Peter Sarsgaard on the red carpet

The Toronto International Film Festival continues and Sean Leathong speaks to Peter Sarsgaard on the red carpet about the movie ‘Pawn Sacrifice’.

Sean: “Tell us a little about the character you portray.”

Peter Sarsgaard: “I play a character based on Father Lombardy who was basically his sparring partner, a kind of coach as well. They had played together as kids. And then he became a priest. And so when he went to do this match, he needed someone to practise with — they didn’t have the computers to help them. There’s a little bit of jealousy built into the role.”

Sean: “Talk about the pressure Fischer and Lombardy must have felt at that time.”

Peter Sarsgaard: “The pressure was fuelled by the Cold War. This film is about the nature of genius, it’s about this individual but it’s also about this particular period of time between the U.S. And Russia which is interesting for today.”

Sean: “Tell us about the costume for Father Lombardy.”

Peter Sarsgaard: “Yes, I was very excited. This was my idea actually. I wore a Cassock because I had a Catholic priest in high school — Father Sproule who always wore a Cassock. There was something kind of magical about the outfit so when I brought it up to them they were all very excited. It was a kind of dress and it gave me a lot of options of what to wear underneath it or not wear underneath it as the case may be.”