There is a real sense of history that runs through every character in this film. Ifans adds, "How that history reveals itself is lovely, poetic. I think there's an affinity between Quoyle and Nutbeem because they're both very much outsiders in Newfoundland."
Hallstrom appreciated the humor that Ifans brought to the screen. "Rhys is doing something really funny with his character," Hallstrom states. "He's eccentric, but he's just within the right tone."
Ifans found the film to be a very rewarding experience. "Working with Lasse is quite extraordinary — a real exercise in osmosis," Ifans replies. "So often you work in film and you're always obliged to deliver a performance like a strip-.o gram. Lasse enables you to deliver it quietly like a postman in the early hours of the morning. You push it silently through the letterbox. That's such a great place to find in yourself as an actor. It's a bigger leap of faith than you imagine it ever could be — to just trust yourself and the material. And when it's this good it's joyous."
Veteran character actor Pete Postlethwaite, who previously worked in Newfoundland on the Canadian feature "The Devine Ryans," relished the opportunity to portray The Gammy Bird's crusty managing editor, Tert X. Card. "Tert's one of those great characters to play — just lovely," Postlethwaite adds. "He is a loner who's totally committed and devoted to this back end newspaper. Tert runs it in fact. But he gets usurped really — by Quoyle, the last person you'd think he'd meet his comeuppance with."
"Tert's not the boss, the last word," Postlethwaite continues. "Jack Buggit is his bread and butter, really. Tert hates the fact that he's so dependent on Jack for the job. But because he's always off fishing, Jack is completely dependent on Tert to run the thing. So there's a kind of dichotomy between the two."
Postlethwaite's versatility was called upon to deliver a performance that was on one hand a bit brutal, and on another a bit sympathetic. Ifans notes, "With his extraordinary face and physicality, he can access Tert's brutality very easily. But Pete also has a big heart. So he brings a sense of the wounded man to the character when it would be so easy just to play him as a villain."
Jason Behr, who currently stars as Max Evans on "Roswell," plays Dennis Buggit, the son of newspaperman Jack Buggit. "Jack's fear about losing his only living son to the sea has created this void that neither man has addressed or acknowledged in any way," Behr states. "They sort of accept it."
Throughout production, Behr and Glenn modified their behavior to enhance and amplify the relationship between Dennis and Jack. "The very first time I met Scott was in the make-up trailer. We were all joking around, laughing, having a good time. As soon as he walked in, it got quiet. We looked at each other for a second; Scott just nodded and walked away. It was very instinctual. For the first week, I didn't say more than two words to him. At that point, the characters hadn't talked -- there weren't any open lines of communication."
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