Amy Winehouse’s dad Mitch mocks his portrayal in late daughter’s biopic
AMY Winehouse’s dad has mocked his portrayal in an upcoming film about his late daughter’s life.
Mitch Winehouse, 72, said he sent the first script back because it made him out to be a saint, and joked that the actor playing him, Eddie Marsan, 54, wasn’t very attractive.
He told the Mail on Sunday: “I told my friend that Eddie was playing me and he said – excuse my French – ‘Eddie f***ing Marsan! He’s not very good-looking.’ I said, ‘I know – I wanted George Clooney!’”
He also told of clashes with director Sam Taylor-Johnson, saying: “I sent the first script back. It made me look like a saint – like I should be knighted. It was too much.”
Filming for Back to Black began in London last month but fans were concerned that Amy Winehouse actress Marisa Abela, 26, did not look like her and could not match her voice.
Mitch said: ‘When Marisa started, I said to the producer, “But she can’t sing.” And she replied, “She’s having lessons’”.
He added: “She’s a lot better.”
Director Taylor-Johnson was one of Amy’s friends and Back To Black is seen as a counterbalance to the 2015 documentary Amy, which showed Mitch in a poor light.
But Amy’s mum Janis, 67, has said the film has reopened painful memories of her ex-husband’s long-running affair.
She also complained at how she was being portrayed by EastEnders star Juliet Cowan.
She said: “I was horrified. I’ve been made to look like a doormat.
“I’m shown as a feeble, tired woman, slouching on the couch. When Amy was growing up, I was a hard-working, outgoing single mother studying for two university degrees.”