Cliff Notes – Mamma Mia star ‘hated’ it so much the camera actually avoided them
- Christine Baranski revealed that Stellan Skarsgård, along with Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth, disliked the dance scenes in the Mamma Mia films, with the camera often avoiding Stellan during these moments.
- Baranski shared that director Ol Parker had to coax Skarsgård into performing a close-up dance scene in the sequel, leading to humorous expletives from the actor.
Mamma Mia star ‘hated’ it so much the camera actually avoided them
Christine Baranski has lifted the lid on the Mamma Mia franchise, revealing one of her A-list co-stars ‘hated’ the shoot.
The first Mamma Mia film hit the big screen in 2008, and was an adaptation of the iconic stage show, directed by Phyllida Lloyd.
It commanded a huge cast, including Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Amanda Seyfried, Dame Julie Walters, Stellan Skarsgård and many more.
The flick followed bride-to-be Sophie (Amanda) as she invited three of her mom Donna’s (Meryl) former flings to her wedding in Greece, in the hopes of finally discovering the identity of her father.
During an appearance on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the Good Wife actress shed light on her experience and how the camera actually tried to avoid Stellan during the scene where the cast danced to Abba’s Dancing Queen.
‘I don’t think he’ll mind my saying this but all three actors – Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgård – they just hated having to do the dance stuff,’ she told the host.
‘Pierce was game, he would skip down the hill multiple times doing Dancing Queen. This was James Bond. I think Colin Firth meant all of his moves ironically.
‘But Stellan hated it. We finally went down the hill in Dancing Queen and landed on the dock, then it was the end of the number. The camera would move around and it usually would avoid Stellan.’
In both films, Stellan starred as Swedish author Bill Anderson, one of Donna’s former flames.
However, in the 2018 sequel, director Ol Parker attempted to pull the Andor star out of his shell for a close-up scene – something the actor was less than thrilled about.
Christine laughed: ‘Finally, Ol Parker, this wonderful dear director, he said: “Stellan, it’s time for your close up. You have got to do the moves now – you have simply got to do the moves!”
‘He let out with a string of expletives. It’s as though Ol had asked him to do Arabic poetry while jumping rope. He was like I can’t do that!”
‘He did it. It was so funny. I love Stellan, he’s just the greatest. He’s a wonderful actor, and he was a great colleague.’
Christine heaped praise on her ‘wonderful’ colleague
The first movie was a huge success and grossed $611million worldwide, with the follow-up also proving to be a smash hit.
Although it has been seven years since the sequel first blessed our lives, producer Judy Craymer sent fans into meltdown when she teased that a third movie will eventually release as it was ‘meant to be a trilogy’.
Details have since been fairly thin on when we could expect another visit to Greece, but Christine – who played Tanya in both films – shared that Judy had outlined the plot.
We are so ready to visit Greece again
‘I was in London with Judy Craymer at our favorite watering hole, she is planning Mamma Mia 3. She gave me the narrative plotline of how it’s going to happen. That’s all I can say,’ she told the Hollywood Reporter last year.
‘But, it’s not like, “Oh, I wish it could happen!” Judy Craymer makes things happen. She made number two happen, and it was a phenomenal hit. I wouldn’t put it past Judy Craymer to get everybody back together.’
‘It’s just the kind of movie that makes people happy,’ she added. ‘Mamma Mia made so many millions of people around the world happy. Is it a little dumb, a little campy? That’s part of its charm.’