Queen of the Damned: Interview

Review by By Clint Morris

Interview with Stuart Townsend
Starring in the forthcoming Queen of the Damned film.

At one point or stage in your life it's inevitable you've dreamed of becoming either a mammoth movie star or an even bigger rock star. Actor Stuart Townsend gets to be both as the Vampire Lestat in the new film Queen of the Damned, seeking his teeth into a role that captures everything the young actor is not - heavy-metal driven, gothic attired, dissipated and 'deceased'. Clint Morris talks to Hollywood's hot new talent and discovers how one transforms from a man to a monster.

Queen of the Damned

In his previous films like About Adam and Shooting Fish, Stuart Townsend looked as far away from a creature of the night as anyone could - but somehow Director Michael Rymer pictured him as the Vampire Lestat.

"Michael Rymer saw me in a film called Resurrection Man in which I played a very dark, psychotic character who ends up being a drug addict, and my face ended up looking all Goth and white, and with a coat, it actually looked kinda vampiric," explains Townsend.

"He saw that, and he saw me in a show in London where I was this wandering guitar player on stage - and the rest is history."

And according to the Townsend, it was a blast. "It was great. There was lot's of great make-up. It was fantasy and it was nice imaginary work." And in much the same way Tom Cruise would have had to for Interview with the Vampire (the first book based on Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles series), Townsend had to immerse himself in this world.

"I guess when I first started I went through all the reference points, the literature, there's so much material like The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, Bela Lugosi, and all the contemporary films like Interview. And then, the whole rock star thing, and then a lot of it's just sit there and read the script and then again, and again, and again.

"And then all the exterior stuff is like a mask that changes you. You can only do so much homework; and a lot of it just happens on the set. And with the sets you try to think what would my characters motivations be there, and that, but obviously none of that comes out in the dialogue."

The film also required Townsend to put on an additional disguise, that of a Marilyn Manson-esque rocker. "I preferred being the rock star. I looked at all the old greats; and I looked at live performances and for me, David Bowie was the performer, so I based my act on him.

"The big one was the concert, so I had three months to prepare for that, but it was always at the back of my mind. But when you go out there and it works, it just feels really right," he says. "It was weird actually because I have bags of CD's from jazz to blues to classical, 60's rock… One type of music I don't like is heavy metal. But I get why they wanted to use it."

What Towsend is inexorably going to get from the public is comparison to Tom Cruise, he having played the part in the 1994 predecessor. Big shoes to fill indeed! "Tiny shoes actually," Townsend laughs. "No, this is a very different film. I watched Interview but more for the point of seeing Anne Rice's world than watching Tom Cruise.

"All the journalists always go "did you feel this"? You know, and I never even thought about it. I guess this is contemporary and Interview was period. This is much more contemporary, tongue in cheek, fun, rock and roll - I mean you see it on screen. It doesn't take itself too seriously."

A sexy scene from the movie

Townsend did read Anne Rice's work, but doesn't applaud it. "I read Interview. I wasn't a big fan of her work, but I love her themes. She bought a whole new side to it, before Vampires were like the bogeymen, and I think she bought a human element to it, struggling with eternity; I'm with vampires on that. And she bought the whole sexuality to it too."

Queen of the Damned was made in Australia, and for four months, Townsend had to live offshore - but to the tune of a starring role. "Normally if you're the lead, as I am this time, all your stuff's in there," says Townsend of an obvious advantage. But of his rising status in Hollywood, Townsend still remains coy: "As an actor I just hope I get better scripts. Nothing's changed. It's the same old same old. I don't get recognized, because I don't really look like Lestat. I've never seen The Crow, but people are saying I look like Brandon Lee. Funnily enough, my co-star Vincent Perez was 'The Crow'," says Townsend.

He's also filled with praise for the cast and crew of the film. "The crew especially were great. They're working in their hometown and they go home. The Melbourne crew were always ready to go home. And it was a hard shoot, but I got the weekends off which was great. Lena Olin, I barely got to know her, but she was totally amazing, a real pro.

"First day she came in and gave it all, and then a week later she left. She didn't really go out, she's a pro. She just worked. She's great." But most of the praise is for Aaliyah, the 22-year-old actress who died shortly after production.

"It's just so sad", says the stirring star. "She was incredible. She was hard working, always on set. There was none of that exterior bullshit that happens with stars. She just works, I mean she did music, was starting her own clothes line, doing videos. She was one of those people that really did her homework, and she'd come on set and she'd be really serious about what she's doing."

Queen of the Damned shot to the top of the box office in its first week in the United States, but Townsend's not getting cocky. "I just hope I keep getting good scripts. I've turned down so many bad ones. I don't want to play Lestat again though (in a sequel) I've done that. Although he'll be placed in different situations, I just don't feel I could do anything with it," he announces.

"One thing I was disappointed about with Queen was that we didn't see Lestat's repulsion towards Akasha (Aaliyah's character) and how he felt about all the bad things she was doing," he adds.

Next up, audiences will see an even different side to Townsend, in 24 Hours starring opposite Courtney Love, Kevin Bacon and his now-girlfriend, Charlize Theron. "It couldn't get more different. Queen of the Damned was a big production, but it felt like an independent movie because there was no pressure, people were cool and people were just there to do the job. And well the other one… I'll be sick of Hollywood. Yeah," says Townsend.

"This is a square-jaw straight-laced doctor. It's very different but not half as much fun to play." And while working with Courtney Love doesn't sound like it's been a pleasurable experience, Townsend got something out of his Hollywood experience. "Yeah, I met my girlfriend on set, so there was a light at the end of the tunnel."

Queen of the Damned opens April 4

Brought to you by MovieHole