Nighy on 'first guinea pig movie'

Interview by Frances Cronin
Newsbeat entertainment reporter

Pirates of the Caribbean star Bill Nighy says his latest movie is the first of its kind and he might be right. Have you ever heard of a team of specially trained guinea pigs saving the world? Newsbeat caught up with him to find out what's behind G-Force and how he feels about starring in Harry Potter.

How did you end up starring in G-Force?

The phone rang in the usual manner and when it's introduced as a Jerry Bruckheimer project you relax. I worked with Jerry Bruckheimer and his team before on the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and that worked out pretty well.

It's the first guinea pig movie the world has ever known so I'm proud to be at the birth of a genre. I was in the very first, and probably I think only remaining, rom zom com (romantic zombie comedy) which was a thrill.

Everything about it was good and there were very cool people attached in the form of Penelope Cruz, Sam Rockwell, Nicholas Cage, and Tracy Morgan.

Do you think there are more guinea pig movies on the way?

If G-Force takes any money at all you might as well get used to the idea because I figure there'll be G-Force 1, 2 and at least 3.

They're cute and they're small and kids like them. The director Hoyt Yeatman's son, came home from school with a guinea pig and said: 'Dad, why are there no guinea pig movies?' So he wrote one and took it to Jerry Bruckheimer and here we are.

It's a 3D movie so if you put the glasses on the guinea pigs will fly round your head.

It's a normal human being movie - live action - and I play a human being and then the creatures are computer generated and integrated into the normal film.

You've also finally got yourself in a Harry Potter film…

Yes I did. I was beginning to worry. I was beginning to feel a tiny bit excluded.

Bill Nighy with G-Force co-star Kelli Garner in California

I think they ran out of English actors. I was the only English actor of a certain age who wasn't in Harry Potter and now I'm in Harry Potter so I'm very happy.

I start filming next week and I've been in for costume fittings and things. I can't tell you too much about it because they do literally, I think they kill me or take my house or something if I tell you anything too much. And for good reasons, so that it all comes as a bit of a surprise.

I grew up with nearly everybody in the movies, I know all of the people in there, obviously because they're part of the English acting community and it's nice to be a part of it.

You're also going to be a cartoon character with Johnny Depp in Rango.

Yeah, Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher… we're all basically reptiles. It's a sort of cowboy cartoon, only we're all creatures instead of humans.

You play a rattlesnake and battle Johnny Depp...

I am a rattlesnake and I have a machine gun in my tail and my job is once more to put the wind up Johnny, which of course is hard to do.

Is he quite good fun to work with?

He's extremely good fun to work with. He's a very, very, very nice man, very funny guy, exemplary to work with and very professional. He's a sweetheart.

Bill Nighy was talking to Newsbeat entertainment reporter Frances Cronin.