Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, speak at 2001: A Space Odyssey screening, Sydney, Australia

1 October 2006

Anyone who has even once watched 2001: A Space Odyssey, could be forgiven for thinking the two lead actors, Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood, who portray astronauts Dave Bowman and Frank Poole respectively, mightn’t exactly be the life of the party, were they ever to meet them.

After all, nary a snigger, let alone the merest of smiles, is ever forth coming during their ill-fated deep-space voyage towards Jupiter. Aside from the BBC 12 interview that is, but such theatrics are referred to as spin in today’s post-2001 world.

Were you however to meet Dullea and Lockwood in person, you’d be forgiven for believing they were part of a comedy act. A latter day version of Laurel and Hardy, god help us, piloting humanity one-way through the final frontier. “It’s full of Aussies,” quipped Lockwood, to much amusement, as the actors walked on to the stage at the Orpheum theatre, in the Sydney suburb of Cremorne.

The actors were speaking at a special 2001 event held on the evening of Wednesday 27 September, 2006. The event also included a screening of the seventy millimetre version of the movie. “A very good print, actually,” Dullea told us.

And he was right, not only was the film visually stunning (as always), but the soundtrack really hit the audience in the face also. Never before has the Moon monolith’s electronic scream seemed so shrill, so high pitched, so prolonged.

The pair spoke with Australian film critic David Stratton, and for the most part talked candidly about almost, well everything. The conversation was laced with anecdotes about working with director Stanley Kubrick, and the movie itself.

There were plenty of asides, including discussion on the “science of acting”, with Lockwood insisting improvisation is not an acting method per se. Lockwood also told stories about meetings with people such as Orson Wells, John Lennon, and Neil Armstrong, over the years.

There was little doubt that the pair’s participation in 2001 was a highlight of both their acting careers. And how couldn’t taking part in the greatest movie of all time, not be? Greatest movie of all time?

Lockwood related once meeting someone — possibly not a fan of the film — who told him 2001 was ranked as the thirty-fourth greatest movie ever. “Oh yeah?” Lockwood had retorted, “well, name the thirty-three movies that come before 2001 then.”

If that’s not the greatest comeback of all time, what is?

Originally published Sunday 1 October 2006.