exactly as they happened. Frankly, I'm not quite sure what did and didn't happen. We've taken liberties with events and some of the minor characters are invented.
Were you comfortable playing Tony?
I empathise a lot with Tony because he tends to talk a lot and I do too. My key to playing him was using an impersonation - I used to do him when I did my stand-up act in Manchester - and trying to find a way to get inside how his mind works. There's a slight foppishness to Tony, and I used the physicality of his gestures and the way he talks, all this kind of slightly camp stuff, to understand him. But I feel very comfortable playing him. The only thing that bothers me is, I feel too comfortable.
