"My theory on this film," says Broadbent, "is that it's all in the genre of Tintin. You've got this nutty English eccentric who's blown up on the shores of Mexico, but his role in the drama is pretty crucial because he's the catalyst that draws Myra into the world of Mayan magic and helps, in a bizarre kind of way, to lead this young Californian girl towards love and her final destiny."
"He's also," adds Broadbent with a certain glee, "fairly ruthless, prepared to do anything for a bit of a profit. He's not a very ethical man."
Jim Broadbent came up through fringe theatre in England, starring in Ken Campbell's twelve hour epic "Illuminati" before gradually moving into TV and movies. In recent years, he has been seen in such highly-regarded British films as "The Crying Game", directed by Neil Jordan, "Enchanted April" directed by Mike Newell and "Life is Sweet" directed by Mike Leigh. Recently Broadbent starred in "The Wedding Gift", opposite Julie Walters, and in "Princess Caribou", opposite Phoebe Cates and Kevin Kline.
His relationship with Leigh led to Leigh directing a short film Broadbent wrote, "The Sense of History", the first time that Leigh had directed anyone else's work. The film was shown on Channel 4 in Britain, on Bravo in the US and at film festivals around the world, including the New York Film Festival. Broadbent is currently working on another script collaborating with British Comedy writer John Wells on the adaptation of Laurence Sterne's classic novel, "Sentimental Journey"
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