By Gill Pringle
“Great,” Teresa replies when FilmInk asks her how it was working with Mel Gibson. “I loved him. We had a really good rapport. He is such a fantastic director. He’s been acting for so many years, so he knows how to converse with actors in a way that helps you to understand the character. He knows how to meet your needs for the scene. He’s just a really special guy. He is so generous with his time with people, and he knew everyone’s name on the crew. He would sit down and give everyone the time of day, and really ask them about their life and ask good questions. He cared about people, and I loved that. I could feel that, and the crew just fell in love with him. I’m very proud of the movie.”
Shot on location in Australia, Hacksaw Ridge stars Andrew Garfield and Vince Vaughn, along with an impressive host of Aussies, including Sam Worthington, Hugo Weaving, Matt Nable, Luke Bracey, Rachel Griffiths, and Richard Roxburgh. The film tells the powerful, true story of WW2 American Army medic, Desmond T. Doss (Andrew Garfield), the first Conscientious Objector in American history to be awarded The Congressional Medal Of Honour. Doss voluntarily enlisted as a medic, but refused to take up arms against another human being. He passionately fought the system to remain in the army, and is credited with saving 75 lives at the infamous Battle of Okinawa –all whilst under enemy fire and without having fired a single bullet in return. “Andrew Garfield is breathtaking,” says Palmer, who plays Doss’ eventual wife, Dorothy Schutte, in the film. “He’s breathtaking in this film. It’s my favourite performance that I’ve witnessed of his. So beautiful. I hope that everyone takes notice and that he can get nominated for an Oscar.”
Obviously buzzing off their work on set together, Palmer is actually yet to see the completed film. “I hear it’s amazing,” the actress says. “I haven’t seen it yet, but a lot of my team have seen it, and people have been giving me the feedback that it’s Mel’s best film. I’ve loved all of his other movies, so hopefully it will live up to the hype when I see it. But it was a wonderful experience.”
And what of the mercurial Mel, and his unpredictable public outbursts? “Well, everyone has moments in their life where they are going through things, but it’s very rare that they’re on a public stage,” Palmer replies. “If some of my family’s meltdowns were played out on the public stage, it would be mortifying! I just went into this experience knowing that I would have my own dynamic with him, and that I’d come in without any sort of judgement or expectations. I was just really blown away by him in a really positive manner.”
Hacksaw Ridge will be released in cinemas on November 3.
