Ready for another interview from the Divergent set visit the we were part of, along with a number of other great fan sites? This afternoon we have Ray Stevenson, who plays Marcus Eaton in the film.
How does it feel to be a dad of such a handsome young man?
It takes effort from his mother, unfortunately. For sure. He’s like a big guy looking. He’s doing scar too.
You might get mad at that?
Laugh.
He’s great actually he is really nice guy and Theo as well.
How was it like working with Neil?
I love working with Neil. It’s one of the few reasons why I’d love to do this was to work with him. He’s great.
Did you read the book?
I did. You get to a point where you know, you’re going to be doing the script, not the book.
Right.
Once you got to bit flavor for it and you know, can lose yourself in the book and join, bring things that are actually on the script. Cause the script takes it from the book but I think this becomes much grittier? Am, less sort of in the realms of fantasy and the stuff like this. So I find out that most things, am the book is great, I mean going back through it, reading bits and pieces but just really for very general sort of background.
You know it’s funny how Marcus’ was part of Abnegation faction but then he turns out to be so, I don’t know. What are you using to kind of display that duplicitousness about him?
Well, sort of like, because he is Abnegation, he always wears gray, and because I’m pretty getting that… I kind of caught 85 shades of gray. No 50. It’s been of a dark course actually. There’s a bit more to it than meets the eye and you know that he is, you know, I think he’s got this thing about his son was probably a bit too much like him, I don’t know. You know people, who hold high office, of positions with power, especially who are taking care a much larger group of people, like he can be a father to them, and actually act in the height, innovate, eternal way, but when it comes to their own family, they kind of fail… because they are actually, called for the much broader picture. And I think it’s a very real thing. You know, I’ve seen in real life as well, and also with doctors. They’d be great with other people’s children, really paternally caring and everything. But when with their own kids, It’s like I’ll take aspirin so it’s going to be fine. You know what I mean? You took care with these people but, so I think there’s a lot of that.
And I think that with his own son, I think there’s a bit of Marcus that he is controlled in himself, and kept a grip on, in order to be in the position and exercise his duties. But I think he sees in Tobias a bit too much of himself, and I think that’s one thing why he wanted to turn and whip that out of him. You know not have his son sort of exposed. It’s a bit of like tough love. You know that?
Very tough. Are there are scenes that where the eve shots of other that are just wonderful or memorable that we can hear about?
Well, we honestly do. It’s like, my involvement with this movie is sort of very fraction or very bitty, and although we are like halfway through, literally had a day here and a day there. I mean we have done something running on trains and stuffs like that… you know running across rooftops and am…this, as of yet, there’s a lot of stuff still to come. So, you know the scenes I’ve been involved in are… they’re not being so Marcus-centric?
Right now. Very emotional scenes that…
Oh totally emotional, but oh, you know, it’s just still flesh in a mat. Because you know, as I said, when you read the book is one thing, and the script, that’s what you’re doing. And then you see and meet the other cast members and that’s so do you start to respond of. And, so it’s, they’re all in the sense finding themselves as well.
Tony told us a lot about his, the abnegation housing and his costumes and stuff every day.
Boring. I mean. It takes Scandinavian to a new level.
He took the minimalist then.
Oh, yes. That’s quite Zen, Zen and the art of architecture. Really. Less is more, they say. But this is less.
See and find that black gives more meaning.
No. I find I would go insane in an environment like that. You want to, you know, I mean there’s not even a flower.
Those succulents.
No. no. Those will be a display of vanity.
Yes.
So there’s nothing very selfness. Selfless sort of. It’s a bit brutal. I think all the women are wearing Victoria’s Secret underneath than most of the men. So I think, it’s probably you know, some dark horses. It’s a very interesting premise to get into all the various factions. You could be much more of one but you still have an appreciation of the other ones as well. They say that we live in a democratic world. Democracy, it works because it’s just the best we thought. It’s not perfect. Perfect. So we’re trying to find another step towards a better balance of living in harmony.
What faction would you be in?
Well, I think I would be Factionless. I haven’t met the Factionless yet. But I got an idea that they dress better. That they are done and sort of sexy and that would be interesting.
Personally, I don’t think I would fit in to any faction. Just to get to know people. I think it’s… I probably would be cast out, or just run out and just live happier.
How’s your chemistry with Theo James?
It’s great. It’s really really funny. I didn’t realize but actually we went to the same theater school as I did. In Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. It was weird that we sort of have connections as well. But, now from what we have done together, what I’ve seen is great. It’s going to be interesting to play the dynamic, between father and son, in the days to come.
Are there any specific scenes you are looking forward to filming with him?
The one that we first meet after so many years before when he went to Dauntless. So we meet for the first time. And he’s harbored all this angst and pain inside. And it’s the first time that we actually sort of see each other.
What’s like to work with Director Neil Burger?
He’s great. He really is. He really has very strong vision for this. And his taste lifted from the book and his film is much more so gritty, much more so realist, realistic sort of environment that these people are existing in. You could see the scale of the movie itself. He’s basically staring in a huge behemoth and their intention is to do three or four movies. He is basically putting down the foundations and the bedrock of this world that we’re living in. I respect his works so much.
Have you signed on for all the movies? Was that premature?
The option is for the other movies as well. I just got hold of Insurgent so that would be very interesting.
Why do you think subjects like these are so popular and interesting to people now?
Well I think the world in which we live in now are in such a state of, the world itself, what we grew up to believe the world to be is distorted and the reality isn’t what we were presented with. And it’s fractured, it’s damaged, it’s hurting. And it’s a natural human thing to strive and think about how much more, where, what would be the development of this and all the underlying problems, and could that be solved? To address it through the medium of movies is a great way of exploring that. So I think everybody thinks of sort of. Why are they doing this? Why are they tearing the world and their selves apart? And it’s not one quick fix and it’s taking so long to get here. You know people don’t wake up in the morning wanting to break the world; but it’s a little bit broken, so I think it’s quite natural to sort of explore that.
Would you describe Shailene’s character as heroic?
Well heroism is a strange thing isn’t it? Like she’s got the sort of genes within it that she can’t deny. That’s something that been coming through from her mother as well as her father. She reached a point where she realized that you don’t really have a decision to make. That you should be true to yourself, you know, it’s not a sort of should I do this, should I do that. It’s more of a sort of we’ll let it all go on what is my true direction. I think for some people that would be heroic. But it’s in her nature to be Divergent, in the sense. To have all the qualities of the various factions and to bring that to bear. Courage is a strange thing. Courage is having the will to follow your heart. Your instincts. Be true to yourself. So I think, there’s heroism in there. It’s like lead by example. She’s not dictating how people should be. She’s just trying to find out the best way to be who she is. And in some respects, that is heroic.
Have you jumped any trains yet?
It was a bit fast. It was a bit rapid!
They said some people are four miles an hour some people are eight?
No. no They give as a practice running four miles an hour. The bar we could do this, and now they fired it up. That was something you should. I should miss that one. I really like.
So you wouldn’t really make it through Dauntless initiation?
Oh God. Dauntless. No. No. No. I got my own train.
I was just, you know, chill out for one. But without leaping. Save it for the leaping people.
So we see jumping and push that your stunt guy?
I might as well do that a couple of times.
Half way deal!
Yeah. I got them with me like three or four movies together. It’s just when you’re doing that sort of work all day long and you’re running on leapy grounds, all you need is one twist. And I’ve done that before in different movies. I’ve done my knees and in stuff like these. But it was great, we call it done.
Yup, I saw one sitting still; it was like I couldn’t even jump out of sitting still, that I feel bad.
It’s high it was like, oh, there’s the handle there’s the step, and then it was like boom! Okay. But it will look very dramatic. Heroic, hopefully.
By the way, the way I get on the train for me was like not heroic.
You added that to the resume. Train jumper.
Yes.
