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| Q: Watch out that could end up as a review in an ad for the movie. A: [laughing] I feel like Arnold Achwarzenegger right now. [Doing and Arnold accent] "Go see my movie!" Q: As the real star of the movie, what do you now know about having to, as they say, drive the bus, the way a Mel or a Tom does? A: You can't drive without a good supporting cast. Even if yore the lead in a movie, it's ensemble work. It so not about you. Q: Did you know a lot about Brain Helgeland's work before shooting the movie? A: I saw his cut of Payback and really liked it. I didn't realize how talented he was. He's an amazind writer. I was blind to the mastery he smuggled into this movie, a rich heartbeat to the whole film. Q: What mad eyou want to pick up the role that Jude Law almost took in Four Feathers? A: It's a lead role. We've already shot for three months in Morocco, and it was tough, tough, tough, man. It was 18 hours a day, six days a week. It kept me on my toes. We've done the guts of the movie-- the "beard" sequences [Laughing]-- and now we've got another three months to do in London. Gluing on those beards was a nightmare. Q: This film stars the who's who of upcoming actors. Who did you click with? A: The collaboration of filmmakers on this movie is outstanding. Shekhar Kapur, the director, and Robert Richardson, the director of photography, are awesome. My co-star Djimon [Hounsou] ia a beautiful, beautiful guy. I love him. We're really good friends and he's such a wonderful actor. We clicked like brothers. I haven't done as much work with Wes Bently or Kate Hudson yet. Q: Cate Blanchet said she felt like she was in experienced hands with Kapur when he directed Elizabeth. What's your take on him? A: He's very deliberate. He sat us down every day for a month to talk about every niche of every character. His notes for the script are much bigger than the script. He supplies you with the brain for your character so when you show up, you know how to everything. He said "Just leave all the information in the back of your head and draw from it." If you turn up to work for Shekhar, you'd better have stuided the night before. Q: It must have been interesting to be doing Four Feathers for Miramax Films. Didn't Harvey Weinstein pull the plug a few years ago on Calico, a Miramax movie in which you were going to star, because he wasn't sold on you. A: That was about three years ago. Harvey Weinstein didn't want to use me. I guess he didn't want to greenlight it because he didn't think I could bring in the dollars. He didn't know me or anything, ironic isn't it? Q: I bet you and your agents made negotiating very interesting on Four Feathers. A: [Laughing] Yeah, like, [miming cutting a throat] "Remember me?" Q: You were offered the role of Spider-Man, but turned it down allowing Tobey Mcguire to snap it up. Any regrets? A: I think it's going to be a fantastic movie, but they've got the right guy now. Tobey is going to be great and he's got a passion for it, whereas I never read the comics. I'd feel like I was stealing someone's dream. Q: Weren't you also talked about to star in X-Men, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Ride With the Devil, Fight Club and The Perfect Storm? A: They all float by. My agents get so annoyed. Half the time, I tell them, "Just don't bother me with anything unless its really something right." Sometimes I don't even know what's going back and forth between the studios and the agency. I have to be really careful because at this point in my career, people just want to hire me to hire me. They tell you, "You're perfect for any role," even if the guy is divorced with two kids and has been a fisherman for 20 years. I'm like, "I'm 21," and they're like, "That's OK, we can write him younger." Then I'll say, "I'm not right for this role. You're just giving it to me because other people want to use me." You have to stay true to what you think. Q: What's your take on why Americans are taking to Aussies like Russell Crowe, Hugh Jackman and yourself? |