Godsend (2004)

Nick Hamm built his career in the theater where, among his many successes, he had been resident of the Royal Shakespeare Company and British Artistic Director of the highly acclaimed Sadler’s Wells Theatre Company. With this background it should surprise no one to learn that Nick Hamm had a healthy regard for rehearsal.

Hamm gathered the cast, producers and screenwriter together for an intensive rehearsal process in the period before Godsend went to camera. Bomback also participated and reflects: “Each of the actors had great ideas for the characters and this time together took the work to that next level.”

“We’re very lucky to have rehearsal time, all of us together, even our movie son,” comments Rebecca Romijn-Stamos. “Just playing everything out and seeing how it feels, what feels right and natural, and really getting to know each other. I really love the rehearsal process. Once you get to the day of shooting everything gets chaotic and crazy so it’s really nice to have this calm time to work through the character and find the heart of the movie.”

“We explored a lot of different scenes and ideas,” comments Greg Kinnear. “In the rehearsal process Nick really wanted to find what the emotional core was for this couple and what it was they were going through and struggling with.”

The energy of the rehearsals was heightened by the participation of Robert De Niro. Each person in the room shared a great admiration for his iconic performances in some of the greatest movies of their generation. “At the end of the day, it’s true that good actors are good actors,” says Kinnear. “But Bob is an amazingly gifted and talented actor. He’s a remarkable professional and an incredibly kind man. To have the opportunity to work with him, to play off of his skill and to learn from him, I rank as one of my exceptional experiences.”

Romijn-Stamos readily agrees: “He’s phenomenal. It’s just so amazing watching his process while you’re working. Watching and seeing why he does certain things - I’m constantly learning from him and it’s always amazing.”

Rehearsals continued right through the production. In any free moment on the set - as lights were adjusted, as cameras were repositioned, Hamm and the cast took the opportunity to further explore the scenes and characters.

While the extraordinary cast individually and collectively shaped their characters and brought great input to the film, it was Hamm at the helm once the cameras rolled. “Nick knows exactly what he wants,” says Kinnear. “He comes from an enormous theatre background and is very gifted in working with actors. Nick always knows what buttons to push. He has great clarity about each scene and the underlying themes – a clarity that for an actor is incredibly encouraging. He’s also a very strong presence in terms of driving the show. Because this movie was not shot in a lot of days, it needed a ringleader. We got one in Nick.”

In the midst of his tasks as ringleader, Hamm never lost focus of the story and the strengths of each of his stars. Collaboration was as common during those furtive moments shooting on location as they were during early rehearsal time. Each of these strong actors had contributed greatly to the foundation of their characters and felt a vested interest in the sustained integrity of the production.

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