SEATTLE — The Dig, a new film streaming on Netflix this week, tells the fascinating story of an historical event in England.
Right before World War II, an excavation lead to the country’s most important archaeological discovery: a ship, buried underground, dating back to the Dark Ages.
Carey Mulligan plays Edith Pretty - the widow who suspected something was buried beneath the mounds on her property. Ralph Feinnes plays Basil Brown, the self-taught archaeologist she commissioned who dug up the remains.
Entertainment reporter talked to them about making the film and working together.
HOLCOMB: "’The Dig,’ for someone who doesn't know, could sound like a big blockbuster with violence and lots of profanity. It is not that at all.”
MULLIGAN (laughing): “No. It's a story about a very famous event in our history about the discovery of a burial ship. It's the story of the people behind that discovery."
FEINNES: “When I read the script, I was pretty ignorant about the details. I didn't know about Basil and Edith. And then I researched it and became completely passionate about the story, Basil, everything about it."
MULLIGAN: “It was incredibly cold when we were filming. It was November in England and we were pretending it was the height of summer. And poor Lily James is wearing a little shirt and shorts and sandals.”
HOLCOMB: "So there are glamour roles, and then there is being buried in the dirt, having dirt in your mouth, bailing water out of a puddle in the dirt. What are your feelings about dirt, at this point?”
FEINNES: “I think if you're an archaeologist, you have to be at one with the dirt. Getting your hands in the dirt is good. At a simple level, gardening is good. When I started lockdown, I was living outside of London last March and I started my own little garden. And that was very rewarding. I put herbs in it, and they grew, and that was even more rewarding."
HOLCOMB: "This is a very superficial question but I'm hoping you can answer it for me because I've always wanted to ask any actor who's worked with Ralph - did you get lost in his eyes?”
MULLIGAN: “Oh my goodness, all the time. It's honestly distracting. Because I've always just loved him as an actor and everything he does, so the idea of getting to play scenes with him was just so exciting - and he was amazing, as you would imagine."
HOLCOMB: “You have done Shakespeare, you have played unforgettable villains, you've done comedic roles, you've played unsung heroes like in this film - is there anything you haven't done yet that you are dying to do?"
FEINNES: "Yeah, a musical with the dance and singing. I mean, don't hold your breath, I'm not the greatest mover. (laughs) You can't always get the ideal project, I don't even know what it is. I just go on a gut feeling and I've been lucky that I've had lots of invitations to great things in the past."
They both deliver excellent performances, but The Dig is a bit like a museum exhibit itself: it never lets audiences get particularly close, but it does contain beautiful pieces of an extraordinary story.
It begins streaming on Netflix January 29.
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