'Passionada'

Love Blooms in New Bedford 

(Published on July 11, 2001)

By Robert Lovinger, Standard-Times staff writer

Photography by Jack Iddon, Standard-Times chief photographer

(click on each photo to view caption)

NEW BEDFORD   This -- taking a role in a romantic comedy set in New Bedford -- was not what Jason Isaacs had in mind. Only a few weeks ago, he was contemplating England and home. After five arduous months in Morocco, on the set of "Black Hawk Down," director Ridley Scott's Somalia war film, shooting was completed. "There was going to be an actors strike, and I was going home. The next thing I know, the streets are cobbled, and I'm in Massachusetts, playing a card sharp ," Mr. Isaacs said recently, at the end of a long day on the set of "Passionada." In the Dan Ireland-directed tale of three generations of Portuguese women, Mr. Isaacs is playing Charles Beck, a professional gambler in need of emotional rescue. "This is the last thing I thought I'd be doing," said the 38-year-old, whose piercing, blue eyes are among the attributes contributing to his rising stock as a dreamy, sought-after leading man.

Witness the blossoming of fan Web sites based in the United States, England, France, Russia, Brazil, Australia and beyond. His soft voice and refined British accent gently overlay a dry and cutting sense of humor. "All my plants are dead. My gas is cut off," he said. "But Paul called." Paul Bernard, "Passionada's" co-executive producer, worked with Mr. Isaacs on "The Patriot," in which the latter played the villainous British Col. William Tavington. Mr. Bernard and the rest of the production's principals were scrambling to replace David O'Hara, who'd been let go over those always-pesky "artistic differences." "(Mr. Bernard) told me it was a lovely feature and that I would get to fall in love with a fabulous woman," Mr. Isaacs offered, shrugging as if to say: How could I turn it down? Mr. Bernard e-mailed the script and the actor quickly agreed to come to the Whaling City. In "Passionada," Mr. Isaacs' character finds love and redemption in Celia Amonte, an Azorean immigrant widow, seamstress and fado singer played by Sofia Milos. "So, I'm in Morocco, in this grueling, all-male environment, reading this incredibly sweet story about these women and this city and its Portuguese community," he said. He began to feel that "Passionada" would be "the perfect antidote" to the exhausting experience of making "Black Hawk Down." Understandably nervous about coming in to replace an actor who'd been fired, Mr. Isaacs has been warmly welcomed. Mr. Bernard conceded that he, too, was a bit anxious before Mr. Isaacs arrived, "because I was the one who said: I can get Jason Isaacs." "He has brought professionalism and humor to the set," Mr. Bernard said. "There was a kind of very tense feeling before. He's brought us to another level." "He runs to the set," Mr. Bernard enthused. "He's taken this from being a good, independent film to a great mainstream movie. When you get an actor like him, you have to set your sights higher." "It's a fabulous work atmosphere," Mr. Isaacs said. "It's a happy story, and the people making it are really enjoying it."

The actor is having a very busy 2001. Already, "Passionada" is one of six movies he has made or is scheduled to make this year. Before "The Patriot," he played Father Smythe in "The End of the Affair." "Actually that's the second priest I've played. One more and they give you the collar," he said with a broad smile, adding playfully that his Jewish parents are quite pleased. (Mr. Isaacs played Father Tonarini in 1998's "The Last Don II.") Although he has no SouthCoast connections, the Liverpool native hopes to see friends in Boston and a brother in New York City while he's in the United States. In the meantime, would someone back in the UK mind watering Mr. Isaacs' plants.

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