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a marauding band of orcs intent on
world domination – were a whole new
experience for Fimmel.
“It’s tough because you're acting a lot
by yourself,” he says, “I like to bounce
off another actor in front of me, not have
someone way off camera
shout the script and react
to no one beside you. It's
different from anything
I've done.”
“I had no idea how
it would turn out, but
I was amazed,” he
continues. “When
I saw the film, the
detail, the intricacies,
D
espite once being splashed across
billboards around the world in his
undies, as the first male to secure
a six-figure modelling contract, when Travis
Fimmel came to conquering the silver
screen, his background as the face of
Calvin Klein threatened to hold him back.
“I was stereotyped straight away, I was
only going to be right for certain roles,” he
says, “It happens to everyone in the same
position: the key is to try and go beyond
that.”
After a slow start to his career as an
actor, which included a disastrous turn as
Tarzan in an ill-fated TV show of the same
name, the 36-year-old Aussie rocketed
to the top in 2013 with his compelling
portrayal of Norse warlord Ragnar Lothbrok
in the History Channel’s
Vikings
.
Having been spotted by director
Duncan Jones during his stint on the
series, Fimmel was offered the chance
to get involved in
Warcraft
, based on the
best-selling online video game,
World of
Warcraft
.
“I'd never heard of
World of Warcraft
before but it didn't matter,” says Fimmel.
“When I first spoke to Duncan about the
role and his passion – he was a passionate
player for years – I got it.”
Though his latest role capitalised on
the capabilities he honed as a
Vikings
warrior, the big-budget technical elements
of
Warcraft
– which utilises cutting-edge
CGI and performance-capture to create
the singe hairs moving independently of
others, it really is breathtaking.”
It wasn’t just the computer wizardry that
Fimmel had to adapt to. The sheer scale
of
Warcraft
must be seen to be believed,
and his turn as military commander Lothar
Anduin posed physical problems, as the
historical accuracy of
Vikings
gave way to a
world of orcs, mages, magic and frequent,
cataclysmic battles.
“I needed an army to put my armour
on,” Fimmel laughs. “I needed a ladder to
get up onto my horse, with all the armour
– it was either that or have two or three
men hoist you up there.”
The unwieldy armour proved
unexpectedly useful, however, when
Fimmel was involved in a potentially
disastrous equine incident.
“I fell off the horse, it
got freaked out by the
environment, knocked
me off and fell on top
of me,” he explains.
“Thankfully the
armour I was
wearing formed a
protective shield –
otherwise it could
have been a different
story. Those
animals weigh
a lot…”
Vikings
I had no idea
how it would
turn out, but I
was amazed
Just three years ago,Travis Fimmel found his breakthrough role as the lead in
Vikings
after years of struggling to make it in Hollywood. His latest part as the hero of Duncan
Jones’s fantasy blockbuster
Warcraft
, however, was bigger than anything the 36-year-
old former male model could have expected…
Warcraft
is out on
DVD now
Warcraft
Vikings