STACK Magazine April 2015 Issue 126

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with LUKE EVANS
you. But as time goes on, that’s become a
more common occurrence. When you play
a character from a fantasy world or from a
mythical world or from history, it’s even more
weird when you see that person in the flesh,
who played that role. It’s different to when
you see them playing in a contemporary
film. But a lot of my characters, I look very
different from, so I think it must be quite
surreal for them to meet you.
Thinking of that, you presumably saw
the The Lord of the Rings films before
you stepped on board. Was there one
actor you were excited or
nervous to work with?
Yeah, Ian [McKellen],
I think. I was excited but
nervous to work with him,
but he’s a delightful human
being. He’s very fun and
relaxed on set and really
enjoys what he does. He
makes everybody else’s
experience fun as well. You
can’t imagine anyone else
playing Gandalf. I hope that’s
what somebody will be
saying about my character
in ten years time. ‘It couldn’t
have been played by anybody
else – it had to be Luke.’
How would you describe Bard’s journey
through The Battle of the Five Armies?
Well, he’s already changed when you
see him at the beginning of the third film.
He’s already a different person. He’s already
taken the gauntlet and run with it. If he had
any sense, he would’ve left Lake-town with
his kids and done a runner. He has to go
and try to fight the Dragon for his kids. So,
you’re already watching a man discovering
self-belief, and somehow finding the courage
to do something almost super-human in the
face of complete adversity – something he
shouldn’t be doing.
Will we see more of him with his family?
Yes, but it develops into something much
bigger than that. He doesn’t just stay as a
father figure. He almost becomes a father
figure to the people of Lake-town, who were
looking for a leader initially, and there’s no
one there. Previously, they had the Master
of Lake-town, who was this useless, greedy,
corrupt man – and they didn’t have much to
follow in the first-place.
The physical regime needed for the role;
did you carry that with you into life?
Yep, I kept it going really. I had a trainer
and changed my whole diet. I had a
nutritionist, the whole lot. It was full on. I
still train now, for myself, I don’t need to
train that crazy. It’s good to allow the body
to chill out and relax and eat normal food. I
don’t think the body responds if you keep
hammering it. It’s too much.
When you were filming The Hobbit:
The Battle of the Five Armies , were you
training at night?
I was training for Dracula Untold while
doing The Battle of the Five Armies, which
was insane. I was exhausted. There’s an
amazing gym in Wellington, which I used to
love. I loved that gym – Les Mills. A great
place. I took my trainer with me – it was mad.
Did you enjoy working with Stephen Fry,
who plays the Master?
Yeah. We had quite a few scenes, me and
Stephen, and it was really fun. He plays the
character very well. They made him look
fantastic.
Are you still in touch with Peter Jackson?
Not that much now, but just because he’s
so busy with the film. He’s shut away in a big
dark room in Wellington somewhere. But I
saw him at Comic-Con and he had a glass or
two and we talked about old times and new
times, and where we all were.
What do you think his greatest skills are
as a director?
I think his ability to deal with huge,
sweeping scenes of massive proportions and
still be able to take the detail of the actor in
that scene, and make sure they know what
they’re doing and that they
feel safe and have thought
about all the different factors
that would influence their
decisions in that scene. I’ve
always appreciated that
about him when I was on a
big scene.
He might not be on the
set at that point, because the
tent is miles away, but he’ll
be on a microphone, and
he’s watching and tweaking
s, via his microphone,
d then he looks at you
d says, ‘So Luke, at
is point…’ And then
e fills you in. He’s
itched on the whole
and that’s a good
attribute to have. And he’s incredibly detailed
– I love that. Sometimes, he’ll get you to
do the same thing so many times, and you
think, ‘I wonder what it is that I’m doing or
not doing,’ but you keep going until you feel
he’s got it. You just have to trust him. He’s a
man who likes options.
Do you think he’s sad that it’s coming to
an end?
I’m sure. Can you imagine how long he’s
been a part of this world now? It must be
nice to see the final thing coming to a close.
It must be such a proud, satisfying moment
to finish the sixth movie. It’s a huge deal, a
huge achievement.
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