Walter (Ian McKellen) confused on his first day of incarceration in the mental hospital
Walter (Ian McKellen) is trusted to lead his fellow-inmates round the grounds of the
mental hospital
Jim Broadbent (white-coated nurse on the rear left) oversees Walter (Ian McKellen, front
left seated) and his companion (in real life an injured ex-boxer) in the mental hospital
during their Christmas party
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Walter (Ian McKellen) with other inmates at the mental hospital
"The most affecting aspect of filming Walter was working with
mentally-handicapped and physically-handicapped people who were recruited to join the cast
of extras in the hospital scenes. For the first time in their disadvantaged lives, their
handicaps were transformed into invaluable specialties, as far as the film was concerned.
They were brought to London from their hospitals or sheltered housing and in the care of
their nurses stayed in hotels near to the main location in a disused hospital in Liverpool
Road in Islington.
"I was touched by how hard they were prepared to join in the rigours of
filming, how much they enjoyed the lunches with more adventurous menus than they were used
to. Particularly it was overwhelming that Walter was adopted as one of their own and
became their representative and hero even. This atmosphere pervaded the central scenes of Walter,
a daily reminder to the film-makers of our responsibility to tell the truth about the
handicapped." |
