Five minutes with Steve Coogan and Jonathan Pryce: Dating disasters, animal sidekicks and their new film, The Penguin Lessons

Steve Coogan and Sir Jonathan Pryce are basically the Mario and Luigi of British acting royalty. The two have held some of the most iconic roles ever to hail from the British isles and hold six Olivier Award nominations, two Tonys, a BAFTA, an NME award, and six British Comedy Awards between them, to name a few.

Now, the pair are working together for a new film, The Penguin Lessons — a heartwarming and oddly charming film based on a true story, which lands in cinemas on 18th April.

The film sees Coogan in the lead as grumpy teacher Tom Michell, working as an English professor in a private school in Buenos Aires, under the strict discipline of Headteacher Pryce. However, as the name suggests, his life becomes a bit more unusual after rescuing a penguin from an oil slick.

We sat down with Coogan and Pryce to hear about their time onscreen together, what filming was like, and the important questions like which critter they would pick as an animal sidekick.

Shortlist: So, diving straight in, what were your first thoughts when you read the script?

Steve Coogan: When I read an early draft of the script, I thought it was interesting, entertaining, and charming but I wanted it to have more bite to it (if you’ll forgive the pun as the penguin did occasionally bite). Eventually Jeff Pope ramped things up a bit to make it have a bit more grit in the oyster and we got going. I was intrigued by the fact it was a penguin living under the shadow of fascism...

Jonathan Pryce: I was fairly resistant at first when my agent first told me it was a film about a penguin - I’m not an animal lover naturally and wasn’t sure what it would be like. Obviously I’ve come around completely now - I adore penguins! When you read [the script] you realise there is a lot of substance to the film especially with its political and historical background. We don’t want to make any great claims for the film but you hope the audience learn alongside the characters - the students, the teachers - about compassion, and about each other. There was a lot of conflict in Buenos Aires at the time [during the period the film is set]. You see people coming together, united - that’s the lesson of the film. Apart from making you laugh.

SL: In the film, the main character - Tom Michell - has a penguin which almost becomes a sidekick. If you were going to have an animal sidekick, which animal would you pick?

SC: I always thought parrots were a bit ostentatious - you know having them on the shoulder. Unless you’re a pirate it wears thin a bit. I think it would be a dog - I’m quite happy with a dog. My dog does what I say - I wish more people were like dogs!

JP: I’d like to walk down the street with a lion.

SL: Steve Coogan’s character rescues the penguin in the film to impress a woman. What’s the stupidest thing or biggest length you’ve gone to in order to get a date or impress someone?

JP: [laughing] How’s your memory?

SC: I dyed my eyelashes once - just to make them sparkle a bit.

SL: Was it successful?

SC: Well, look you know, it’s all worked out fine - I don’t know if it was the eyelashes or my conversation.

JP: When I was at college, I had my first moustache and I put eyebrow pencil on it to make it darker. I went on a date with this girl and we came back to college and we thought let’s not go into the bar together so people don’t know we’re together. I went in first, and when she came in, she had all black around her mouth, across her top lip from the pencil. Never saw her again.

The Penguin Lessons is in cinemas from 18th April

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