MEP to ‘keep day job’ despite Cannes win

Date: 30/05/02

By Martin Banks

A FINNISH MEP who appears in the film which won the coveted Grand Prix at Cannes says he has no plans to compete for future roles with the likes of Russell Crowe or Harrison Ford.

Matti Wuori insists the success of The Man Without A Past at the famous French film festival last Sunday will not go to his head and that he will be sticking to his regular work as a deputy and lawyer.

However, European Voice can reveal that rugged-looking Wuori had already turned down several previous roles before accepting a part in the film.

Admittedly, he did not have to work too hard to master his 15-minute part in the movie: he plays a sharp lawyer in the story of a man who gets beaten to death but comes back to life.

He landed the role, in which he is seen bailing out a client at a Helsinki police station, thanks to his friendship with the film's cult director, Aki Kaurismäki.

The 56-year-old bachelor, who has been an MEP since 1999, confirmed he had rejected previous invitations to appear in Kaurismäki's films because of work commitments.

'This one seemed too good to turn down, though, so I jumped at the chance,' he said. 'It's only a relatively small part but it was quite an experience all the same.'

The Grand Prix is usually awarded at Cannes to the film showing the greatest originality. After the Palme d'Or - won this year by Roman Polanski's The Pianist - it is the second most important prize at the festival. The lead actress in The Man Without A Past, Kati Outinen, was named best actress for her portrayal of a Salvation Army officer.

The Cannes jury, led by David Lynch, were impressed by director Kaurismäki's trademark laconic humour and his sensitive portrayal of the harsh realities of homelessness and unemployment.

His friend Wuori, who is also a writer in his spare time (he had a book called Deck Chairs of the Titanic published), had no previous acting experience before taking the part.

And despite the film's critical success, he has no immediate plans for a career change. 'It was fun but I will be sticking to the day job for now,' he said.

Asked which actor had most impressed him at Cannes, Wuori answered without hesitation that it was one of his co-stars in the film: a mongrel dog called Tahti.

His four-legged friend, who features as an overly friendly watchdog called Hannibal, was the winner of this year's unofficial 'Palme Dog' prize for the best canine performance, said Wuori.

His all-time favourite human actor is the British star Sydney Greenstreet, whose debut film also won him acclaim: he was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of the ruthless Kasper Guttman in The Maltese Falcon, the 1941 film noir which made Humphrey Bogart a household name.

Wuori, a former president of Greenpeace and human rights campaigner, joins several other MEPs who have appeared on stage and screen.

Socialist Michael Cashman played gay 'yuppie' Colin Russell in the long-running British soap EastEnders, while actress-turned-MEP Raina Echerer has appeared in many theatre productions and films in her native Austria.

EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy appeared in the recent Brad Pitt and Robert Redford Hollywood blockbuster, Spy Game, playing himself.

The movie features brief TV news footage of the Frenchman entering a building in Beijing.

Finnish MEP Matti Wuori appears in the film which won the 2002 Grand Prix at Cannes.