ARTICLES AND INTERVIEWS: 1. Production information It was supposed to be a wild adventure in a far-off country, but when a naive young doctor arrives in 1970’s Uganda – hoping for fun, sun and to lend a helping hand --he finds himself instead on a shocking ride into the darkest realm on earth: the human heart. 2. Into a Dictator’s Heart of Darkness: The Story of THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND How would you respond to the seductive influence of power? Would you bend or forget your own moral code to achieve it? What happens to someone who starts with good intentions and ends up becoming a blood thirsty individual? 3. A Man of Shocking Extremes and Contradictions: Forest Whitaker Portrays Idi Amin There are few names in history as recognizable as Idi Amin. He has joined Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot and Sadam Hussein, among others, in the ranks of dictators who seemingly knew no human bounds. But Amin was also a unique case – a one-time boxer and soldier who climbed his way up from literally nothing, charmed the nation with his vibrant pride and personality and appeared to many to be a newly independent Uganda’s greatest hope for becoming a truly African nation. 4. A Fun-Loving Young Doctor Trapped in a Nightmare: James McAvoy as the Fictional Nicholas Garrigan Just as important as the role of Idi Amin to THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND is the wholly opposite part of the fun-loving young doctor who has no idea what he’s getting into when he agrees to become Amin’s personal physician. 5. Two Women in Idi Amin’s Uganda: Gillian Anderson and Kerry Washington Join The Cast Even before Nicholas Garrigan becomes involved with Idi Amin, he is stirring up the pot – starting a sexual affair with the mission clinic doctor’s beautiful and lonely wife, Sarah 6. Into Kampala: Shooting in Uganda Most of THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND was shot in and around Kampala, Uganda, in a city that has seen more than its share of troubles in recent years, yet today is one of Africa’s most bustling and unique urban centers --built on seven fertile hills and lined with examples of stunning modern architecture. 7. Probing the Scars of The Past: Ugandans Respond to THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND Though he left Uganda in 1979 for exile in Saudi Arabia and passed away in 2003, Idi Amin’s legacy continues to reverberate strongly in Uganda. Nearly every citizen of the country was changed in some way by his rule, so at first, Kevin Macdonald worried about rousing emotions and memories better left untouched. 8. The Facts Behind the Fiction: About Idi Amin’s Uganda THE LAST KING OF A SCOTLAND is a fictional thriller --but behind the suspense lies the very real story of Uganda under the rule of Idi Amin.

Two Women in Idi Amin’s Uganda: Gillian Anderson and Kerry Washington Join The Cast

Even before Nicholas Garrigan becomes involved with Idi Amin, he is stirring up the pot – starting a sexual affair with the mission clinic doctor’s beautiful and lonely wife, Sarah. To play this small but rich role, the filmmakers chose Gillian Anderson, best known for her long-running Golden Globe® and Emmy® Award-winning role as Dana Scully on the hit series “The X Files.” Here, she plays a completely different sort of character – the quiet, jaded wife of a man whose decency and kindness make it nearly impossible for her to face her own unmet desires.

In reading the script, Anderson was intrigued by the chance to get to know more about the mythologized Idi Amin. “I was drawn to the script because you really get to see the Jekyll and Hyde nature of Amin’s character in this story,” she says. “You see both the seductive man who was loved as much as he was feared, and also the angry, delusional dictator who was a dangerous madman.”

She also felt empathy for Sarah’s brief, romantic dalliance with Nicholas. “I think Sarah has grown thirsty for anything from the West, for any kind of new and exciting conversation and so when she meets Nicholas there are immediate sparks,” says Anderson. “But then he goes away to work for Idi Amin and she sees him in a different light.”

Once he is firmly entrenched in Amin’s administration, Garrigan embarks on another, even more illicit and dangerous affair: this time with Kay Amin, one of the polygamous Idi Amin’s several wives. Drawn to her strength and angered by Amin’s harsh treatment of her epileptic son, he turns to Kay for solace as his world begins to fall apart.

Portraying Kay is one of America’s rising new stars, Kerry Washington, who came to attention playing opposite Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles’ wife in the acclaimed RAY and has gone on to star in such films as MR. AND MRS. SMITH and FANTASTIC FOUR. Washington was fascinated by the story of this real-life woman. The real Kay Amin was said to have been a beautiful and bright University student who became Amin’s second wife after a brief affair. Kay’s life ended in mystery when her body was found dismembered in a car trunk – and an investigation suggested that she died during an abortion performed by her secret lover, a Ugandan doctor.

Washington was not only riveted by the story of Kay; she was amazed at the way the script for THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND pulled her into a world she’d never before experienced. “The story is a wonderful historical narrative that is seemingly about very specific historical events in Uganda, but to me is really about human relationships and the consequences these events had on real people’s lives – the very intimate, personal, emotional effects of violence,” she says.

James McAvoy especially enjoyed the complexities of the relationship between his character and Washington’s Kay – which come to a climax when Kay realizes she is pregnant. “It’s not just as simple as two people who fall in love under dangerous circumstances,” he comments. “These are two people who maybe would never even have been attracted to each other had they not both been in dire circumstances and needing a life boat. It’s more than passion for them, it’s survival. And Kerry is the perfect person for the role because she’s so complex as an actress and so versatile and open.”

The chemistry between the two was palpable on the set. “Their scenes together are some of the most sensual I’ve ever seen,” says producer Lisa Bryer.

The chance to film in Africa was also a major factor in Washington’s attraction to the project. “I come from an academic family and background, so being able to throw myself into a completely different socio-cultural experience is what I love most,” she explains. “I really enjoyed familiarizing myself with the complete cultural reality that surrounds Kay and how it informs her emotional reality.”

Throughout the film, Ugandan consultant Charles Mulekwa – a Ugandan playwright who has also worked in the US and is able to bridge both cultures --worked closely with the entire cast to help further immerse them in Ugandan culture and speaking styles. “The first thing I did once I was onboard was talk to the American actors and reassure them about the country and tell them about what to expect here. Then we began to work on accents,” he says. “Both Kerry and Forest had never been to Africa. So they had to learn the difference between American English and Ugandan English. By the time Kerry left, she was speaking African English and Forest learned Swahili very, very well.”

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Into Kampala: Shooting in Uganda
Most of THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND was shot in and around Kampala, Uganda, in a city that has seen more than its share of troubles in recent years, yet today is one of Africa’s most bustling and unique urban centers --built on seven fertile hills and lined with examples of stunning modern architecture.