Richard Harris
A Conversation With the Late Richard Harris
(Sulla)

Q: What was your reaction to the script?
A: After I started reading the script, I couldn't put it down. It was really beautifully written.

Q: Describe the early part of Caesar's life. Most people are probably unfamiliar with it.
A: I wasn't familiar with the early part of his life, either. I didn't even know there was a person called Sulla; my knowledge of Roman history was pretty limited - I depended upon Kirk Douglas and Charlton Heston for it. I'm not a great history buff anyway. From what I gather, Sulla was a villain. Power corrupts.

Q: How do you make your performances so believable? A: I was trained in the English theater, in the classics. So it's easy for me to translate it. Just stick to the poetry. That's all. I didn't want to make Sulla the stereotypical villain. I had to find something different about him, find the color.
Q: The set is spectacular. Can you talk about how that affects what you're doing as an actor?
A: A set like this is pretty unique nowadays. What's often happening in the industry these days is that you have this blue screen, and you stand there and there's no one around you, there's an empty stage and you have to imagine that there are a thousand soldiers here and a forest over there. So an environment like this is a real help.