Emily Mortimer: 'Britain can be a tolerant place – but obviously there's times when it isn't'

Joining the Brown family in Paddington in Peru is Emily Mortimer, taking over from Sally Hawkins in the role of Mrs Brown. She calls Big Issue from her home in New York to try and work out why we’re mad about the bear.

Big Issue: Did you get to go to Peru?

Emily Mortimer: No, basically a carpark off the M25 was far as we got. But Dougal [Wilson, the director] is so inventive, using all sorts of actual boats and ponds and trees to create this mirage.

You have actual trees and boats but not a real bear… 

There are an amazing series of things that really help. There is a bear head sometimes, there’s incredible actors too who know all the words and the movements and act the scene with you. Normally where you’re acting with something that isn’t really there, you just get a tennis ball on a stick.

I’m glad that Paddington is not just a tennis ball on a stick.

I was relieved about that too.

Were you a fan of the first two films?

Yes, of course. I have children who were young when they came out. So I watched them avidly and loved them and felt like it was the honour of a lifetime to be asked to be in the next one. There’s something about the spirit of Paddington that is innately magical. He gets to something very deep in people, partly because he’s so winning and charming, and partly because he’s incredibly infuriating and chaotic.

He’s become a British icon and reflects the best side of us. Whether we always live up to that is debatable…

At its best, I think Britain can be a tolerant and accepting place that embraces difference. But obviously there are moments when it isn’t. The character of Paddington upholds those kind of values so well because it’s not preachy or earnest. It just is innate to the stories, the fact that this bear who’s come from very far away bursts into this conventional English family, completely upends everything, but there’s nothing for it but to accept and love him. It’s the only thing they can do somehow. But I’ve noticed, the minute you start trying to talk earnestly about Paddington, you end up sounding like such a pretentious bore. So it’s quite cool. He defies definition.

Did spending time in his world make you a better person?

I hope it rubbed off on me. It makes you feel better if you can be kind and forgiving and understanding and as unjudgmental as you possibly can. But it’s very hard to remember that in this moment. There’s so much coming at you that’s encouraging you to feel upset and angry and riled up.

Do you get to vote in the US?

Yes, I do. The premiere is on 4 November, luckily, they start voting early so I can vote here before I fly to London.

Have you made your mind up yet?

Oh yeah. There’s no question. But I won’t tell you who I’m voting for. Because I’m a tolerant, inclusive person who respects people who have other opinions than mine. I wish [the film] could have come out the week before. It isn’t coming out in America until January, so just in time for another storming of the Capitol.

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