As the Abba extravaganza returns, the star explains why a Mamma Mia! sequel couldn’t be more timely, how working with two ex-partners is an advantage – and why Spielberg’s war epic left him ‘very sad’
Dominic Cooper nearly didn’t try for the first Mamma Mia! film. He was in the middle of shooting something else and reluctantly went along to the audition, not expecting to get the part, not sure he wanted it anyway. As he crossed the country in the rain, he thought: “I’m not a musical-theatre person. Why am I going?” But he sang a song at the audition – “I was terrified” – and got the part.
Then he went to see the stage show and was deeply moved. “It was incredible seeing an audience so swept away,” he says. “Wonderfully, it turned out to be something people really needed at that time – they were desperate for that escapism.” And then the film, starring Meryl Streep as the spirited single mother Donna, was released in 2008, just before the global economy tanked.
Its sequel, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, is out this week and – with its life-affirming sense of joy, love and sunshine – seems similarly well-timed. “This couldn’t be coming at a better time,” says Cooper. “It’s all been quite bleak and difficult to comprehend what’s going on. People occasionally need to go and sit in a dark space with people they love and forget everything.”
Cooper returns as Sky, the husband of Donna’s daughter, played by Amanda Seyfried. The actors had a relationship for several years after meeting on the first film and were brought together for the second. “That’s happened twice this last year,” Cooper says with a laugh – he also stars in the US TV series Preacher with his former partner Ruth Negga.
Was it awkward? “I think, ‘What’s it going to be like?’ Then it’s fine. Ruth and I have stayed good friends. We both care massively about the show. We’ve worked together so much that we each know how the other works. She’s more honest with me with regard to the acting than anyone could ever be, which is helpful. And it’s great to see Amanda again. You’re working with somebody you know really well.” What, he asks, is the alternative? “Sulk in a corner? There’s no other option. Ultimately, you’re friends.”
For more read the full of article at The Guardian
