Kwanten explica que en la temporada anterior Jason buscaba su fe, una razón para vivir. Ahora la ha encontrado, pero tiene que conocerse a si mismo. Y que en manos poco adecuadas, Jason hubiese acabado siendo una caricatura. También habla de sus proyectos.
Interview: Ryan Kwanten - Actor
• Ryan Kwanten will return in the third series of True Blood, after a big screen break to film Red Hill. Picture: Getty
The role has won the Sydney-born actor a feverish legion of female (and no doubt male) fans, including, it seems, Lindsay Lohan, who is such an admirer that she reportedly rearranged seats at a New York fashion show in a failed bid to be next to the 33-year-old star. "You take it with a chuckle," said an unfazed Kwanten.
Of course, there is more to Kwanten than bulging biceps. And, as he proves in Red Hill, a brutal modern-day Australian Western screening at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, more to him than just Jason Stackhouse.
Now based in Los Angeles, he decided to go back to work in his homeland for the first time in almost a decade after reading writer/director Patrick Hughes' lean script. Not only was it surprisingly mature for a first-time film-maker, in his opinion, but it brought the conventions of the Western to an Australian setting in a way he had never seen done before. "The Proposition did it but it was far more of an art house version, and this really seemed to have its own spin." Moreover, Kwanten was thrilled to discover they both wanted to make a "ballsy, gritty, no-holds-barred type of film. Pat said, 'You'd better get locked and loaded, because this is going to be an arduous shoot'," he recalls. "But that speaks to my mentality. I love that kind of shooting style."
Kwanten convinced his True Blood bosses to give him time off – "I'm not one of those actors who asks for too many favours. So when I do, people tend to listen" – and headed out to play a by-the-book city cop who relocates to a small town and becomes embroiled in a violent showdown with an escaped convict bent on revenge.
As well as swapping the heat of Louisiana for the often sub-zero temperatures of a remote and rain-soaked corner of Victoria, Kwanten reverted to an Australian accent, though it is still not quite his own, he points out. "This was such a distinct character, it wasn't me. This guy didn't grow up on the beaches of Queenscliff and wasn't a surfer. So long as there's a character to step into, I'm good," he says. "I can't play myself. I've had to do that before and it's a nightmare. Terrible."
When asked why, he candidly replies: "I'm not really comfortable with who I am to be honest. I feel more free to step into the shoes of somebody else. There's always an element of me in there but, you know, if you give me a script and some clothes I can do anything. But, as Ryan, I'm a bit of a recluse."
Perhaps this is why he is so grateful acting found him. He never set out to become a performer, seeing himself more as a professional sportsman or lawyer. But in what now seems like a sign of things to come, he was "discovered" when he walked into an agent's office with a towel around his waist to tell his mother, Kris, who was accompanying his brother at an audition, that she needed to drive him to swimming practice. "I guess as fate would have it the lady came out of the audition and says, 'Oh, are you here for the audition as well?' I said, 'No, I can't act.' But I did it and got it, and my brother didn't."
He appeared in some "really silly Japanese commercials" and then landed a recurring role in the soap Home and Away, which he juggled with studying for a business degree. Later, he visited New York and LA on a five-day ticket on the back of the premiere of a movie called The Junction Boys. "On the fifth day I got a call from the executive producer (she's now his manager], saying, 'You might want to think about staying around. We got a great response from the film for you.' I said, 'This is a big decision. I can't really afford the money to stay.' She said, 'Oh, just put it on my credit card. That's what everyone does.'" He grabbed the opportunity and auditioned for various jobs, eventually getting his big break on the series Summerland.
It was not always easy, says Kwanten, who, at one stage, had nothing in his apartment besides a yoga mat. However, he never thought of quitting; a fact that he puts down partly to his sporting past.
"As actors, we deal with rejection so much more than any other business," he says. "So I don't care how much of a genius you are, if you don't have the propensity to be able to get back up every time you get knocked down, then you're not going to survive.
"I used my competitive upbringing and took that to what is considered to be an art form, and I think it's worked to my advantage. I'm very, very competitive."
His tenacity has paid off. He will soon return as Jason Stackhouse in the third season of True Blood, and has several new films in the can, including Luke Kasdan's Don't Fade Away (in which Mischa Barton plays his love interest), the big budget animation Guardians of Ga'Hoole and the superhero romance Griff the Invisible. Most importantly for Kwanten, he is doing something he loves.
"That's why it was so good to work with Pat (on Red Hill] because it was that same level of, 'Ah, this feels so good to be making this.' Even at four in the morning, the longest days, drenched in rain and walking through water, it was like, 'Wow, this is good. This is film-making.'"
• Red Hill screens at the Edinburgh International Film Festival on 19 and 23 June, at the Cameo. For more on the festival, see today's Scotsman Magazine. www.edfilmfest.org.uk
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I should give you fair warning -- nowhere in this interview with "true Blood" star Ryan Kwanten are the words "naked," "sex" or "abs." Not only have I learned these to be the actor's least favorite topics, but considering Jason's shirtless on screen time is next to nil this season -- especially compared to Alexander Skarsgard, Joe Manganiello and Stephen Moyer -- I figured there were more important topics to discuss.
Like the fact Jason gets a new love interest in year three who fans of the books are very familiar with. Lindsay Pulsipher joins the cast as Crystal Norris a ... well, that spoiler comes later in the interview. Suffice it to say her addition makes Jason's life a lot more hairy.
But before we meet that little lady, Jason has to deal with a big problem -- he killed Eggs in the season two finale. I chatted with Ryan about the ramifications of shooting Tara's true love, why playing his on-screen lover is so dangerous and how he aims to make Jason less of a ditz.
PopWrap: In the season two finale Jason shot Eggs in the head, I'd imagine he's very much still grappling with that?
Ryan Kwanten: Obviously that is no small feat for anyone to get over, let alone someone as emotionally stunted – or intellectual stunted – as Jason. It’s a big thing and he doesn’t deal with it too well. Then to add insult to injury, Andy is taking the glory for killing Eggs and Jason is not one for letting anyone to steal his thunder.
PW: But at least it lets Jason and Tara remain friends.
Ryan: Very perceptive! That’s going to come back to bite him in the bum too. In the back of my head I like to think that their history together may save him.
PW: It's funny: when Jason actually does kill someone, no one even looks in his direction, yet during the first two seasons ever unexplained murder got pinned on an innocent Jason.
Ryan: [laughs] I never thought about that, but it’s very true.
PW: How does Eggs' murder affect Jason's journey this season?
Ryan: Last year he was trying to find faith, a reason for living – and this year it’s almost like he’s found the reason but needs to find what’s inside of him. I’m going to steal Emerson’s line: "what lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."
PW: I find that out of all the "True Blood" characters, Jason has the best intentions but the most difficulty getting them out right.
Ryan: That's because he’s very misunderstood. Even though on the surface he doesn’t seem like the most multidimensional person, there’s a lot of deep rooted anxiety and pain and even loneliness etched in his past.
PW: Given that perception, how do you want the audience to see Jason?
Ryan: I hope as the season progress the audience sees more than just a ditzy Southern guy. I hope they see the other things, but for me there’s such a buffet of stuff to play with outside of the dumb stuff. I think that only adds to everything else he has to do. Because like you said, someone like him needs to figure out new ways to get their point across because they’re stunted in one way. Jason just goes about doing things in a very unique way.
PW: This season Jason gets a new love interest in Crystal, a very risky role for actress Lindsay Pulsipher considering all his love interests get murdered or have their lives ruined.
Ryan: [laughs] Yea, it’s very much a dangerous undertaking that Lindsay’s chosen to engage in. Plus she’s decided to work with me, she’s obviously a sucker for punishment.
PW: For fans of the books, this is also a very controversial role given the impact she has on Jason's life.
Ryan: Oh yea! And what’s great about what she brings to the character is that Crystal's a real redneck, for lack of a better term, but Lindsay herself is very intelligent. So to have that sense of depth to a character that could be quite a caricature in the hands on the wrong actress. It was a real find to get Lindsay
PW: I think that's fair to say for everyone though -- in the wrong hands even Jason would be a caricature.
Ryan: Yea, [Alan Ball] definitely got an eye on the way he casts. I’ve had the pleasure to sit in on a few of the casting sessions, I helped cast Anna [Camp, who played Sarah Newlin] and also a couple of my love interests. And to see him in that audition room, he gives everyone the absolute chance to shine. It’s really quote astounding to watch and I think you’re right, a lot of the secret behind the show lies in its casting.
PW: Did you know when Crystal was introduced what it could mean for Jason in the long-term? SPOILER ALERT I mean, she leads him down a road that gets him turned into a werepanther.
Ryan: I’ve read 2.5 of the books so I was aware, but not hyper-aware. I never want to know everything, I like to be surprised as we get the scripts.
PW: Are you prepared to potentially play that shift in Jason's role?
Ryan: [laughs] I just won't shave for a year. But I am so unbelievably happy with the journey they've ve already taken Jason on and this season is no different. I have no qualms or hesitations about what they give us. It’s really mind-blowing. We come out of the gate much stronger than any of the other seasons we’ve had.
Tags: Jason, Entrevista, Ryan Kwanten