Timothy Spall, best known for playing Peter Pettigrew in the Harry Potter films, plays British painter J.M.W. Turner in Mike Leigh‘s biopic Mr. Turner.

Timothy Spall On ‘Mr. Turner’

In order to play Turner, a relatively enigmatic individual, Spall and Leigh teamed up to unearth as much as could be known about the renowned artist – as well to spontaneously create what couldn’t be known, only inferred.

“The process of the way Mike Leigh, the director, works is that it is always an investigation. Part of the rehearsal process is an investigation in researching everything you possibly can about the character that exists,” Spall told uInterview exclusively. “Also, at the same time with Mike Leigh, you are growing a character, that you are building organically for the use of improvisation. You go off and you work this out and you create this human being.”

What Spall remembers most about the process of delving into Turner’s story with Leigh was the complexity of the man’s character. Turner wasn’t just one thing. A certified genius with a paintbrush, in his personal life he oscillated between being endearing and being downright nasty.

“It was discovering that we were dealing with a character that was a mass of contradictions,” Spall said. “A character that could be both kind and mean. He could be both very amusing and then non-communicative. He could be unpleasant, he could be a grumpy old grouch, and then he could be a very kind person.”

When it came time to film Mr. Turner, Spall was tasked with recreating a daring moment of Turner’s artistic dedication, which included affixing himself to the mast of a sailboat. Fortunately for Spall, unlike Turner, he wasn’t actually at sea and undertaking the feat.

“It turned out that Turner, in his 60s, had himself lashed to the mast of a sailing ship in a storm so that he could see what the sea looked like and what the experience was. He then went on to paint one of his great paintings,” Spall explained. “So Mike had me lashed up on a mast, and of course it wasn’t at sea because it would have been too dangerous. That is a moment I shall never forget and I don’t advise it as a pastime. As they say on the television, ‘We encourage you children, do not try this at home.'”

Mr. Turner is slated for wide release Dec. 19.