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Journalism of Courage
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This is an archive article published on December 17, 2009
Actor by Chance
I would work with James Cameron for the rest of my life every second of the day. And thats because I trust him,more and more and more...
Written by PriyankaPereira
December 17, 2009 01:57 AM IST
3 min read
3 min read
You have been signed for the Avatar trilogy. What is it that made you sign the deal,in spite of the first one taking so long to complete?
I would work with James Cameron for the rest of my life every second of the day. And thats because I trust him,more and more and more. And that gives me the freedom as an actor to try things that might seem out of left field. He makes me braver. To have a director that makes his actors feel brave,safe and to have that amount of trust,is a gift.
You had once said that you never dreamt of being an actor. How did you become one then?
Where I grew up,you barely had a movie house or a video store,let alone thinking you would ever have your head on a poster,so I didnt even go there. I was a bricklayer; I built houses and the acting all came about because of a girl. I was 19 and met a girl who wanted to go to the premier drama school in Australia,NIDA,where Mel Gibson,Cate Blanchett and many others went. She had an audition and I auditioned with her for moral support,to cheer her on. I just made my way through it in my own way and they said keep going,keep going,so the audition kept going and then eventually they said,Would you like to come and spend three years here? I got in,she didnt and that was it.
What is the toughest part of playing your character in Avatar?
The greatest challenge is the two different journeys Jake is on. Hes paralysed from the waist down. And then there is his journey as an avatar,a guy who infiltrates a clan and has to prove his merit,a guy who finds his life opening up and getting a bit more exciting. Then when hes back in this human sack of bones his life is getting depressing,so as an actor,the challenge is playing two different sides of the same character,trying to balance them and not make them clichéd and melodramatic.
Avatar is the most expensive film of all times.
It was amazing. James is in the position he is in for many reasons,but I think the biggest reason is that hes very brave,not only in what he is trying to achieve with Avatar and the technology we use in the film,but also because of the fact that the last film he made was Titanic,almost 13 years ago. It was the biggest movie of all time,and now hes come back with this one.
The movie took long to complete. Was it stressful?
The project was paramount. We worked 18-hours per day and I was on the film for 14 months. Everything took long to finish. The underwater expeditions were detailed and well-designed because the movie was a matter of life and death for him.
What are your upcoming projects?
I am really looking forward to Clash of the Titans after this one. There is also Last Night and The Debt.
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