Paapa Essiedu had an “out-of-body experience” working with Melissa McCarthy on Genie.
The actor stars as Bernard, a workaholic who attempts to win his family back before the Christmas celebrations with the help of the magical genie Flora in the movie written by Richard Curtis.
“Obviously when you do a movie penned by Richard Curtis you know the script is unbeatable,” Essiedu said on “The Graham Norton Show.” “But then Melissa comes along, rips it up and adds so much. It’s surreal; she is an elite improviser, and I had an out-of-body experience watching her. I had to remind myself to act. It was a great learning experience for me. She is brilliant.”
Genie is a remake of Curtis’ 1991 TV movie, Bernard and the Genie. Curtis explained how he first had the idea to re-write the project soon after it was released.
“Funnily enough, I actually wrote my sort of first draft of this about five years after the original film, and then I let it lie,” the Love Actually screenwriter told Sky News. “And I just thought I would love to do another Christmas movie. So, I took it out and refreshed it in many ways, particularly by having a female genie and moving it to New York. But it’s been in my head for a long time and I always think the best projects are the ones that have had time to stew.”
