Fed: Love scene with Bond girl tough, but someone's gotta do it

AAP General News (Australia)
04-01-2009
Fed: Love scene with Bond girl tough, but someone's gotta do it

By Alyssa Braithwaite, National Entertainment Writer

SYDNEY, April 1 AAP - British actor Nick Frost is more funny guy than suave secret
agent, but he's scored his first love scene with Bond girl Gemma Arterton.

Frost plays ladies man and pirate radio DJ Dr Dave in The Boat That Rocked, the latest
ensemble comedy from Richard Curtis (Notting Hill, Four Weddings And A Funeral, and Love
Actually).

On-screen nudity didn't faze the portly star of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. He
just wanted to make sure he didn't have bad breath for 23-year-old Arterton.

"She was my first love scene so I found myself hiding Tic Tacs around the set because
I didn't want her to break off and think 'ewwww, his mouth tastes weird'," Frost, 36,
told AAP.

"So I brushed my teeth about four or five times and found myself being a bit of a gentleman,
and making sure none of the crew were leering at her.

"I think it's quite important to make her feel comfortable - not that she (needed it),
she's a very confident woman and I think that adds to her burgeoning sexuality."

Set in the swinging 60s, The Boat That Rocked follows the antics of a crew of DJs working
on a ship with a pirate radio station on it, who are intent on bringing rock music to
Britain.

It's men-only on the boat - apart from a lesbian cook - but once a week girls are allowed
to come aboard to get the boat really rocking.

Just another tough day at the office for Frost.

"Well you know, it is tough work," he said with a laugh.

But he concedes: "It's not like I've got blisters on my hands from breaking rocks all
day. She was very soft and smelt nice."

The Boat That Rocked features an all-star cast that also includes Bill Nighy, Philip
Seymour Hoffman, Kenneth Branagh, Rhys Ifans, Emma Thompson and Rhys Darby.

Before filming began, the cast was sent on "boat camp" - five days aboard an old hospital
ship to bond with each other and get used to life on the high seas.

"We had to go and live on it for five days and sleep on the boat and the whole cast
just kind of hung out, and we rehearsed all day, and then we ate together as a group at
night, and drank wine and the merriment began," Frost said.

"It was pretty cool actually, I have a fascination for boats.

"Also you're sleeping in those little bunks and they have to have sides on them, so
you're lying in, like a coffin, which, weirdly enough, gave me a great sense of security."

Frost also managed to make it through the shoot without getting sea sick.

"I have a great sturdy pair of sea legs," he said.

"I suffer from land sickness if anything. I feel quite queasy now."

The Boat That Rocked opens on April 9.

AAP acb/tnf

KEYWORD: FROST (PIX AVAILABLE)

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