To play Mozart, Will Sharpe had to mine the contrasts of his life and music

LONDON — If determination was immoderate consciousness of extracurricular unit associated with portraying Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart onscreen, Will Sharpe didn’t consciousness it. The actor, 39, accepted the relation of the iconic composer successful “Amadeus” due to the fact that helium was funny successful excavating the antheral underneath the imposing humanities legacy.

“There’s this apocryphal mentation of Mozart that suggests the euphony conscionable fell into his lap,” Sharpe says, speaking connected a caller Friday evening extracurricular London’s Barbican. The histrion is successful the mediate of editing his forthcoming Apple TV bid “Prodigies,” which helium wrote, directed and stars successful alongside Ayo Edebiri, and this was the lone clip helium had available. But it seems fitting that the ever-busy Sharpe would instrumentality a interruption from his ain originative process simply to sermon that of Mozart.

“I thought it was absorbing to imagine: What is that successful reality? What would that consciousness similar time to day? What was his home situation?” helium continues. “Who was helium arsenic a quality being?”

“Amadeus,” written by “Black Doves” scribe Joe Barton, dramatizes the tense narration betwixt Mozart and Antonio Salieri (Paul Bettany). The constricted series, presently airing successful the U.S. connected Starz, is simply a caller adaptation of Peter Shaffer’s 1979 signifier play of the aforesaid name, which successful crook was inspired by Alexander Pushkin’s 1830 “Mozart and Salieri.” Shaffer’s play was antecedently adapted into Miloš Forman’s 1984 Oscar-winning movie “Amadeus,” which starred Tom Hulce arsenic Mozart and F. Murray Abraham arsenic Salieri. Here, Barton expands the communicative implicit 5 episodes, portraying much details of Mozart’s life, including the position of his woman Constanze (Gabrielle Creevy).

Will Sharpe arsenic philharmonic prodigy Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart successful the five-part series.

(Adrienn Szabo)

“It’s not astir the existent Mozart — it’s a fictional mentation of him,” Sharpe says. “So I recovered that I was trying to seizure immoderate essence of who helium possibly was. The main happening was to way him from erstwhile helium arrives afloat of naivety and innocence and optimism and someway effort to curl into the darker idiosyncratic helium is astatine the end.”

Sharpe antecedently collaborated with Barton connected the 2019 British transgression play “Giri/Haji.” He didn’t antecedently cognize Bettany, who was thrilled by the thought of moving alongside Sharpe. Both actors understood the task: to interrogate what drove each antheral to make euphony and wherefore one’s compositions outlasted the other. The bid begins with their aboriginal encounters successful Vienna, wherever Salieri is the tribunal composer and Mozart instantly impresses the emperor (Rory Kinnear) with his undeniable talent.

“Salieri’s predicament is awful,” Bettany says, speaking separately implicit Zoom from New York City. “He can’t recognize wherefore each of this emotion and attraction is being lavished connected this reprobate. There’s thing heartbreaking astir Salieri, astir his self-awareness of being adjacent to greatness, but not great. I thought of him arsenic the antagonist arsenic I was organizing however to play him arsenic I worked connected scripts, but not successful the playing of him successful the scenes.”

He adds, grinning, “Will was cleanable casting. Playing greatness is precise difficult. How bash you play a genius? I deliberation you astir apt request to get a genius to play one, and truthful helium fits the relation precise well.”

Sharpe was formed six months up of shooting the bid successful Budapest successful the summertime of 2024, giving him plentifulness of clip to prepare. He took soft lessons, learned to behaviour an orchestra and listened to Mozart’s music.

“I recovered that rather adjuvant due to the fact that adjacent connected the leafage there’s specified a wide spectrum of aspects to his personality,” Sharpe says. “Some of him is truthful silly, astir juvenile, and past determination are these dark, expansive parts. His music, too, goes from being light-hearted and frivolous and escaped to feeling immense and overwhelming. It was astir trying to wed each of those antithetic parts of him into 1 quality being.”

To hole to play Mozart, Sharpe learned to play piano. “Some of him is truthful silly, astir juvenile, and past determination are these dark, expansive parts. His music, too, goes from being light-hearted and frivolous and escaped to feeling immense and overwhelming.”

(Ebru Yildiz / For The Times)

Sharpe has been successful bands antecedently and could “noodle” thing retired connected the guitar. But classical soft playing was acold much intense. He played arsenic overmuch arsenic imaginable himself during filming, occasionally having to larn a caller opus if the way was switched up astatine the past minute. He had the added situation of playing connected a fortepiano connected set.

“They’re smaller keys and the enactment is truly airy and delicate, truthful suddenly, I was like, ‘Whoa, this is hard capable arsenic it is,’” helium says. “But really I enjoyed that portion of it. That and listening to euphony were some adjuvant successful that they were astir similar meditating connected it without getting excessively successful my head.”

He adds, “Mozart’s euphony was specified an antithetic but invaluable assets to have. It was an existent portion of him, but it’s not similar speechmaking facts. It’s a precise axenic look of who helium was.”

The conducting successful “Amadeus” is not historically close to the 18th period due to the fact that the large show scenes were truthful emotionally indispensable to the narrative. Instead of being wholly mechanical, arsenic it would person been practiced astatine the time, Sharpe and Bettany learned a much modern style.

“The conducting was precise metronomic, whereas modern conducting is truthful overmuch astir look and signing to the orchestra however you privation it to feel,” Bettany says. “There was nary of that backmost then, but that would beryllium ace boring to watch. We got to a halfway constituent wherever determination was immoderate expressiveness.”

The scenes wherever Mozart is starring an orchestra were an accidental for Sharpe to research Mozart’s deeper feelings. “He doesn’t cognize however to work a room,” Sharpe says. “He doesn’t recognize societal norms. So a batch of what he’s trying to explicit is done his music. I was ever looking for: What is the country really about? It couldn’t conscionable be: ‘And present he’s doing his opera.’”

Paul Bettany, left, plays tribunal composer Antonio Salieri, who grows envious of Mozart. (Adrienn Szabo / Starz)

One of the series’ astir pivotal scenes comes aft the decease of Mozart’s son. Both helium and Constanze are grieving, and Mozart writes a portion called “Kyrie,” which Constanze performs arsenic an opera — a cathartic infinitesimal for both. To movie it, the accumulation took implicit Budapest’s celebrated St. Stephen’s Basilica. The histrion was conducting existent musicians, who performed on to playback. Bettany purposefully didn’t perceive to “Kyrie” portion the cameras were rolling.

“This is the archetypal clip that Salieri truly understands what’s happening,” Bettany says. “Mozart has written a portion of euphony truthful beauteous that his woman tin speech to their kid successful eden 1 past time. And Salieri is having a precise antithetic experience, wherever helium realizes God is speaking to this young man. He knows it’s going to destruct him.”

“Paul and I saw the characters arsenic 2 brothers who person a communal begetter successful God, and they some consciousness that they’re being mistreated successful immoderate way,” Sharpe adds. “Salieri thinks that Mozart is getting each the attraction and each the gifts. And he’s truthful pious and yet God neglects him. They person this thought that Mozart is simply a vas for God’s music. But astatine what expense?”

The actors took antithetic approaches to their performances. As Mozart, Sharpe veers dramatically done moments of unadulterated revelry and angst-ridden interior turmoil. Salieri is malicious and conniving, which Bettany disconcertingly says was precise casual to embody. Their dual strategies resulted successful a much explosive and absorbing dynamic.

“Will plays things a batch much accelerated and escaped successful the infinitesimal than I do, and I deliberation that’s astir apt needfully with the types of characters we’re playing,” Bettany says. “Salieri has tons of plans, truthful Paul Bettany had tons of plans. Will had an overarching program and ever a precise wide knowing of wherever helium was successful the story, but helium was capable to beryllium successful the scenes successful a precise playful way.”

Sharpe says the portion took much mentation than erstwhile roles.

(Ebru Yildiz / For The Times)

“In immoderate ways, it took mode much mentation than immoderate different portion I’ve played,” Sharpe says. “But determination was decidedly thing different astir him. He has his ain position and it doesn’t needfully acceptable with however the satellite expects you to operate.”

“Amadeus” arrived astatine a peculiarly engaged clip for Sharpe. He earned an Emmy information for supporting histrion successful a play bid for the 2nd play of “The White Lotus” aft penning and directing the humanities biopic “The Electrical Life of Louis Wain” and directing the British miniseries “Landscapers.” He changeable Jesse Eisenberg’s “A Real Pain” successful Poland successful 2023 and, up of “Amadeus” successful aboriginal 2024, helium starred successful Lena Dunham’s drama bid “Too Much,” successful which helium played an indie musician.

“It surely wasn’t conscious, similar ‘This twelvemonth I’m going to play musicians,’” Sharpe says. “But making ‘Too Much’ was a truly enjoyable, blessed process. I loved moving with Lena. It was inspiring and reassuring to enactment with her. Same with Jesse, erstwhile helium was directing and starring successful ‘A Real Pain.’ Both of them are truthful funny and collaborative, and it helped maine to recognize I could bash that again.”

“Prodigies” came retired of an thought Sharpe had a decennary ago. He imagined a semipermanent couple, 2 erstwhile kid prodigies who had grown up and were present surviving unremarkable lives.

“I started to deliberation astir however I’d emotion to spot a communicative astir relationships and however them getting unneurotic is not the end,” helium says. “It’s not adjacent the archetypal spot of their story. That brought up a batch of questions astir who we’re meant to beryllium and the thought of potential. Are you expected to effort and recognize your potential? It abruptly came unneurotic and I recovered myself being capable to constitute it truly quickly.”

Sharpe hasn’t starred successful thing helium besides wrote and directed since “Flowers,” a two-season bid that besides featured Olivia Colman and Sharpe’s woman Sophia Di Martino. “Prodigies” was changeable successful London past twelvemonth and Sharpe hopes it volition premiere aboriginal this year.

“Prodigies” is Sharpe’s adjacent task for Apple TV, which besides stars Ayo Edebiri.

(Ebru Yildiz / For The Times)

“I’m inactive truthful successful it that I person nary position connected it,” helium says. “I haven’t had immoderate clip to reflect. But I consciousness similar immoderate enactment you’re allowed to bash is amazing. I’m precise grateful for that. And I ever punctual myself of however fortunate that is, adjacent erstwhile it’s stressful oregon you’ve had nary slumber oregon thing happens that forces you to alteration your plans past minute. Even to person the accidental to beryllium solving those problems is specified a blessing.”

Beyond “Prodigies,” determination are different possibilities for Sharpe connected the horizon, including an animated movie he’s presently developing. But helium besides knows helium needs to instrumentality a break. He and Di Martino person 2 children, who are 4 and 6, and balancing his location beingness with his vocation is simply a bully mode to enactment grounded.

“To cognize what you privation to bash adjacent you person to person the intention, but you besides person to capable yourself up,” helium says. “You person to spell and unrecorded your life. And sometimes being distant from the satellite of fabrication is truly healthy.”

Everything Sharpe does comes from a spot of wanting to situation himself. He’s ever seeking unfamiliar territory, whether it’s arsenic an actor, writer oregon director, due to the fact that that’s wherever the large reward is.

“I privation to consciousness similar erstwhile I permission a task I couldn’t person fixed it immoderate more,” helium says. “I privation to cognize I made immoderate benignant of sacrifice. There’s a mentation of that that is precise unsustainable and unhealthy. And arsenic you get older and get much experience, you larn to power oregon bid that a spot more. But if you don’t springiness it your all, you mightiness wonderment if you could person been better. And with thing similar ‘Amadeus’ and the mode his communicative plays out, it felt similar it was close to attack it successful that way.”