RAY STEVENSON

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Ray Stevenson at the premiere of “Thor” in Hollywood.

Ray Stevenson definitely has presence. First of all, the actor is 6’4”. Then, there’s the personality which is just as big and hearty. The Englishman (who now lives in of all places, Ibiza – more on that later) is gregarious and charming, while at the same time being every bit of manly man in the vein of fellow UK’ers, Sean Connery and Clive Owen.
Stevenson has come a bit late to the star party – but he’s fine with that. His most recognizable role to date was as everyman Titus Pullo, in the series “Rome” on HBO which reached an untimely demise after only two seasons. This weekend, he debuts as Volstagg in “Thor” – Marvel’s bid to open up summer with a superhero bang and tease us since later this year they’ll be offering up the likes of “X-Men First Class” and “Captain America: The First Avenger” not to mention “Spiderman” and “The Avengers” in 2012. In “Rome” we were given a birdseye view of Stevenson top to bottom; in “Thor” it’s a different story. He’s not only wrapped up in a fat suit – he’s virtually unrecognizable in a throng of red hair and matching beard. Volstagg is based on Shakespeare’s Falstaff, a jolly character and trouble maker; which is a bit ironic, as the next time we’ll see Mr. Stevenson, he’ll be playing Porthos is “The Three Musketeers”…another character known for his comedic – not to mention – mischievous ways with a love of wine, women and song. Here the actor talks about his co-star Chris Hemsworth, living outside the confines of Hollywood and the twist of fate that got him the Porthos gig with Paul W. S. Anderson.
The Wall Street Journal: You just saw the film for the first time on opening night.
Ray Stevenson: The red carpet was huge! It took an hour and a half just to get down it. And I loved the film – it reminds me of the movies I used to go see as a kid. It doesn’t set itself up to send a message or be politically correct; it’s Thor!
What are your thoughts on Mr. Thor himself?
Chris Hemsworth is just blinding. You never lose absolute belief that he’s Thor. It’s such a fine line, it could be so hammy but he plays it with such aplomb and such passion.
Plus he’s pretty.
Well, I don’t see it myself…no, he’s gorgeous and he’s the real deal.
I would imagine that you’re usually the biggest guy on the set in terms of stature.
Well I was in my fat suit!
But in this film you had someone comparable in Chris [who stands at 6’4” as well].
Plus the fact he’s ripped, lumps on lumps. That’s a man’s view – lumpy. He worked so hard to get that body. And it’s not L.A. cut – there’s nothing aggressive about it – the body had to have an epic, heir apparent persona. There’s a great theatrical quality to it.
Well this film is pretty epic.
Most films are about 10,000 feet of film. Guess how much we shot? 300 miles of film under Ken’s (Branagh) direction. A great director. I’ve got one word to sum up Ken: He’s fierce. He’s fiercely loyal to his cast and crew, and fiercely passionate and enthusiastic about a project…and furthermore, he will fiercely defend against anything that might compromise the integrity of his project.
“Rome” is the role you’ve become most famous for.
Basically it changed my life – I learned how to get out of my own way…Pullo taught me a hell of a lot. [It was like] This is where the gods put you and this is the life you’re having, rather than focusing on why I didn’t get a particular role…or focusing on the career you think you should be having and missing on the career you are having. That’s another reason I don’t live out here – [acting] it’s looked at almost as a competitive art – but it’s not a competition. Plus people don’t want to leave L.A. because they are worried about missing out on something – what are you going to bring to people you’re playing if you don’t explore? You’re bringing L.A., and end up going to the opening of a crisp packet. I’m breaking a lot of glass ceilings building a career in my 40’s and not living in L.A., but it seems to be alright. I’m a gypsy – I’m always traveling on a shoot or something. My girlfriend and I (and their two sons) live in Ibiza…
What? Who lives in Ibiza?
Somebody’s got to be there to turn the lights and the sound system off at the end of night!
You’re playing Porthos in your next film “The Three Musketeers.” Wikipedia describes him as the ‘extrovert of the group, enjoying wine, women and song.’
But he’s also a brute. Let me give you a little background on this…I was coming to the end of Thor – four months in a fat suit.
Heavy.
50 lbs. But we’d pretty much wrapped and I was getting ready to head back to Europe. One night I get the most excruciating tooth ache of I’ve ever had and they ended up having to extract it so I couldn’t fly and had to stay in L.A. for an extra week. During that time my agent called and told me there wasn’t really anything in “3 Musketeers” for me but asked if I want to come over for a general and just meet. Which we did, and then off I went…and the next day my agent called and said “What did you do? They’re offering you Porthos.” All that because of a toothache.
The costumes for the film look incredible.
Absolutely they were. One last story about this film. Our costume designer Pierre-Yves (Gayard) is a beautiful man …but a little nervous quality to him – but his work is just architecturally stunning. At one point about two thirds through the movie, he sort of gingerly approached Paul and said “I have a problem…I don’t know how I have time to get the material from Paris for the 100 nuns on the Duke of Buckingham’s ship.” And Paul says “What hundred nuns?” They check the script and there was a typo…it was supposed to be a hundred guns.