Jude Law
Enemy at the Gates
Interviewed by James Mottram

What do you think of your character, Vassily?
He is symbolic of Russia at the time, but he is also an everyman in any time, in any conflict. It's the idea of this individual being taken from his home and put into a conflict, a war situation where it's life or death. He transcends the period of the movie and is as relevant today as he is then. People in the past have been plucked from their homeland and told to fight for the greater good without being told what the greater good is. In that sense, Vassily is quite the essential everyman in battle. His journey from that to become a soul-sapped war veteran was a hell of a challenge. What preparation did you do?
I underwent a lot of training to be an authentic sniper. I studied camouflage, military approach, and how to handle the weapon, and then I arrived here, put on the fatigues and realised that none of that had anything to do with anything. It was good for my brain but once I got out there and met the young Germans and Russians who all had stories of their relatives in this battle. You heard it from the heart, you saw it in their eyes. Then I got used to the fact that I couldn't feel my fingers and my feet. That for me was the essence of the battle. It was nothing to do with what the history books say, whose right or wrong. It was all about people suffering, really, and the intensity of friendship and relationships, and love under the strain of war.

Was Vassily really such a sharpshooter?
There was a story in his memoirs that he shot a wolf in the eye from over half a mile away. He was an incredible marksman. I've met guys who said that was possible. They could read the wind, the levitation of the land, how the temperature would affect the speed of the bullet. An incredible gift, but a fatal gift, a gift that is turned against him, almost. It was a God-given talent that was stirred by the Devil. He had to live with the faces of all those people he killed.

Rachel Weisz
Enemy at the Gates
Interviewed by James Mottram

Why did you do "Enemy at the Gates"?
It had everything. It's a cliché when female actors say they can't find strong roles, but it is very hard to find challenging roles that are different and difficult. It's also a story I didn't know anything about and that was interesting on an intellectual level. I thought it was a great role for a young woman. What preparation did you do?
We read lots of history books and saw documentaries, reportage. And lots of photographs. There was one incredible image of a woman, a Russian soldier who was lying asleep on her rifle. Her face is covered in mud and dirt and she had such a serene expression on her face. It's such an incredible image. I had it pinned up on my wall. I didn't know there would be women fighting.

Were you comfortable using a gun?
Not immediately, but I had to learn to be comfortable. I felt my biggest responsibility on this film was to be believable as a soldier. I'd never picked up a gun. It's strange at first. In England, the police don't have guns so we live in a culture where I don't see guns. We were trained by a military officer and had to load, unload, clean, fire, pick-up. They're very heavy. I developed big muscles from carrying it around for five months. It didn't make me feel very macho.

Were you good at using a gun?
I didn't have to be as good as Jude Law, but apparently - according to the ex-SAS officer who trained us both - I was a natural. Very bizarre thing to discover that you're good at, and not something I'm necessarily proud of. Normally actors are not very coordinated with guns, I don't know why. I just took to it quickly. Jude then became better than me, but I was faster.