Agatha Christie’s 1934 novel, Murder on the Orient Express, has been adapted three times so far — in the 1974 Sidney Lumet film starring Albert Finney as the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot; in the 2001 Carl Schenkel film for TV with Alfred Molina in the lead; and in a 2010 episode of the series, Agatha Christie’s Poirot.
In its newest adaptation, director Kenneth Branagh casts himself as Poirot, joined by Penélope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, Josh Gad, Derek Jacobi, Leslie Odom Jr, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Daisy Ridley in supporting roles. Indulge caught up with Penélope and Willem to chat about their experiences on sets, and in the train in question.
Tell us about the character you play.
Penelope Cruz: I play Pilar Estravados, who is a very introverted woman with a big secret, and a very strong trauma from the past. She’s trying to deal with that in the best way she can.
Willem Dafoe: I play an Austrian professor of engineering, and he’s on the train going to Touren to give a paper to a convention. Keep in mind, this is 1934, and Gerhard has strong opinions about race, people who shouldn’t mix, and he’s not the most pleasant person.
How familiar were you with the original film?
PC: I had seen it and read it when I was very young. And then, Kenneth didn’t want us to read it again or watch the other movie again. He wanted us to go fresh.
What got you involved in the project?
PC: Working with Kenneth — he’s a great actor, and a great director too. It’s always interesting to work with a director who is an actor, as the communication is different. They have experienced the same feelings you go through. So sometimes, you don’t even need to talk. He’ll look at you and he knows what you’re going through. Also, it was an incredible cast. I admire every one of them.
William, how did you develop your character?
WD: Classically, if your character’s perceived as negative, you want to develop the positive part. And vice versa. If he’s positive, you want to find the flaws that get glossed over. It’s natural that you engage with the character, and find that place where you believe if your life was different, you could be that person. So you can identify. It’s interesting when that person becomes your person. You know you can transform your experience into another way of thinking. That’s the beautiful thing about performing.
Tell us about your experience on the train set.
PC: There was a lot of attention to detail. Everything was like you didn’t want to touch anything, and ruin it. Even the cakes look unreal. Everything was perfect. But we experience that part of the movie that is more confined, more small spaces, claustrophobic at times, as it was so many of us in one room.
WD: It’s an incredible train. That’s where most of the action takes place. You’d get dressed in the morning, get in makeup, and I had a wig, so that felt period in itself. And then you’d get there and everybody would warmly greet each other, like in theatricals. There was a kind of form that mirrored the rituals of taking a train, of everybody having their spot, of some people mixing, and of some people not mixing. It was like a fantasy come alive.
Do you enjoy travelling by train?
PC: I did it more before, when I a little girl. When we went on family holiday, we did it by train and I loved the feeling. I would be looking out of the window for hours. I did, another time, as an adult, around Prague. Not very long, but just those four hours is like meditation. It’s relaxing. I haven’t done it in a while, but making this movie makes me miss that.