The Finest Hours is Disney’s latest live action flick (starring Chris Pine and Holliday Grainger) that retells the story of the 1952 US coast guard rescue of the tanker SS Pendleton after it split apart at sea. With plenty of drama and a pretty epic love story, it’s the perfect watch if ever you find yourself in the mood for a bit of a weepy. We caught up with Holliday to chat all things romance, dating and of course, Chris Pine.

How did you and Chris work on your chemistry before filming? 

We had a rehearsal at the directors Craig Gillespie’s (the director) flat before we started and I really felt like it just sort of clicked into place pretty much straight away. We both fell in love with the relationship between the two characters. It was such a sweet story – they met of the phone, she liked the sound of his voice and the rest was history! I think that the instinct and integrity really shines through and I think that’s what Chris and I really wanted to show.

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I was invited to sit down with Holliday Grainger (The Borgias, Bonnie & Clyde, Cinderella), for a round table interview to promote her upcoming film, Disney’s The Finest Hours.

In addition to Grainger, The Finest Hours also stars Chris Pine (Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, Star Trek Beyond, Wonder Woman), Casey Affleck (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Interstellar), Ben Foster (X-Men: The Last Stand, Pandorum, Warcraft), and Eric Bana (Hulk, Star Trek).

The Finest Hours was directed by Craig Gillespie (Lars and the Real Girl, United States of Tara, Fright Night) with the screenplay written by Scott Silver (The Fighter, 8 Mile), Paul Tamasy (The Fighter), and Eric Johnson (The Fighter), based on the book by Casey Sherman and Michael J. Tougias.

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Holliday Grainger stars as Miriam, the love interest to the young rookie member of the coast guard Bernie Weber (Chris Pine), in Craig Gillespie‘s The Finest Hours. The film is based on a true story of the Coast Guard making a daring rescue attempt off the coast of Cape Cod after a pair of oil tankers are destroyed during a blizzard in 1952.

The English actress talked to us and group of fellow journalists about the filming process, her portrayal of the real-life Miriam, working on her Boston accent, and much more. See what she had to say below.

Geeks of Doom: So would you really ask your boyfriend to marry you?

Holliday Grainger: Yeah if I thought it was right, why not? Oh god, marriage, though, I mean that’s one thing where me and Miriam differ. I don’t know.

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On Tuesday (25) was held the premiere of ‘The Finest Hours‘ in Los Angeles. Holly wore an Elie Saab dress and posed next to co-stars Rachel Brosnahan, Eric Bana and Chris Pine. More than 160 high-quality pictures are available in our gallery:

 

I recently went to a screening of the latest Disney film, ‘The Finest Hours’ which chronicles the true story of the most courageous small boat rescue in Coast Guard history. In February of 1952, one of the worst storms to ever hit the East Coast struck New England, damaging an oil tanker off the coast of Cape Cod and literally ripping it in half. On a small lifeboat faced with frigid temperatures and 70-foot high waves, four members of the Coast Guard set out to rescue the more than 30 stranded sailors trapped aboard the rapidly sinking vessel.

Happily, I also got to interview the four principals in the cast, Casey Affleck, Chris Pine, Ben Foster, and Holliday Grainger, as well as director Craig Gillespie.

First of all, let me tell you about Holliday Grainger, who plays Miriam in the film. She is an absolute wonder. Although she is from Manchester, England, she rocks a Boston accent like no other. Here’s what she had to say about being the central female character in what is very much a man’s world:

HOLLIDAY GRAINGER:  “It was slightly intimidating the first day only because I had literally flown overnight from a job in Wales actually that I was shooting.  So I had arrived on set quite jet lagged, slightly terrified about the accent and everyone had been working with the guys for like two months and so as soon as I walked on site I did feel like I was like a museum piece. Everyone was all eyes on me.  Like here’s a woman, there’s a girl, she’s got lipstick.  She’s like – she’s in heels and a dress, what is this? *laughs* 

So that was slightly scary. But Craig was just so lovely and really, I mean immediately it was just we can try it in lots of different ways, you know, so that kind of took away any kind of intimidation.”

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HOLLYWOOD—Holliday Grainger was destined for a career in show business. Her parents named her after legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday, adding an extra “l” for flourish.

“My parents were on the way to the registry office, and realized they had to come up with a name,” the British born actress recounts. “It was going to be Billie or Mollie. They were like, ‘Mollie sounds like Holliday, so let’s go with Holliday.’”

Grainger got her start early, but it was in acting, rather than singing, that she has made her mark. At age six, she was cast in a BBC comedy drama “All Quiet on the Preston Front.” Other roles followed, but she didn’t get an agent until she was 12. The hazel-eyed beauty has a classic beauty, reminiscent of legendary Hollywood actress Gene Tierney. Her classic look and remarkable acting skills have landed her roles in several notable productions, most notably Lucrezia Borgia in the acclaimed Showtime series “The Borgias.” She also appeared in Mike Newell’s adaptation of “Great Expectations.” More recently, she played one of the vain stepsisters in Kenneth Branagh’s “Cinderella.”

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