| Facing the Death Dealer - FEARSmag Chats With Kate Beckinsale. |
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| Saturday, 21 January 2006 | |
 Reported by Joseph
B. MauceriBritish actress Kate Beckinsale first gained notice in the U.S. as the heroine of John Schlesingerís ìCold Comfort Farmî and subsequently appeared in Kenneth Branaghís ìMuch Ado About Nothing,î Whit Stillmanís ìThe Last Days of Disco,î Jonathan Kaplanís ìBrokedown Palace,î and in the British comedy ìShooting Fish.î In 2001, Beckinsale starred opposite Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett in the Disney epic ìPearl Harbor.î She has also starred opposite John Cusack in ìSerendipity,î and opposite Christian Bale and Frances McDormand in the ensemble drama ìLaurel Canyon.î Her Recent film appearances include starring opposite Hugh Jackman in ìVan Helsing.î Reprising her role of Selene from the 2003 ìUnderworld,î Beckinsale once again dons her latex suite, contacts, and fangs to take on vampires and lycans in her husbandís, Len Wisemanís anticipated genre action sequel UNDERWORLD: EVOLUTION. FEARS: How involved were you with the genre before this started? Beckinsale: Not so much. I was very much into action movies. I think itís a symptom of having had a child quite young, and not being able to get a babysitter very often and get your adrenaline rush from watching people leap off tall buildings, so I really enjoyed that. I wasnít so much of a fantasy/horror, but I read the script more as an action movie that had a backdrop of that vampire-werewolf stuff. FEARS: Looking back at how you got involved in this, do you know why Len ended up casting you as Selene?  Beckinsale: I think what convinced him was a movie I did called ìLast Days of Discoî where I actually was quite bitchy, and he saw something that he responded to. Once heís seen something and decided something, he does have confidence in it. Now that he knows me better, he realizes what a gigantic acting stretch it actually was, because Iím such a girly girl. He now finds it quite amusing. FEARS: Did you contribute much to the character or the script on this film? Beckinsale: Iíve never been involved with a movie from the moment itís a germ of an idea right through the whole editing process and the special effects, so it was a great thing for me. Right when we started to talk about story, I was definitely a part of that. I wasnít like a Yoko Ono sort of controlling thing going on, but I was definitely consulted and involved. I couldnít not be really, since it was all taking place in my living room most of the time. I really wanted if we were going to have a second strike at it to open up Seleneís character a little bit, so I was glad that was what Len had in mind, as well. FEARS: Do you think that youíve been able to improve on anything from the first movie? Beckinsale: Yeah, it was a difficult job, acting-wise, the first movie, because what youíre trying to achieve with that character is that basically the whole thing is sold on her being this bad-ass Death Dealer, but sheís actually quite low on the food chain. Above her is Craven, and above that is Victor, and sheís always a little bit subordinated. In a movie like ìBladeî or ìTerminator,î theyíre not usually below 17 other people, having to tow the line all the time. It was actually quite difficult to make her as strong as a character, and at the same time, not overbalance where her role in the pecking order was. This time it was a little bit easier, just because Selene and Michael have struck out much more on their own, and you do get a little bit more of a sense of whatís happening. In the first film she was wrong most of the way through it and confused. That is actually fun for an actor if the character has to take an about-face. FEARS: How much is a genre film like this elevated by actors such as Bill Nighy and Derek Jacobi, who are hugely respected actors? Beckinsale: I think thatís what we wanted the first time around. Thatís why we had Michael Sheehan and Bill, because obviously, with vampires, you really have an opportunity to cast people that could be believable as having been around for hundreds and hundreds of years. I think that you do need people who have a certain weight and gravitate to them. I do think it makes a difference. I think itís nice that not everybodyís got his or her own MTV SpecialÖ just me. FEARS: Given that we only see you in this one costume throughout the film do you find wearing the suit oppressive? Beckinsale: Itís actually an extremely comfortable costume, surprisingly enough. I think you do panic a bit when you have latex for several months ahead of you and thereís not a scene where she gets into sweats. It gives you a little gasp, but it tends to hold everything together and stop it moving. FEARS: What was the toughest scene or stunt to shoot and did you have to do a lot of that stuntwork yourself? Beckinsale: Yeah, I did. There was one scene where Len originally wanted me to jump off a cliff, and I think just the sheer panic of killing his wife pulled that one. Most of the others stuff was the same as the first one, where I was allowed to do it. Len likes all his actors to do as much as we can, because itís more interesting for the audience to see us risking life and limb. We have this brilliant stunt team, so it really didnít feel unsafe. Whatíll happen is that everyone gets very geared up for when you have to do a big jump or a big wire stunt or something, and the times you hurt yourself is when youíre turning a corner in a corridor. I think the first punch I through, I hit the side of the camera and it really hurt.  FEARS: Speaking of stunts, how tricky is it for you to do a love scene in front of your husband? Beckinsale: It wasnít too bad. We were able to block out the moves together, obviously, because Len was allowed to touch me at home. I let him do that occasionally! We sort of put it off a bit, because Scottís become quite a family friend, so I think it would have been easier to do something like that with somebody you havenít had 4th of July barbecues with. We kept postponing it until the following week, and actually, when we came down to it, Len and I were all right, and Scott was just tortured. I think it was much worse for him. Heís the one who has the ìmovable part.î FEARS: There were a few back scenes that show Selene as a little girl. Were you surprised that the character could ever be so innocent? Beckinsale: The interesting thing is that I donít think anyoneís born tough. I think you learn tough, for whatever horrible reason. For me, thatís always been in the back of my mind, but itís nice to have actually been able to share it. FEARS: The young actress Len found to play the young Selene is an excellent match. Beckinsale: Thatís actually my little girl! FEARS: How was her first time working with Mom and Dad on set? Beckinsale: We were quite worried because we didnít think she would take either of us that seriously as authority figures on the set. It would just be like a situation like trying to get her into her snowsuit, which is like ìNo, I wonítî and everybody would be terribly embarrassed. And she suddenly became highly profession to the point of even asking Len to call her ìSelene,î which is really cute, because I certainly donít insist on being called ìSeleneî so she didnít get that from me. FEARS: As a result, is there another actor in the house? Beckinsale: No, the plan actually worked quite well. I think the lure of the donuts on the craft service table in the beginning was a big attraction, but the sheer boredom of having to do a scene over and over again has changed her mind and she now wants to be a writer. FEARS: How hard is it for you to drop the work once you go home, especially since youíre married to the director? Beckinsale: Yeah, itís more difficult. Still, I donít ago around biting people or getting rough with folks, and I havenít been banned from my local Savings Barn for elbowing people in the throat constantly. But itís especially difficult when youíre part of a script, and it can be quite an organic process where you have to tweak things as you go along. It was tiring because I found that I didnít have more involvement in scenes that I wasnít in. Itís actually not too bad. This is a character that Iím quite familiar with. I think actors always like to think they donít bring the character home, and then their family all laugh, even though theyíll tell you otherwise. But I donít feel too much like that. FEARS: What might be in store for Selene if another sequel happens? Beckinsale: I think when Len and Danny McBride sat in their room scraping together as many coins as they could to go to Subway, they planned on three, never thinking that any of them would ever happen. I think they always conceived that the third one would be some sort of prequel set in medieval times, and I donít think Iíd be invited to that. I think it all depends on people actually going to see this film. FEARS: Is Len planning on a trilogy?  Beckinsale: Heís not, but people are talking about it a lot. I donít want to completely speak on his behalf, but Iím going to anyway since heís not here, I think he would love the opportunity to not just be doing creature movies. In can be very oppressive, considering that he likes to do things so practically. Having a guy in a 6-foot rubber wolf suit is tough going. Heís this guy walking around the house wearing a cloak and fangs, but it just so happens that he started his directing career with Underworld. FEARS: If they did a third film do you really think they would go forward without you? Beckinsale: I think that would depend entirely when a third film gets made. If Len does three movies first Iím not sure my ass will be in any state to get into that suit again. If Iím 45, I donít think anyone wants to go see that. Itís just one of those things where we just have to wait and see what happens. FEARS: What would be interesting for you about the character if there were a third film? Beckinsale: Iím a little bit confused, just because of it being a prequel, and I think it would be set even before I was a vampire. I would probably be in wofty frocks, which doesnít feel very Selene to me at this point. FEARS: Have you grown more accustomed to Lens collection of action figures and comics? Beckinsale: ìThose things that are not to be called toys,î yes! Heís actually gotten very good about stuff like that. We actually watched ìThe 40-Year Old Virginî together and screamed laughing. He is great about just keeping the stuff just to his office, and itís not like he has stuff in the living room gazing down on us. FEARS: It must be satisfying to know that a fan has triumphed. Beckinsale: What we say in our house is, ìThe Geek shall inherit the earth!î FEARS: Speaking of fans, have you picked up any goth or fan boys because of the promoting youíve done for the UNDERWORLD films or ìVan Helsingî? Beckinsale: Yeah! I mean, my eyes were really opened with the various comic book conventions Iíve suddenly been exposed to, and itís like being a Beatle for about five minutes. People dress up as you. Itís never going to be like when I went there with Hugh Jackman, and it was like walking around with Elvis. They would have torn his pants off if they couldÖand half of them were dressed as Wolverine. Itís an extraordinary thing. I do sort of understand it thought, cause I was one of those girls who used to go to the Rocky Horror Show every Saturday night and dress up and throw things. FEARS: Although ìVan Helsingî was commercially successfully, it wasnít received very well critically. Does an actor need to recover from something like that? Beckinsale: I think you do a bit. I have to say in the grand scheme of things flopping and doing terribly badly, at least ìPearl Harborî and ìVan Helsingî have made 17 zillion dollars widely. Hopefully all my flops will continue to make so much money! As an actor, if the movie doesnít go well, we can feel incredibly gypped because itís out of our hands, where Len has to go and actually become suicidal because everybody blames him. Itís a weird feeling, because the movies donít always come out exactly as youíd imagined. You win some and you lose some. Yeah, you go home and cry but then you get over it. FEARS: Between ìUnderworldî and ìVan Helsingî, youíve done a couple horror-action movies now. Are you hoping to try to get away from that sort of thing with what you do next? Beckinsale: Iíd like to do as many different kinds of things as I can. I know thereís been a theme of vampires, but I really wanted to try out an action movie. I never really did an adventure-action thing that ìVan Helsingî was, but they sort of get lumped into the same category, but for me, it was a very different speed and tone. Now, like I said, I want to go and do some theatre, Iíd like to do a independent movie, and Iíd love to do a really great thriller and a romantic comedy. FEARS: Youíve done a few roles where you accentuated your beauty and looks. Have you thought about doing a role where you play that down like Charlize Theron and Nicole Kidman have done? Beckinsale: I put on twenty pounds for ìThe Aviatorî but everybody just thought I had a boob job! I didnít really get any credit for that. My Robert DeNiro moment backfired horribly. Iíd love to, but itís not what Iíve been offered lately. The next movie Iím doing is certainly not particularly glamorous. Iím a waitress in a Chinese restaurant with a divorce and a small child. FEARS: And whatís up next? Beckinsale: I finished ìClickî back in August, with Adam Sandler and Christopher Walken. Iíve taken a little time off, and in a few weeks, Iím going to go to Nova Scotia to do an independent movie with Sam Rockwell called ìSnow Angelsî and then I may go to London and do a play, but Iím not allowed to say anything more about the play other than itís a comedy. I can tell you that ìSnow Angelsî is based on a book, and David Gordon Green, who did ìUndertow,î who is really quite brilliant and poetic, directs it. Itís quite a dark tale. There are a few stories in the movie, but mine is about a woman who has a child and a crumbled relationship, and various things going on. No gunÖ actually, there is a gun. LINK THIS ARTICLE             |
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