STACK February 2016 Issue 136

30 / 89

Seasoned actor Victor Garber talks about his supporting
role in SICARIO and the war on drugs with Scott Hocking.
visit DVD&BD FEATURE
30 FEBRUARY 2016
DVD
&
BD
SOME BORDERS
SHOULDN’T BE
CROSSED
Almost half of the 40,000
people killed in Mexico
in the last eight years
have lost their lives on
Mexican borders. Here
are four more of the
world’s most dangerous
frontiers…
AFGHANISTAN & PAKISTAN
This lawless frontier is
populated by Taliban
militants and subject to
drone strikes.
COLOMBIA & PANAMA
Virtually impenetrable jungle
that’s controlled by guerrilla
and paramilitary groups.
IRAQ & IRAN
Largely unmarked – one step
in the wrong direction and
you can wind up in a Tehran
prison.
NORTH KOREA &
SOUTH KOREA
Almost two million troops
and nuclear weapons. A war
zone waiting to erupt.
W ith a wide body of work in
both film and television,
Canadian actor Victor Garber
is a familiar face. Frequently cast as
diplomats, congressmen and other
authority figures, Garber’s most
recognisable role is undoubtedly
shipbuilder Thomas Andrews in James
Cameron’s Titanic.
“ Titanic is still the one,” the actor
confirms. “That movie continues to
resonate with people.”
In Sicario, director Denis
Villenueve’s searing thriller on the
tactics employed by American black
ops in the war against the Mexican
drug cartels, Garber plays FBI regional
director Dave Jennings, the boss of
agent Kate Macer (Emily Blunt), who
is plunged into a covert mission that
crosses a border where the law no
longer applies.
“I thought it was a great script,
and that’s primarily what attracts me
to any job that I do,” Garber says. “I
thought it was very intense and was
intrigued at how Denis would handle
it because it’s so violent and dark. And
I admire Emily Blunt tremendously,
so I wanted to do it from the very
beginning, and was glad that I did.”
Villeneuve has a flair for creating
foreboding atmosphere and a palpable
sense of danger, as demonstrated
in his prior features Prisoners and
Enemy. It’s a technique that’s used
to even more striking effect in
Sicario, and Garber notes that he is a
filmmaker with a very specific vision,
although the mood on the set didn’t
always reflect the darkness of the
material.
“He knows what he wants and
you have to figure out how to give
it to him,” he says. “And when you
give what he wants, you know it. We
kind of found our way together and I
ended up loving working for him, and
also with Emily and Josh Brolin. I had
worked with Josh before in Milk, so it
was a great reunion. There was a lot
of laughter and fun as well as dealing
with the drama of the situation. It
turned out to be a great working
experience.”
At the suggestion that his character
is a father figure of sorts to Emily
Blunt’s Kate, as well as being her FBI
superior, Garber credits the economy
of Taylor Sheridan’s screenplay.
“It was very easy to for me to
adopt that sensibility, but it’s all kind
of implied,” he says. “That’s the
beauty of the writing and I think that’s
why they cast me in the role, because
they knew that was something I’d be
able to bring to the table.”
Mexican cartels and the war on
drugs are a regular fixture in popular
entertainment, whether it’s Steven
Soderbergh’s Oscar-winning Traffic or
TV’s Breaking Bad. Garber believes
this popularity is simply indicative of
the world we live in today.
“We’re living it, and it’s seemingly
impossible to stop. Within that,
the potential for drama and
intrigue is limitless. It’s easier
to pay to see a movie than
to live it. This movie is so
graphic and realistic – it’s
what entertainment has
become.“
This movie is so graphic
and realistic – it’s what
entertainment has
become.