With 'Immortals,' 'Man of Steel,' Cavill is hot
Michael Ordoņa, Special to the Chronicle
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Henry Cavill looks every inch the superhero. Even in civilian guise, he is armed with steel-blue eyes and stone-hewn physique, adorned with manly stubble and hair dyed Clark-Kent black. No wonder he stars as Theseus in "Immortals" and is currently shooting "Man of Steel" as Superman. It would not shock to see him suddenly grab a sword in this Four Seasons suite and do battle with Titans.
Which makes it all the more piquant when he describes his fallback plan.
"In school I had an interest in ancient history and Egyptology in particular," he says in a mildly rough-shaded outside-of-London accent. "There was a historical fiction writer named Christian Jacq who wrote a series of books, sort of Egyptology-based, and I really enjoyed them. I thought, 'If I'm going to study something, why not make it something I really enjoy?' The idea was to get a degree in ancient history or Egyptology and have the armed forces sponsor me through university. And join the armed forces afterward."
In an alternate universe somewhere there's a popular series of books about a ruggedly handsome Englishman uncovering the secrets of Anubis: "The Amazing Adventures of Henry Cavill." In this one, however, acting has worked out for the 28-year-old native of Jersey, Channel Islands, and he's exploring his interest in the ancient world via his impersonation of one of the most storied of Greek heroes ... sort of.
"As a newcomer to the project, I had to take any story I knew with a pinch of salt and adapt to Tarsem's world, and approach it from the point of view that mythology is storytelling. The point of storytelling is to present an ideal and fantasy and a strong character for the oppressed to look up to, to get through hardship and down times in life," he says, paying much deference to director Tarsem Singh's bold vision. "It all depends on the teller. And Tarsem is the teller of this tale and he's telling his version of the story."
To be sure, this "version" is wildly different from whatever version has come to be accepted at this end of the millennia-long game of telephone that is the handing down of mythology. Theseus in "Immortals" is not the son of human royalty and the god Poseidon, nor founder-king of Athens, confronter of the six entrances of the Underworld or any of that good stuff. Rather, Tarsem (as Singh is known) and screenwriters Charley and Vlas Parlapanides have re-imagined him as an everyman of low birth whose innate goodness and heroism make him Zeus' choice to lead the human side of a war against the Titans.
"Theseus is a peasant," says Cavill. "He's ostracized and his mother called a ***** because she was raped. No one knows who the dad is. That was the baseline characteristic of Theseus. He loves his mother dearly and protects those he loves ferociously. So he's a good person at heart but has a very dark coloring because of how he's been treated."
There's quite a bit of flesh mistreated in the film, as a warning to those weak of stomach, and quite a bit on display - not the least of which being Cavill's. To prepare, he ended up spending eight hours a day in training, five days a week.
"Getting into shape was a different experience to anything I've ever done. Very martial arts-based training; a chap called Roger Yuan ('Shanghai Noon,' 'Bulletproof Monk,' 'Black Dynamite') trained me," says the actor.
"The most enjoyable part of the movie was doing all the big fight scenes. It's kind of like going to war but not getting hurt and you get to win. You know you're going to win, so you get to enjoy all the bits in between. It's being a kid again. Playing with a stick in the garden with your brother, thwacking away at each other. But you're wearing armor by a fantastic costume designer; you've got a shield and it looks amazing."
Although Cavill finds the finished product "breathtaking" because of Tarsem's artistry, he admits to difficulty in experiencing it innocently.
"One, I'm being very critical about my own performance, so very focused on that, and Two, I'm feeling what (his character is) feeling, as opposed to seeing the broad picture and feeling what the movie is intending me to feel. And with Tarsem's spectacular visuals and a great score, it just enhances that," he says, "coupled with being hypercritical of myself and disappointed: '****, I should have done this!' or 'That was a good choice; I'm glad that happened.' "
Among other things he's glad happened, he was cast by Zack Snyder to play Superman after a close call on a planned Superman film to be directed by McG some years back. And though "Immortals" is his first big American splash and "Man of Steel" is still shooting, the buzz around him is already building.
"Life hasn't changed that much; I'm just working my socks off. Of course, I'm walking down the street now and then and someone will stop or you'll see the paparazzi or something ... there's a difference there, but it's all part and parcel and it's enormously flattering when people come up to me and want to take a photo."
Despite Tarsem and Snyder both being known primarily for their rich cinematic visuals, Cavill says the experience of working with each is very different.
"While Zack is very stylized; Tarsem is very artistic. Not to say Zack isn't artistic ... OK, watching that HDTV," he says, motioning to a screen in the room, "which is a masterwork in itself and seeing that painting on the wall, which is a masterwork in itself - they are both beautiful, they both affect you, and they are so entirely different. Like Zack is the TV and Tarsem the painting." {sbox}
Immortals (R) opens Friday at Bay Area theaters.
To see a trailer, go to
www.immortalsmovie.com.
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