The Wind in the Willows
Lee Ingleby plays Mole
Lee Ingleby likens Mole in The Wind in the Willows to a child embarking on an adventure.
"The first scene in the film is me, coming out of the earth, because Mole wants to get a breath of fresh air after living underground for a year. He opens his myopic eyes, goes on a walk, meets Ratty and sees the world.
"He comes into the world wide-eyed and is mesmerised by the characters he meets and life in the countryside. He's naïve, almost childlike in a way, because of his awe with the world. You will see it from his eyes. It's quite enchanting."
Viewers will learn about life on the riverbank through Mole's experiences.
Says Lee: "The audience are Mole's eyes in a way. He's just a simple guy, and completely solitary in his own world, but he is the one with the greatest journey. We are introduced to the countryside as Mole is introduced to it. So you go a long way with him.
"He's an earthy, working-class, grounded guy, like Fred Dibnah. I based him a bit on my granddad who always had that earthy, grimy look about him. We show him as an observer, rather than trying to control. Mole is a bit sheltered, a simple soul. I really like him and will miss him."
Lee was transformed into Mole using costume, make-up and prosthetics.
"I wore brown contact lenses over my eyes, which are blue, and my hair was dyed dark black from its usual light brown and grown over my ears, because Mole doesn't have ears. They also added a widow's peak and put mascara on my beard. So I am very dark black all over. I quite like it.
"For my teeth, they put an enamel paint on, which I also had for Nicholas Nickleby. I am destined to have brown bad teeth but I don't mind the look. It just comes off when you are talking sometimes, which is disconcerting.
"My nose is prosthetic and it's strange to have that. I got used to it, apart from a scene where I was drinking wine and could not feel the dew drop of wine at the end of my nose!"
Adds Lee: "I have to wear a big fur coat, and it was incredibly hot walking into the wild wood. There was no shade anywhere."
Becoming Mole also meant bringing some animal characteristics into his acting.
"I decided to take the characteristics of moles, their habitat, their movements and then Marcello, from Theatre de Complicite, threw us a few ideas of simple animal movements, but keeping it subtle without being ridiculous.
"Moles use their hands as their main tools through life. So I have some claws which he uses to tunnel. We decided to keep him short-sighted, but not blind. Because he can't see so well, he uses his nose and his touch instead."
The part is a complete contrast to Lee's last television role as wife-beater Sean O'Neill in The Street.
"It's a leap for me, from playing heroin addicts and wife-beaters, but quite a refreshing change to play gentle Mole," he says.
Lee's other credits include: Nature Boy; Life on Mars; Early Doors; No Angels; Brief Encounters and Marple: Nemesis.
His films include: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.
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