Gaspard
Ulliel may not be a familiar face to many here in the states.
He recently appeared alongside Audrey Tautou in Jean-Pierre
Jeunet’s A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT. In
France
, he has appeared in LE DERNIER JOUR and LA MAISON DE NINA.
But this week many will know his face as the young Hannibal
Lecter in HANNIBAL RISING. In
the film directed by Peter Webber, he gives a wonderful performance
as a man who begins to discover his desire to kill.
Although here, he is given a more sympathetic treatment with
Hannibal
’s murderous ways beginning with the need for revenge.
He
recently stopped by The Four Seasons in
Beverly Hills
to talk about working with his beautiful co-star Gong Li and the fun
of hanging out in a morgue. When
he sat down, he was kind enough to arrange the microphones in a line
so we can all get a good recording. It
almost reminded me of something that
Hannibal
would do. But Gaspard is in no
way a vicious predator, he is charming and an all around cool dude.
He seemed very sincere and incredibly polite… Mr. Lecter
would be pleased.
Gaspard
Ulliel
When
[the producers] were casting the part, they didn’t want to go with
Anthony [
Hopkins
] for obvious reasons. When you got the part, did you want to
emulate him and did you look for certain things and certain
movements?
Before
the auditions… before the tests… yeah… Obviously,
I watched THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS the day before and I observed
Anthony Hopkins. But
then, when I was preparing for the shooting I think the idea was not
to imitate or copy Anthony Hopkins. This was not very interesting to
me and I don’t think I’m able to imitate him. He’s just
amazing in those films, and a very big actor.
And
we discussed this a lot with the director and we agreed to say that
this film is very different and this story is taking place in a
different time and the character is much younger and hasn’t
experienced all the prison and the killings.
So I was kind of free to create my own Hannibal Lecter. Obviously
I knew that the audience would expect some similarities with Anthony
Hopkins so one part of my preparation for the role was to observe
Anthony Hopkins and pick a few details and mix it with my own
character. So yes, I
tried to pick a few subtle details in his performance.
The
press kit said that the everyday scenes of
Hannibal
when he is not doing the murders were harder for you than some of
the more intense choreographed murder scenes. Is
that true?
Well,
yes. When you have less intense physical [performance], you have to
express more things your eyes. So it is harder I think for an actor
when you have less dialogue and less physical language.
So
do you enjoy doing both?
Yes,
of course.
What
kind of research did you do into serial killers?
I
read a lot of different books on real serial killers and this was
very interesting and very helpful because I could read a lot of
things about their childhood and how they started to kill. It’s
pretty much the same things all the time. It’s a slow evolution
and they start very early usually. Usually start with animals, and
torturing animals, starting fires, and stuff like this.
It was very helpful I think.
Also
I worked on the script because I had a nice background for the
character in the script so I could help myself with the script. And
also I read the three novels – Tom Harris’ novels. I could find
some really relevant information sometimes. And then there was all
the work with Peter [Webber] and we discussed a lot about the
character through the scenes and our point of views and slowly build
our character. He also organized a meeting with a movement coach
that was very interesting.
We
worked on different ways of breathing and walking and standing. And
also he sent me to an autopsy class in
Prague
. He wanted me to see the dead bodies. It was nice. It was a very
strong experience. I was a bit frightened at the beginning. And when
you enter into the room it is a bit odd to have the dead corpses and
the smell is very strong. It is a mixture of formaldehyde and
rotting meat. And then you just forget all those bad aspects because
you are watching something fascinating. It’s great to be able to
see how everything works in your body. It’s kind of pretty in a
way. It’s like a piece
of art because you have all those different textures, different
colors. It’s a nice
experience.
You
said you wanted to go back a second day?
Yeah,
the first time, when I went there, the lesson was during the whole
month and I came during the last week and the bodies were all
completely destroyed. I
think that’s one of the reasons why it’s not that scary.
It didn’t feel real. The
bodies looked fake; they were so destroyed that I couldn’t imagine
that I was looking at a real human body so I asked if I could go on
the first day of the next session to see the fresh bodies coming in
and start opening them. I
think it’s more scary.
What
about the smell though? Did
that overcome you?
Well
no, during the first two minutes it’s a bit hard but you forget
you know, get used to it.
Were
you a fan of horror films when you were young?
When
I was young? Not really.
I’m not a big fan of horror films or gory films but I can
understand why we like those films, it’s a nice feeling to be
scared sometimes.
Why
do you think this character is so well liked?
Well
that’s a very interesting thing with this character because
obviously in this film we try and make this character a bit
sympathetic and more human. So
we try and get the audience on his side.
In the other films before, it’s not the same thing.
The character was presented as a real monster and the
audience was still admiring him.
This is a weird thing because this is a serial killer doing
horrible things. But we
still like him and I think maybe this is due to the fact that he is
so intelligent, well-educated and he is always very polite [and]
charming and he manages to seduce the audience I think.
This
is such and intense role and Gong Li said you didn’t say much on
set. Did you keep in
character after work? Was
it hard for you to leave him behind at the end of the day?
Well,
this happens sometimes, well it happened to me on other experiences,
other roles at the end of the day you’re still in your character
and you don’t want to separate yourself from the character.
But when you’re working on such an extreme character so far
from reality you can’t stick to your character at night and remain
in your role otherwise it drives you mad.
So no… At night I was myself.
I
wanna go a little bit on that as well.
The relationship with you and Gong Li, it seemed to be very
strong on-screen and off-screen with her language barrier and with
you, was that an easy thing?
Yeah,
it was not that tough. She
understands pretty much everything we say in English but then of
course sometimes she needed her interpreter to express herself but
it was okay. And you
know, on-set she’s very concentrated, serious and she’s not that
talkative. But it was a
very nice experience, very nice lady, very cheerful and she gives a
lot to her partners during the shooting and that’s a good thing I
think for a big actress like this.
She’s very generous.
Did
she teach you anything or did you observe anything that…?
Well,
I observed her during the first week and I could see how precise she
was, she’s very, very precise.
And I was thinking she knew exactly which profile she’d
give to the camera and which look she should give at this precise
moment. And we can see
that she has big experience behind her that she knows how to work
precisely with the camera.
Your
character is like king of the frightening characters, so what
frightens you?
Nothing.
[Laughter]
Come
on…
Blood.
Real
blood?
I
don’t like to see blood. That’s
true.
Wrong
movie then…
Well,
it’s fake blood.
So
real blood really kind of creeps you out?
Well
not when I eat it but… [Laughing] no really, I can eat steak
tar-tar and meat. I
really like meat. But
when I hurt myself and I see a lot of blood, I can get… you know.
Would
you play this character again?
Yeah,
it’s a very pleasant character to work on.
It’s very fun, very interesting too.
It’s a very deep and complex character.
And yeah, I think the idea of working again on this character
is kind of appealing to me. But
then you know you have to see if the script it good, the director is
interesting but yeah, the idea of working again on this character…
Where
would you like to see it go?
I
don’t know. You have
to ask Tom Harris.
Hannibal
Lecter is an iconic
villain in this culture. Is he
the same in
France
? Does he have that
notoriety there?
Yeah.
It’s the same. He’s
very popular in
France
.
Were
there any “lighthearted” moments on the set being that it’s
such a serious film?
Well
there is a funny moment, well, I don’t know if it’s really funny
but the scene with the mask. We
had only one mask and it was supposed to come on my face with
elastic behind [it] to stay on my face.
And the director wanted it to just fit like this [miming
mask] without any elastic. So
I tried to make it a bit smaller by pushing it on the sides so it
would fit on my cheeks and I broke the mask. [Laughing] So this was
kind of funny but not for the producers.
So they had to build another one and they re-shot the scene.
What
was it like working with the other guys, you’ve got Kevin McKidd
and the others as the guys you are after?
What was that experience like?
Well
it’s nice to have such a wonderful cast.
I really like Kevin McKidd, he’s a great guy.
And Rhys Ifans too was very fun to work with.
It’s very nice, I think for a young actor like me to work
with big actors and big actresses [it] can be helpful and it can
push you up in some scenes.
What
was it like to work with swords?
It’s
the only scene for which we had physical preparation.
So we worked for a whole week with a Kendo teacher.
What
goes through your head when playing out the violent scenes, do you
say to yourself, ‘oh my God, why am I doing such violent
things’?
I
don’t think you say to yourself, ‘oh my God, why am I doing
violent things.’ Because you prepared for this role so then I
think you’re ready to experience all the scenes and this is just
normal for you and you try and feel as natural as you can.
But many, many times, yeah, it’s very fun to do all this
killing. It’s like a
game.
What’s
next for you that we can see you in?
It’s
a film that I’m going to start shooting in April with
New Zealand
director Niki Caro; she did NORTH COUNTRY and WHALE RIDER.
It’s a nice small art-house film about a wine maker that is
going to meet with his guardian angel.
So it’s a very different role for me, I’m doing an angel
[Laughter].
Let
me know what you think. Send
questions or comments to jimmyo@joblo.com.