GABRIEL BYRNE CONCERNED FOR FISH

Gabriel Byrne’s character in Jindabyne is an excellent fly fisherman, but in real life he’s anything but that.

When director Ray Lawrence tried to give the Irishman some lessons, Gabriel became more concerned for the fish’s life than learning the fine art of the delicate sport.

“They tried to teach me to fish before the film and I kept saying to him, ‘how can you call this lyrical and how can you call it poetic.’ I said, ‘it’s violent.’ You throw this thing into the water and an unsuspecting fish is going by minding his own business going home or doing whatever fish do and the next thing there’s a big hook in his mouth and he’s fightin’ for his life. And he said, ‘well they don’t have central nervous systems.’ I said, ‘how do you know that?’”

With a director’s eye Gabriel suggested they show the fish fighting for it’s life as a metaphor for the film which centers around discovering a dead woman in the river.

“The only real argument I had with Ray is if we’re doing a film that’s literally about life and death, the death of a young woman and the life that continues after her. I said, ‘do me a favor. Just put in a shot of the fish fighting for it’s life on the rock,’ and see whether it cares whether it lives or it dies. Because the fish fought for it’s life for about a minute and then just expired, but it’s eyes and it’s breathing and everything else said to me, ‘this thing wanted to live.’”

Oddly enough the experience has not put off Gabriel from eating fish, but you won’t catch him fishing anytime soon either. Jindabyne opens Friday in theaters.