Interview: Jacqueline Bisset Discusses Political Scandals, Ben Kingsley, and 'Backstabbing for Beginners'

Jacqueline Bisset has enjoyed quite a long career, working in film and television since the sixties. Some of her notable films include the classics "Bullitt," "Airport," and "Murder on the Orient Express." Her more recent work includes Abel Ferrara's "Welcome to New York," and last year's little-seen "9/11."

I contemplated her filmography, and her latest, "Backstabbing for Beginners," on a warm California morning while waiting for the phone to ring. When it did, a crisply accented voice greeted me warmly. "Hello," she said, "it's Jacqueline."

We exchanged pleasantries before launching into a discussion about the new film, which is a political thriller about the corruption and scandal that plagued the Oil-for-Food Programme.

"I had heard of it," Bisset says of the program that was established by the UN in 1995. "But I really didn't know how far-reaching it was or what really happened."

The film is based on the memoir by Michael Soussan (Theo James). Michael was a young diplomat hired to work at the UN, specifically for an undersecretary (Ben Kingsley). His work there led to him uncovering major corruption that went all the way up. Bisset plays Christina Dupre, a French UN employee who also reports to the same undersecretary as Michael.

"I hadn't read the book," she confessed. "But after learning just how deep the corruption was, I was stunned. To think that these people were already living in desperate conditions, and then they only have this bad medication and supplies were so limited... It's devastating to know this happened."

I asked Bisset about her role as Dupre, and how she prepared for the part. "It was interesting," she said. "I didn't have a lot to go on, apart from what was in the script. But I saw her as a woman who was very strong. And yet, she has this boss, Pasha—who is Ben Kingsley. And sometimes she wants to say something or do something, but, really, her hands are tied."

"What was it about her that you enjoyed?" I asked. She went on. "It's tough to say, because I'm not in it that much. But she is in this job because she wants to help. And she faces all kind of problems for that. She's in a difficult position sometimes, which we all face from time to time. I understood that."

Bisset was also excited to talk about the location. "We filmed in Morocco," she said. "All of my scenes, anyway, were filmed in Morocco. We didn't film any of it in Iraq, for obvious reasons. But a lot of where we filmed looked like where this would be in Iraq, and it was challenging... It was also nice to go to that part of the world and experience the way people there live."

I said, "It makes you appreciate home a little more, doesn't it?"

She agreed. "But more than that, it's a good way to remember that I have so many conveniences that I take for granted. And I need to be reminded sometimes."

We shifted the conversation to her co-stars. She described Theo James as "a delightful young man," and Ben Kingsley as, "Well, he's Ben Kingsley."

Of course, I asked her to elaborate, and she did.

"He's this giant of an actor. He's incredible. But in the film, he's my boss. I answer to him, I'm responsible to him. And we maintained some of that separation. But he's an incredible actor and it was lovely to have this experience of working with him."

The sun was beating down and our allotted time was running out. But I wanted to ask about a few of the projects Bisset has coming up, too. "You never stop working," I said.

"Oh, I do stop," she insisted. "I do stop. And these are mostly not big roles. I don't do a lot of big parts. I'll just pop in for a few scenes or whatever."

"You have a few films coming up soon. What can you tell me about some of those?"

Her voice rises slightly as she talks with enthusiasm of "Honey in the Head," which stars Nick Nolte. "It's just this lovely film," she says, explaining that it follows a grandfather with dementia who forms a bond with his granddaughter. She will also appear in "Asher" with Ron Perlman. Next year Bisset stars in "Kumejima" as a family matriarch trying to reunite her family. Of this role she said, "It's a substantial part, which was so nice to have."

And while it's great that she has all of these films coming, we finished our conversation about the topic at hand, "Backstabbing for Beginners."

When asked what she learned from the film, she said simply, "To speak up when you see something is wrong."

That is an important lesson for us all to remember.

Many thanks to the great Jacqueline Bisset for taking the time to speak with me on behalf of Awards Circuit.
"Backstabbing for Beginners" is distributed by A24 and is in theaters today.

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