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– which utilises cutting-edge CGI and
performance-capture to create 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,
the singe hairs
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
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…”
17
INTERVIEW
CINEMA
CINEMA
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 in cinemas
now
Warcraft
Vikings