Luke Evans likes to remind folks that he is from Wales, not England. After all, both are completely separate countries within the United Kingdom, not to be confused for one and the same. Equally, do not confuse his roles in Immortals and The Hobbit as placing the thespian on the cusp of mass stardom. Sure, he is portraying the Greek God Zeus in Tarsem Singh’s Immortals -- which also stars Mickey Rourke, Freida Pinto, Henry Cavill, Stephen Dorff, and Isabel Lucas. Yet, Mr. Evans insists he still enjoys a good ole fashioned hangout at the local pub.
Parimal M. Rohit: Between Immortals and several other big-name projects, such as The Hobbit, are you ready for stardom?
Luke Evans: It is what it is, and you have to just try to keep it real and keep going to the pub. You can’t get too wrapped up in all that.
PMR: Zeus looks very modern and hip and young. What are you trying to bring to Zeus?
LE: It was a very different take on the King of the Gods. In movie history, when Zeus has been portrayed, he’s been portrayed by Lawrence Olivier, and Liam Neeson quite recently. So Tarsem had to convince me. He gave me the idea, he sold it to me. He said, "If you were a god, why on Earth would you want to be an old, wrinkly, smelly, achy (being) and do very little?" He said, "You'd choose to be young, proud, fit, and if you needed to pick up a sword and fight, you could." It was a mental challenge to think of myself as being the father of Isabel Lucas. That was a very weird thing. But I just thought of my granddad, basically. I just thought, "Well, how did he talk to me as a kid?" I just sort of imbued my granddad -- that’s where I went with it.
PMR: What was it like working with Tarsem?
LE: He has an incredible enthusiasm which I’ve never experienced in a human being, nevermind a director. He’d deliver 150% every single day, and you just felt like you had to try to match it. You always felt like you owed it to him to come to the table with as much passion and energy as he did.
PMR: Tell us about the look of Zeus. Did you feel objectified at all? How do you think you are portrayed in this film?
LE: When you take on a job like this, you know what you are getting yourself into. We had to trust Tarsem and believe he was going to make us look right. I think he managed to do it. I think Tarsem knew he could achieve the right effect if we just let him do it.
PMR: What can you tell us of The Hobbit?
LE: I can’t say much or I’ll be strung up. I’ve been in New Zealand, I’ve done eight weeks of shooting, and I’ve had a break to press for this (Immortals) and Musketeers. I return in three weeks to carry on. It’s an extraordinary experience. I already feel like I am part of a family there.
Relativity Media's 'Immortals' is released on November 11, 2011.
Buzzine
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