Friday, October 19, 2012

Twilight Q&A: Daniel Cudmore


We chat to The Twilight Saga's Daniel Cudmore, who plays Volturi Felix in the series. Read his full interview to hear about the final instalment, upsetting R-Patz's fans and sexing up vampires.
GLAMOUR.com: What should we expect from the Volturi in the final instalment?
DANIEL: It's tough without giving it away, but our group has sort of felt that the Cullens have finally made the mistake, the grave mistake that we've been sort of waiting for. We finally feel like we have a chance to take them down. My character finally has a chance to eradicate them, because they're kind of an annoyance.
Q: Are we going to see a little bit more from Felix in this one?
A: I think a little bit more. The issue is the fact that the last book has so many characters in it, especially the last half of it. So to do each character justice, it's hard to fit it into the length of a film. It'd be like a four-hour film and it just wouldn't work.
Q: And we've been told that there's a twist to the ending from the book. Can you give us any clues?
A: Oh, a twist? I can't say a thing - I'm worried I might get snipered.
Q: But you know what it is, right?
A: Oh, absolutely.
Q: Okay... [Hopeful pause]
A: It was kinda cool when I was reading the script.
Q: Yeah, we bet! Can you talk us through your experiences working on New Moon, Eclipse and the two Breaking Dawn films?
A: Right, well, the audition process was originally for a one-day character on New Moon and I just didn't really think anything of it; I didn't really have the time, I didn't really know anything about these books or the magnitude of the films or anything like that and I just went in, had, I guess, a fairly good audition, not thinking anything of it.
I got a call back, not realising it was for a different character, so went in still prepared with the last character and found out I had to do a cold read for Felix. I didn't think I got the job just because it was very spur of the moment. But then I ended up getting the job and it was just fun.
Even when I got the job on New Moon, I didn't know how big these films were, or would get. I think the first one started it off; New Moon, I think it really kicked off, and then it just kept going up from there. It was great with New Moon, because that was really the experience that showed me how big they are and filming in Vancouver was great. But then when we got to go film in Italy - it was unbelievable. And they've just grown each time, and each experience has been just awesome.
Eclipse was a little smaller for me; I wasn't on set as much. But then Breaking Dawn - Part One and Part Two - was a lot of fun, just from the fact that it was like sort of like camp. We were all at the hotel in Louisiana together. We had a lot of free time to just hang out and get to know each other, and chill and spend a lot of time at the bar.
It's definitely one of those things where you're in the fish bowl and once you're done, you get a chance to sit back and realise all the things you've done. So for me, it's been wild, but very fun, and I've been very fortunate for the experience.
Q: Which member of the Volturi do you think is the scariest?
A: Um, I'd love to say myself, but I think Michael Sheen...
Q: He's quite scary...
A: ...He's got that crazy look in his eye.
Q: And which was your favourite scene from the saga that you worked on?
A: My favourite scene? I keep going back to it, but I think any that has to do with filming in Italy for me was just amazing. That was really the first time I got to experience having a nice shoot outside of Vancouver or LA, and it was just such a beautiful place. The fans that were there blew me away. I didn't think there was going to be anyone there, and then this tiny little village has, like, 5,000 fans just screaming at anyone who drove by in a van with tinted windows. It was just a pretty wild experience, something that I'm never going to forget.
Q: What do you think it is that people love so much about vampires?
A: If you look at all the vampires in the past, they were sort of decrepit old men. Stephanie Meyers just made it for a new audience. All the vampires are now young men and she describes them as not being ugly. She sexed up the vampire. And so it's that whole forbidden, bad boy, 'oh, I don't know if he's going to bite me or if he's going to fall in love with me'. And, you know, you add in the casting of some of these actors and the women go crazy.
Q: What has it been like working on a project with such a huge fan following - did it ever disrupt filming, or is there any memory in particular that sticks out for you?
A: [laughs] It's not too bad. The majority of the time they had no idea who I was; they probably just thought I was security.
But I do remember when I was in Italy, I was walking around and I wasn't filming that day, but I just wanted to check out the set. I remember just walking through the fans and they had no idea, and then one person would say something and it spread like wildfire. I was like, 'alright, it's probably time to get out of here' - and, when I tried to get through the fence, the security guy wouldn't let me through and everyone started laughing at me, because he thought I was a fan. I was trying to explain to him - and this guy is speaking in broken English - and I was like, "no, no, no, I'm in the film", and he thought I was crazy. He just thought, you know, everyone else thinks they're in the film also.
Q: So did you manage to get out eventually?
A: Eventually, yeah! One of the other crew noticed me and came over and grabbed me.
Q: Phew! Did you get to hang out much with Rob, Kristen and Taylor during filming?
A: Um, not so much Taylor. Rob and Kristen a little bit, here and there. During filming they were always working. So, a little bit off camera, but not a lot.
Q: Because you had that great scene with Robert in New Moon, is that the one that people talk to you most about?
A: I think so, just because it was the first experience with the character and also the fact the lead character is almost being killed... Um, a lot of fans weren't too happy with me, which in turn I was thrilled about, because it means I did my job properly.
Q: Would you have liked to take on the role of Edward or Jacob had you had the chance?
A: Absolutely not. No - even if I got the job, the thing is, both of them had no idea what it was going to be when they originally got the job. So, I mean, I think seeing it now would be a whole other story. But if you'd asked me right before the movie started, I would have said yeah, sure.
Q: Do you keep in touch with the other members of the Volturi, or the rest of the cast?
A: Yeah, some of them. Every once in a while we bump into each other. We're on Twitter, making fun of each other all the time, and every once in a while we get to meet up, which is cool, because a lot of the way we filmed, a lot of time was sort of in our separate groups. We filmed, and never really interacted on set, so we never got that much of a chance to hang out and get to know each other.
Q: So what's next for you now that Twilight's all wrapped up?
A: I'm promoting the other films that I have made: the Halo series that I just finished. I've also got a film called The Baytown Outlaws that's coming out early next year. And then basically just looking for more work. The life of an actor.
Q: What's the main memory you think you'll take away from the Twilight series?
A: I don't know if there's just one, singular. There are so many little ones here and there. I think it's just the fact that it was just such a neat experience to work on something of this magnitude.
But to me, it felt so small, and to them it just felt like any regular filming. So I don't think it was one, singular; I think it was just a bunch of little small ones that grouped together, and it made a really nice picture.
Q: Yeah, it's quite a big thing to be involved in, isn't it?
A: It's one of these things that will be... I mean, it's such a magnitude, that I think it's going to be remembered for quite some time. And we're kind of all immortalised on film now, so you can always tell your grandkids about it, if you want. They'll just make fun of you, but it's something to be proud of.

Via: GlamourUK

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