Danielle Macdonald discusses FALLING FOR FIGARO

Umbrella Entertainments latest theatrical release FALLING FOR FIGARO follows a young woman’s tests and triumphs as she pursues her dream of becoming an opera singer. Guaranteed to delight and inspire, FALLING FOR FIGAROs star Danielle Macdonald talks about the films production and faking it til you make it with SBS below.

FALLING FOR FIGARO is in cinemas now, you can find your nearest screening location here

This article excerpt was originally published on sbs.com.au

The impossibly picturesque Scottish village of Luss, resting on the leafy western banks of Loch Lomond, may only be a 45-minute drive from the heart of Glasgow, but you’d easily believe that you were nestled in the bosom of the Highlands.

And so it goes that Danielle Macdonald – the Los Angeles-based, Australian-born star of Patti Cake$ – found herself awestruck by its sun-dappled shores while shooting Polish-Australian writer/director Ben Lewin’s sweet-natured comedy Falling for Figaro.

“Honestly, there was one scene in there where I’m sitting by the lake and I’m wearing this orange jacket. I remember it because it was the most breathtaking sight I’ve ever seen,” Macdonald, with her traditional Scottish surname, recalls. “It looks amazing in the film, but there’s no way they could capture on camera just how breathtaking it was in person.”

Indeed, while her back was to the Loch as an incredible backdrop to a scene in which her former hedge fund manager turned aspiring opera singer Millie has a heart-to-heart with fellow hopeful Max (Fleabag star Hugh Skinner), she couldn’t wait for Lewin to call cut. “Every chance I got, I just kept turning around,” she says. “Wow. It’s a very beautiful place, Scotland.”

An American import, Millie leaves the boardrooms of London and her boyfriend Charlie (Star Trek: Discovery’s Shazad Latif) behind to convince Absolutely Fabulous grandee Joanna Lumley, as imperiously cranky opera coach Meghan, to teach her a thing or two. The grand goal is to compete in career-making competition, Singer of Renown. Which at first puts her in the bad books with Max, who feels she’s treading on his toes. Both of them are subject to a near-continual barrage of colourful insults courtesy of Meghan’s silvered, sharp-edged tongue.

Working with living legend Lumley was a dream come true for Macdonald, a fan. “It’s still crazy to me, honestly, but she’s very warm and welcoming, and so instantly, you just feel connected to her because she brings you in.”

A country mile away from the bullying tactics of her character Meghan, Lumley does, however, share her pointed wit. “She’s so funny and so sharp,” Macdonald says. “Sometimes Hugh and I would sit and just wonder ‘How is she so good?’ She’s never not good. And I was mesmerised by her.”

To read more about Danielles charming experience filming FALLING FOR FIGARO find the full article here

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