British actress Sienna Miller, currently starring in Sky miniseries War, has reminisced to NME about her friendship with George Harrison‘s son Dhani – including a detailed description of the late Beatle’s country estate Friar Park, which she visited in 1996 for Dhani’s 18th birthday party. Watch the full video interview above or on YouTube.
Located in Henley-On-Thames, Oxfordshire, Friar Park is famous for its extensive gardens and neo-Gothic architecture. Harrison bought the property in 1970, immortalising its front lawns on the cover of his solo album ‘All Things Must Pass’ which came out the same year.
“It’s amazing. It’s unbelievable,” said Miller, whose parents knew the Harrisons through her mother Josephine’s close friendship with George’s first wife Pattie Boyd. The Layer Cake star was 14 years old when Dhani turned 18. “It’s very hallucinogenic… They’ve got an amazing underground sort of stalagmite or stalactite cave that you can go into on boats – and there’s a sort of mountainside effect. It’s stunning.”
There was no live music at the party, Miller revealed, but George was “really great” and exuded “cool dad energy”. Of the other surviving Fabs, she said: “I’ve met Paul [McCartney] and I’ve met Ringo [Starr]. Paul was really nice, but then they were all quite nice.”
Miller was joined during the interview by her War co-star Dominic West (The Wire). They play a married couple – West a billionaire businessman, Miller a Hollywood actress – who become embroiled in a high-profile divorce case. Both sides will do whatever it takes to win…
Hey guys, was it fun to play such conniving characters in War?
Sienna Miller: “Yes. It really is, especially when you get on quite well off-set. I think the higher the stakes then the nastier you can be and the more fun you have – unless you really don’t like the person.”
Dominic West: “That’s even more fun!”
Was it difficult to switch back after a scene ended?
DW: “It’s funny because it often is quite difficult if you’re rowing with someone but it wasn’t this time.”
SM: “Maybe we avoided each other after you yelled at me…”
DW: “It certainly didn’t last long but maybe that was because you were six months pregnant!”
Dominic, do you remember shooting the hair metal film Rock Star with Mark Wahlberg?
DW: “[Laughs at picture of himself in the film] Who is she!? We were a sort of Judas Priest tribute band. Steel Dragon! That’s a wig I’m wearing. And Marky Mark at the height of his rapping fame.”
Where did you film the concert scenes?
DW: “I remember going on stage in LA. We came in half-way through a Megadeth concert and they’d got 800 Megadeth fans standing there… and we were shuffled on. Me in a silver leotard. I remember all these Megadeth fans standing there going: ‘Who are these idiots?'”
Steel Dragon’s music wasn’t very Megadeth, was it?
DW: “No, it wasn’t. It was sort of soft heavy metal… And I remember another time when we got delayed and the assistant director said to me: ‘I’m sorry Dominic, we’ve had a bit of a delay because one of our supporting artists’ breasts have exploded!’ So that held things up for a bit…”
Sienna, do you remember the 2008 NME Awards USA?
SM: “Yes, I do. That was a special night because I got to give Mick Jones [of The Clash] an award [for Inspiration]. It was great and I love him. I haven’t seen him for ages but what a dude.”
How did you get to know Mick?
SM: “I think I met him through my friend [actor] Rhys Ifans and then we just had funny nights… That whole decade is a bit fuzzy if I’m honest… but I knew him! I was definitely there.”
Have you ever been to the NME Awards in the UK?
SM: “I don’t believe so… they have a reputation for being quite rowdy? I reckon the UK’s gonna be much more fun. It was quite big, I remember that, and it was on a stage like a theatre. And I imagine the NME Awards here is on tables… Can we come? You have to bring them back. You wear your leotard, Dom.”
What albums do you always go back to?
DW: “‘Rubber Soul’… I got my kids into music through The Beatles and they’ve got a band now and they’re doing quite well. Very much Beatles influenced and we went through all of the albums one after another. I remember ‘Rubber Soul’, maybe because I like the cover.”
SM: “I love ‘Graceland’ by Paul Simon. I’ve got kids who are small and I just never get bored of it. I was tiny when I first heard it. I’ve been playing a lot of [rock supergroup] Traveling Wilburys this summer, too.”
‘War’ airs on Sky and streaming service NOW from October 2
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