'Jane Eyre' Stars Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender Find Love Comes Easily

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1659682/mia-wasikowska-jane-eyre.jhtml

Mar 11 2011 6:52 AM EST 2,133

Stars bring Cary Fukunaga's adaptation of timeless tale to the big screen.

By Josh Wigler

There is no Bella without Edward, no Sookie without Bill, and there is certainly no Jane without Rochester.

In "Jane Eyre," the classic literary tale penned by English novelist and poet Charlotte Brontë, readers are thrust into a timeless tale chronicling the turbulent romance between Edward Rochester, the master of Thornfield Hall, and the titular Jane, his governess. The relationship between Jane and Rochester is a brutally complicated affair filled with astonishing lies and undeniable passion at every turn. It's a rollercoaster ride, to say the least, and moviegoers better be ready to strap in tight when director Cary Fukunaga's adaptation of the 1847 novel arrives in theaters Friday (March 11).

Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender have the great honor — and the extraordinary challenge — of bringing these characters to life, as Jane and Rochester respectively, but as they explained to MTV News at the New York City premiere earlier this week, their real-life relationship is nowhere near as dramatically complex.

"We got on really well from the beginning, so it was kind of easy to go from there," Wasikowska said. "The most important thing when you have a relationship that has to be that intense in a film, it's 90 percent being able to get along well and have fun, and I really think we did. We were able to channel that energy into the intensity of the scenes."

It wasn't just their personal chemistry that led the way to a successful dynamic as Rochester and Jane, according to Fassbender. The up-and-coming British actor, who counts the hotly anticipated "X-Men: First Class" and "Prometheus" as two of his highest-profile projects on the board, said that Wasikowska's inherent gifts as an actress made the relationship work.

"She's so talented," he enthused. "She just sort of gets down into the work. She's so disciplined, practical, straight-forward and easy to work with that you just start riffing and it's like playing music. You either sing well together or you don't."

And these two sing so well together that they didn't need to spend any time engaging in team-building exercises to develop their characters' tumultuous relationship.

"We didn't do any exercises, like, 'I am a rabbit, and you are a ... horse,' " Fassbender explained, laughing. "Maybe that's something to use in the future," he managed between laughs. "There's a joke in there somewhere. I have to bring my rabbit to some project!"