There are a couple of big villains this year. Do you get involved with any of them?
I don’t get entangled with the main ones, no. Most of the time, Jason is getting into trouble on his own.

True Blood does that sort of thing a lot — last season, you spent a lot of time apart from the main cast in your own storyline, and this year, it seems like almost all of the characters are separated. Do you ever wish you could spend more time with any of the cast members?
You do! It’s really interesting, because the only times you see the whole cast are at the table reads, which we have about once every two weeks. That’s the only time I really get to catch up on the on-set antics or gossip. Other than that, the first time I see everything is along with the audience — I don’t see most of the episodes until they air, and even then, it’s hard to see all of them because I’m so busy. The way it works, though, I think it’s genius in a way. It’s very filmic to have so many storylines going on and then bring them together at the end, and I think that’s what separates HBO and our show from a lot of the network stuff. The audience really gets to invest in the characters because its not as though you only have an arc over the course of one episode. It can be an entire season, or sometimes, two or three seasons.

You’re one of the largely Australian voice cast for Legend of the Guardians, Zack Snyder’s first film since Watchmen. What is he like when he’s just directing you for a vocal performance?
There’s still that attention to detail there. That’s one of the things I noticed the most, that no stone is left unturned. Actually, what’s great about working with Zack — and Alan has this quality, too — is that he lets people do their jobs. He’s not totalitarian and telling you how to do things, he’s letting you bring what you will to the project. That encourages people to shoot a little higher. He’s a young filmmaker, and to accomplish what he has by this age shows real maturity.

During your last hiatus, you shot a few Australian films. Is it a priority for you to go back and work there during your off-season?
Not a priority. It just actually so happened that the films I connected with that came my way, they were all Australian. This season, there’s no Australian ones. It’s more about the story and the script and the people that I’m working with than the location. It was really nice, though. This was the first time in eight years that I got to do so much work back home.

One of those films was Griff the Invisible, which sounds like kind of an interesting spin on the superhero genre.
I’m glad you did your research! For me, it’s still one of the top ten scripts I’ve ever read. It’s kind of about, who’s to say that the way someone chooses to live their life is any better than the way you live yours? I play kind of a social outcast — he doesn’t have the gift of the gab, by any means. He works in an office by day, and then at night, he transforms into this sort of superhero. As the script progresses and you start getting out of his point of view and looking at things from other people’s eyes, you see that maybe his world isn’t what he thinks it is. You’re left thinking, “Is he crazy? Is he really a superhero?”

It seems to me that there’s been a real boom in Australian filmmaking, with The Square, Animal Kingdom, and the films you’ve been working on. Am I just a latecomer in noticing this, or do you feel it, too?
No, you’re actually very perceptive. I think so, too. There used to be a real shortage of good Australian content — there was some good stuff happening in television, but in the film world, I really can’t put my finger on why it wasn’t [that great]. Maybe the strength of the Australian dollar sort of stopped a lot of the overseas productions from going there, too. There have always been great filmmakers there, but now they’re given a chance to express their voices. I mean, one of the films I just made, Red Hill, that was literally financed by the filmmaker putting up his own house as collateral. It’s those sort of risks that, if a film succeeds, are applauded. I think he’s signing with Tarantino’s agent right now.

What do you have planned for this hiatus?
The first project I have is called Knights of Badassdom, and that’s with Steve Zahn and Peter Dinklage. It’s like Shawn of the Dead meets Role Models, a real black comedy. The other one is called Truck Stop, and it’s far darker and a more dramatic piece, where I play, like, a pimp. Well, not like a pimp…I am a pimp!

[Lead Photo Credit: Michael Caulfield/WireImage] 

We do love That Stackhouse Boy here at The Nest, and here’s an interview to prove it. Ryan Kwanten gave an interview to New York Magazine’s “Vulture” blog including a few questions from commenters. It’s fun reading how he dodges questions about his abs; not so fun learning that he was bitten by a shark as a child, and we get a little about Jason and Andy, too. Go Team Bellefleur!

“When we last saw him, Jason Stackhouse, as played by Australian actor Ryan Kwanten, was in a bit of a bind. He’d just killed Eggs, Tara’s boyfriend-slash-possessed-by-the-devil buddy, and even though his pal Andy Bellefleur‎ stepped in to take the blame, Stackhouse was surely headed for some (more) trouble. Kwanten, who got his start on the Australian soap opera Home and Away, excels at playing the dumb-yet-lovable Stackhouse and was psyched about the story line. “That was quite an interesting place to start a season — with the fact that I’ve just killed a man and then trying to deal with that,” he told us yesterday. We chatted with him about what’s in store for Jason, playing those crazy sex scenes, and perfecting his Louisiana accent.

How much of the new season have you seen?
We had our premiere last night and they showed the first two episodes. I think it was probably the strongest start to a season that we’ve had, so it was really nice to see that. The first episode is pretty action heavy, and I thought the second one was slightly more emotional-driven. But I think just with the layers they’ve created in the first two seasons, they’ve wasted no time in getting back up to speed.

Jason was left with a big cliff-hanger last season after killing Eggs. When did you find out the rest of the plot?
I didn’t know what was going to happen until I started filming this season. I like to not know things, and then sort of read the scripts and be, more often than not, surprised by where they’re taking us. But yeah, that was quite an interesting place to start a season, with the fact that I’ve just killed a man and then trying to deal with that. It’s a pretty big thing, especially for someone with Jason’s, er, capacity.

Yeah, he’s not the sharpest tool. It must be a challenge to embody that kind of, well, emptiness.
I try not to be too self-aware in the way that I want to play him, because I think that would take a lot of the comedy out of it. As much as he’s self-absorbed, he’s not self-aware.

A lot of Jason’s role is to be the comic relief of a dark-ish show.
I love the fact people find it funny, because obviously it is. There’s a certain amount of comedy to it, but again, I never sort of go for laughs when I’m shooting it. I have to try and play the reality of the situation, because if I start believing in myself that it is funny, then it takes the scene in a different light. It can almost make it a caricature. We’re sounding very analytical and actor-ly this morning!

OK, then let’s talk about your abs …
No, this is good. Let’s stick to the acting.

Read More »