Matthew McNulty“Little Ashes” is the indie movie that’s getting a lot of attention and andPop caught up with one of its stars, Matthew McNulty, to talk about the movie, his role and Robert Pattinson.

The film takes place in 1920’s Spain (pre-Spanish Civil War) and focuses on the real-life friendship of eccentric artist Salvador Dalí (played by Robert Pattinson), famed poet and revolutionary Federico García Lorca (Javier Beltrán), and renowned Spanish filmmaker Luis Buñuel. But most importantly, “Little Ashes” tells the untold love story of Dalí and García Lorca.

In the movie, McNulty plays Buñuel and he says co-starring in this production was almost a no brainer. “The fact that it’s Luis Buñuel first and foremost and I think when an opportunity like that comes along, I think it’s stupid to turn it away,” he says.

Still, McNulty admits doubting at first that he could pull off playing the film icon, partly because he was cast three weeks before the shoot and had limited time to research the part, but mostly because of the physical differences between Buñuel and himself. “He’s you know, the big athletic boxer type and I’m this skinny white English guy,” the Manchester-born actor shares. “So ya, I had big fears just cause of the fact that I was playing this iconic figure, but also the fact that I’m an English actor playing a Spanish icon.”

Having such little time to develop a complex character made McNulty turn to his best source: the script. “I didn’t really have time to research in a way that I usually would,” McNulty tells. “So I sort of went with the script really…I was so engrossed in it that I thought ‘I’ve got to be a part of this.’ ”

And when Mcnulty first met his co-stars, “Twilight’s” Pattinson and Spanish-native Beltrán, he was slightly intimidated and just hoped he wouldn’t be the “weakling” among the trio. “I met Rob and Javier and they seemed perfect,” he says. “Javier just looked exactly like Lorca and Rob was just I mean, he just looks amazing anyways in himself.”

But is Pattinson a good scene partner? McNulty reveals, “He’s great, the three of us had a massive level of focus and you know, I kind of got that from them, from Javier and Rob.”

The three historic artists were close friends in real life and McNulty says pulling off an authentic friendship on screen was quite simple. “We spent a lot of time together,” he says. “So you know, we had to build up a good relationship anyways and you know, personally…Rob and Javier are such nice guys anyways and we did click so it was easy to portray that for us.”

Filming in Spain also helped them get into character and see a whole different side of the country. “I’ve been to you know, like the typical British holiday resort,” McNulty says. “But I’ve never seen it from a Spanish point of view which is the great thing about being an actor, you get to do these things.”

The 26-year-old admits the film was also a learning experience for him. “The whole period was a massive change throughout Europe and people’s way of thinking was changing so ya I learned a hell of a lot…it kind of opened my eyes to a lot of stuff I didn’t really know about…These three guys, they started off so many different trains of thought and you know, with Buñuel, he created his own genre of film.”

McNulty also admits he had no idea there would be so much hype surrounding “Little Ashes.” “I knew it was a good film, so I hoped that it would be seen in the cinemas, that was the initial hope for the film,” he shares. “Just the fact that it would be seen on the big screen rather than just straight to DVD, so I think the fact that Rob was involved definitely opened up a lot of doors.”

His next big screen release is a starring role in a Cannes Film Festival Official Selection movie called “Looking For Eric,” which tells the story of a football fanatic postman. The British actor also hopes to make his American film debut very soon.

But in the meantime, why should people watch “Little Ashes?” McNulty explains. “For Rob Pattinson,” he jokes. “Just to broaden their horizons and learn a bit about something they don’t know, as well as being completely engrossed in a tragic story”.

“Little Ashes” opens in Toronto on May 22






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