Fresh from her turn in The Ballad of Wallis Island, Carey Mulligan sits down with co-stars Tom Basden and Tim Key to talk about her first foray into comedy, and her upcoming role in Greta Gerwig’s Narnia
Tom Basden and Tim Key could very much be considered a duo. Former flatmates who finish each other’s sentences, they’ve written and performed comedy together for almost three decades: TV sitcoms, a sketch show, a live double-act, Radio 4 comedies, shorts, plays, and now a feature film, The Ballad of Wallis Island. However, their co-star, Carey Mulligan, says with a grin, “We’re a trio now.” When Key reveals he’s writing the next series of his Radio 4 show Tim Key’s Late Night Poetry Programme, Mulligan exclaims, “If you don’t put me in it, I’m going to be really annoyed.” After a comic pause, Key turns to me, saying, “So, this film …”
With Key later noting he’d “bite Carey’s hand off” to have her on his radio show, it’s apparent that the warm-hearted vibes of the film are simply reflecting the fun, mischievous chemistry of the trio – or duo, plus Mulligan – who cackle with laughter throughout our conversation. In The Ballad of Wallis Island, a rib-tickling drama that unfolds like a minor chord gently strummed, modest millionaire Charles (Key) invites his favourite folk singer, Herb McGwyer (Basden), to a remote island for a private concert. To Charles, a loner who’s won the lottery twice, the £500,000 cost is a bargain. It thus speaks to how irritating Charles is, with his incessant wordplay, that Herb wears a permanent frown.
Upon arriving, Herb has his phone knocked into the sea (“Judi Drenched,” jokes Charles), he’s disheartened by his rider (“a Winona”, according to Charles), and then he learns the truth about the gig: when Charles estimates that the audience will be “less than a hundred”, he really means it’ll just be him. Except a further twist is the arrival of Nell Mortimer (Mulligan), Herb’s ex-girlfriend and former collaborator from their time as a duo called McGwyer Mortimer. A further, further twist: she’s brought her new boyfriend, Michael (Akemnji Ndifornyen).
Directed by James Griffiths, The Ballad of Wallis Island originates from a 2007 BAFTA-winning short, The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island, that Basden and Key wrote and starred in. To expand the 25-minute short into a 100-minute feature, they introduced Nell. While Nell’s harmonies add depth to Herb’s songs, they also remind him of what was lost and can’t be undone. It’s like a British twist on Inside Llewyn Davis, and not just because Mulligan is in both films.
“There’s definitely a parallel, tonally and musically, with Llewyn Davis,” says Basden. “There’s also a bit of The King of Comedy and The Parent Trap.” Mulligan looks baffled. “The Parent Trap?!” she exclaims. “But it’s Lindsay Lohan trying to get her parents back together!” Basden replies, “Yes, it’s somebody trying to get a couple back together.”
We’re talking in Ham Yard Hotel – not Wallis Island – but there’s a similar effect: as someone who grew up listening obsessively to Basden and Key’s Radio 4 shows like Party and Cowards, I feel a bit like Charles when in a room with the duo, even before the fact that Mulligan – a three-time Oscar nominee for An Education, Promising Young Woman, and Maestro – is more famous than both combined. Still, Basden and Key aren’t niche names. Basden has written on sitcoms like Peep Show, while Key plays Alan Partridge’s regular co-host, Sidekick Simon, and was in Bong Joon-ho’s Mickey 17 as a pigeon man. Key deadpans, “I can only be in a Korean film if I’m playing a pigeon.”
Now that Mulligan has links to the comedy world, who’s more likely to be on Taskmaster, her or Basden? “Taskmaster?” says Mulligan. “What’s that?” The room erupts in laughter, especially Key, who’s a task consultant and was the star of the first season. Mulligan apologises profusely. “I would like to do it, and I’ve said that over the years,” says Basden. “But Carey will probably get asked before I do.”
As a fan of Tim Key’s Late Night Poetry Programme, Mulligan once emailed Key with a request for him to emcee a charity fundraiser. Key declined but, years later, sent her the script to Wallis Island. “Really good writing is so rare,” says Mulligan. “It felt like a no-brainer to be in it.” When Key asks Mulligan how many “film opportunities” she receives per week, she’s unsure about the number, but notes, “I don’t get many from the writer directly sent to me.” Is that the trick? “Yeah. Get my personal email.”
I ask Mulligan about the rumour that she’s joined Greta Gerwig’s Narnia film. After wondering if she’s allowed to confirm it, Mulligan tells me she’s playing Digory’s mother. Was that also an email? “I chased Greta down for about three years,” she says. “Every time I was in the same room as her – there’s creepy photos of me on the internet next to her, just being like, ‘So, Greta …’” Mulligan gets off the sofa, crawls next to Key, and recreates the pose. “I ‘film opportunity-d’ her, in a way. That’s the only good thing about award ceremonies.” “Wow, can you do that?” says Key. “We learn a lot from Carey Mulligan.”
Key asks Basden which celebrity he’d seek at an awards ceremony. “I’d happily scamper after Alexander Payne and Mike White,” says Basden. “I tried to scamper after Mike White,” says Mulligan. “I tried really hard.” “I mean, I did a wee next to Paul Dano at the BAFTAs in 2008,” says Basden. “I held my nerve and didn’t say anything.” “I don’t think doing the wee was enough,” says Mulligan. “You also went for a wee next to Gollum?” says Key. “Well, Andy Serkis,” says Basden. “He didn’t come in character.” “‘Please, Paul, can I work with you?’” Key adds, “‘Please can I be in your film, Gollum?’”
It’s confirmed that Basden and Key are writing a new film that will have a role for Mulligan, who says, “I’m pitching hard to be in all of their future projects.” Key reveals that following the success of their 2007 short, he and Basden spent three years writing a different feature called Tile City about two Brits caught up in a “caper around China” after the death of a CEO. They describe the plot to me – “it could have been great,” says Basden – and their plan to someday revisit it. “Does he have a sister?” asks Mulligan. “He can do,” says Basden. “He 100% can do.” Key shoots a mischievous look at Mulligan, then says, “Sandra Bullock, maybe.”
The Ballad of Wallis Island is out in UK cinemas now.
