Faramir, son of Denethor II and brother of Boromir, is a great warrior but also very gentle and fragile. What do you think about him and his brother Boromir?
Boromir is more hot-tempered, more red-blooded. Faramir nearly is like the ideal person, the ideal man. In a way. There is wonderful stuff in the book about the fact that he'd never killed a creature without a good reason. He's a man that is very easy to respect.

What about his sad relationship with his father Denethor II?
Faramir has grown up in a strange situation... but not an uncommon one. Growing up in a family where he has a father who obviously prefers the oldest son. Sometimes fathers prefer the youngest son but not in this case.

Maybe one of the reason of this tension between Faramir and his father is caused by the fact that Denethor hates Gandalf meanwhile Faramir loves Gandalf nearly more than his father. Do you agree?
Absolutely. I can only agree and I'm sure that there is a jealousy from Denethor towards Gandalf of that friendship of Gandalf and Faramir. And it manifests in itself a frustration with the youngest son of Denethor having an obvious preference for Boromir.

What about your relationship with Aragorn and with Eowyn? Aragorn was Eowyn's first love. She was your first love... Faramir and Aragorn are great friends...
It just reflects what happens in the world. I think that this part of the story is a true reflection of what happens in our lives. I don't think that Eowyn has any regrets about his love for Aragorn. That's life. Some people pine for one particular person, love doesn't happen but then circumstances change and other opportunities arrive.

Was Peter Jackson's filmaking approach to this part like a Soap?
What Peter has done not only with this part of The Lord of the Rings but with all the book and all the story, is to be as truthful and real as possible in every situation. He was adamant about that and so hopefully about that this part of the story will come across as very real and very believable for the audience. So it won't be greatly pathetic from the audience to swallow the fact that Éowyn is nearly changed between her obsession for Aragorn and then her love for Faramir.

Does Eowyn fall in love for Faramir quickly?
No. It's not an instant love for Faramir. It's not something that comes instantly. It's like a slow burn...

In the House of Healing?
Yeah.

How many scenes have you shot in the House of Healing?
We've shot a few scenes in the House of Healing.

In that time of the story, Eowyn thinks that Aragorn is dead, doesn't she?
Possibly. I can't tell you more.

Your father is played by the australian actor/director John Noble; Eowyn is played by the Australian Miranda Otto; Boromir is played by the pure English native Sean Bean. Did this exception disturb you?
I must admit I've never given it one second thought!

You played with an english accent?
Yes.

Will we see the fight between you and the Nazgul who nearly killed you?
I don't think I can reveal. I honestly can't reveal it.

Are you happy with the Lord of the Rings experience?
More than happy. Ecstatic just to be involved in it. An amazing project directed by a truly incredible director.

Did Peter Jackson leave you actors free to do something not included in the script or in the book itself?
I think that the best thing about Peter is the fact that he's a director who is so clear in his vision that basically we went along with Peter's vision. Everybody involved in this film had a very clear image of what we were going to create. Thanks to Peter.

What about the rest of the cast?
Wonderful. Peter was very brave to choose only the actors that he wanted to choose for the movie, despite the fact that a lot of big stars wanted to be involved in it. Peter chose not very famous actors, like me for example, just because he thought that we were good for the roles.

You know that in Italy a very important journalist, Natalia Aspesi, for a very important newspaper, "La Repubblica", wrote that The Lord of the Rings is a "naziskin book"?
What? I can't believe it!

In my strange country a lot of people, almost intellectuals, think that Tolkien and his books were right-wing and some of them, like Aspesi, use the words "filo-nazist" and "naziskin"...
It's the first time that I've heard a story like this. The Lord of the Rings is exactly the opposite of a nazi-book, or a naziskin book. That's absolutely nonsense. I can't believe it.

Let's change the subject. You became a good horseman acting in The Lord of the Rings and Milcho Manchewski's Dust, didn't you?
It's true. I made recently three movies with horses. They are very unpredictable performers or I found them very unpredictable because I grew up in a suburb in Sydney. I didn't grow up surrounded by horses, so it's a skill that I've had to learn. You have to know that a very few people ride horses in Australia. Most of them live in cities. But when an australian rides a horse, he's unbelievable.

What about your charachter in Milcho Manchewski's Dust?
I'm an american cowboy who runs away from his home in America and basically seeks refuge in Macedonia. And hunts people for gold. He runs away because, I suppose, you can call it a family problem. Then he's tracked down by his brother, played by Joseph Fiennes, who looks for him across the world from America and tracks him in Macedonia.

Where are the brothers from?
Oklahoma.

Will they go to Turkey?
No. Specifically to Macedonia. But there are turkish forces there at the time.

You shooted Dust before or after The Lord of the Rings?
Before.

What do you think about Manchewski as a director?
Manchewski certainly reflects where he comes from. I don't think he'd be embarassed by me saying that he does have a balcan temperament. He's extremely creative individual. Sometimes he is quite difficult to work with but I think that happens to be absolutely fine because all the time he has the greatest intentions for the film. Everything he fights for, it's for the film. He's a director that has the highest faith in actor's abilities and so once he cast you he really give the actor a lot of power. Manchewski is a very specific idiosyncratic voice in the film community.

Maybe that's the reason why seven years have passed between Before the Rain and Dust...
Possibly. But he put so much blood and sweat into his work starting with the script. He really drives himself incredibly hard. But I think that all going well and all, for Milcho, will be worthwhile.

Can we say that you're one of the leading actors of Dust?
Yes. There is a historical story and a contemporary story. The contemporary story is in New York and the historical story is in Macedonia. The structure is similar to Before the Rain but even more complicated than the first movie. There are four different time lines in Dust. And they work very effectively.

I don't know anything about your character in Moulin Rouge, except the fact that your name is Audrey... a little bit feminine as a name don't you think?
First... I don't dance in Moulin Rouge. Second... you're right. Audrey is a very androginous looking character. A lot of people think "It's a female!" when I appear on the screen. It's a brief appearance but it was a fun one.

Are you a transvestite in Moulin Rouge?
He's a character that enjoys the benefits of my cup.