dorff Stephen Dorff Interview For Tarsem Singhs Immortals

Visionary director Tarsem Singh (The Cell, The Fall) and producers Gianni Nunnari (300), Mark Canton (300) and Ryan Kavanaugh (The Fighter) unleash an epic tale of treachery, vengeance and destiny in ‘Immortals,’ a stylish and spectacular 3-D adventure. As a power-mad king razes ancient Greece in search of a legendary weapon, a heroic young villager rises up against him in a thrilling quest as timeless as it is powerful. The brutal and bloodthirsty King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) and his murderous Heraklion army are rampaging across Greece in search of the long lost Bow of Epirus. With the invincible Bow, the king will be able to overthrow the Gods of Olympus and become the undisputed master of his world. With ruthless efficiency, Hyperion and his legions destroy everything in their wake, and it seems nothing will stop the evil king’s mission. As village after village is obliterated, a stonemason named Theseus (Henry Cavill) vows to avenge the death of his mother in one of Hyperion’s raids. When Theseus meets the Sybelline Oracle, Phaedra (Freida Pinto), her disturbing visions of the young man’s future convince her that he is the key to stopping the destruction. With her help, Theseus assembles a small band of followers and embraces his destiny in a final desperate battle for the future of humanity. Check out my interview with Henry Cavill here, Freida Pinto & Kellan Lutz here, Mickey Rourke here, and Luke Evans here.

What was it about Stavros and this film that got you interested?

Stephen Dorff: Tarsem was really my attraction to the film, I talked to him about his movie ‘The Fall’ a few years back. I’d always liked his work, I thought he was a really interesting director. So when it all came together, I saw a good opportunity in Stavros to kind of deliver in a bigger format, a more commercial adventure type pic. I had just come off Sophia Coppola’s ‘Somewhere,’ I was looking to mix it up a bit, this was definitely a great opportunity to mix it up. At the same time I liked the sense of humour of Stavros, I liked his mystery – because he comes into the movie about a half hour in. He’s a bit of a thief, we don’t really know who he is, if he’s a good guy or a bad guy. He’s also a guy who doesn’t really have much better to do (laughs), so I think he ends up going on the ride with these guys that he meets, Freida Pinto and Henry Cavill’s characters. He’s basically just trying to stay alive and fight for the greater cause. It was a good part, I really liked Stavros. He’s kind of the most grounded in the movie, your ‘every man.‘ Because he doesn’t have…he’s not a god, he’s not dressed in gold (laughs).

How was the costume? The art direction in ‘Immortals’ is amazing.

Stephen Dorff: Yeah, I’ve got a sword, I’ve got a bag where I keep my stuff that I steal – very little clothing (laughs). We had an incredible costumer in Eiko Ishioka, who’s worked with Tarsem on everything. She won an Oscar for ‘Bram Stroker’s Dracula’ and she’s just a mad genius, she‘s awesome! When I met her she’s like, “You, Stephen, very little clothing.” And I was like, “Huh, Eiko? What?” And she’s like, “You wear a skirt.” I was like, “No, no, no, no, no. No skirt for me. I can’t pull that off. I’m good, but I’m not that good Eiko.“ And she’s like, “Okay, no skirt.“ “No skirt, I’ll take pants. I don’t care if I have no shirt.” She’s like, “Okay, I’ll make you leather strap.” I said, “Okay,” so I’ve got a leather strap, pants, leather boots, and a bag (laughs). That’s pretty much my costume – no shirt, no jacket, once in a blue moon I get that cheap little trench thing that I wear on my shoulders. It was definitely the most naked I’ve ever been on film, but it was fun. I had a great time with Eiko. She’s a pretty amazing artist and I think she adds a lot to actually Tarsem’s vision and to the look of this movie. She’s somebody who gets a lot more credit than just a costume designer.

Why do you think Stavros goes on this journey with Theseus?

Stephen Dorff: I think Stavros, when we meet him, we meet him on a slave train in the middle of the desert. Their both on the same line as slaves, and Theseus immediately gets a sense of his sense of humour, he’s just really an out of the box character who doesn’t really care – he says what he wants to say and he does what he wants to do. But I think him and Theseus butt heads for a while, until Stavros realises I can be on my own, go here, go there, or I could stay with these guys….and I think at the end of the day he doesn’t really have many options, I think that’s the initial reason he stays.

Do you have a favourite scene in the film?

Stephen Dorff: I really enjoy the scenes at the beginning with Freida. Stavros just comes out of nowhere with the things he says to her. He’s kind of like a very bold, aggressive but sweet, charming guy who’s sort of transported from today into Greek times (laughs). The way he talks, and the way I wanted to make him real casual and right to the point, I think it was interesting to see Freida’s character taken aback by that.