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Ray Winstone is Beowulf
By Fred Topel | Image property of Paramount.
Beowulf
Ray Winstone might not get to headline a Hollywood production. His body of work has made him a trusted character actor, but not a mega star. But in the world of motion capture animation, he can play the title character of Beowulf.
Winstone on being CG'd into Beowulf
"It opens so many doors," said Winstone. "You can play someone who is five years of age. You can play anything you want to play. You can, anyway, as an actor, I always think but this opens a hell of a lot more doors, in a way."
At 50, Winstone worked out as much as he could for the role, but the animation turned him into the young monster-slaying stud. "It's funny because you just look at a picture and go, 'I'm the only one who kind of don't look like me,' until you see the film move. And then, you start to recognize yourself. The big thing for me was movement. I'm 5'10, and I'm an older man now, so it’s playing a warrior who is 6'6, and the way you move with that kind of bulk on you. That was something I really think about, before the film. And then, I had to get older without becoming too old because you still have to be a warrior and fight a dragon. There was that kind of thought."
It may look badass on the screen, but filming the base footage was not so cool. ""The first day I came onto set, I was standing there in this wet suit, with this crash helmet thing on, and you stand there and you do feel naked. You really do feel vulnerable. You had to do a little T-pose before every take, and you felt really stupid. I'm a 50 year old man and you got these geniuses all around you, looking at you, smiling and saying, ‘Okay, do a T-pose, lift your leg up, and do a little dance, so the computer gets you.’ And then, all of a sudden, you go to work and you go, 'Oh, Jesus I can't do this.'"
Winstone wasn't alone. He and his costars bonded over the silliness. "It's a question of going, ‘All right, are we going to do this or not?’ I remember the first take I had done was with Brendan Gleeson, on this mechanical ship being thrown around, trying to hang on, and do the lines. We came out talking like good guys. We were in a storm, and it was just that fear of actually letting yourself go. And, I think I'm like that on every film. I never know whether I'm going to be able to do it or not. You become a little bit scared, and then you have to find something deep down inside you that goes, 'You know what? F*ck it, I'm going to do it. Let's have it.' Once you get over that barrier, you do really start to enjoy it."
Once they got over that, the acting came naturally. "People say it was very much like theatre, but I found it kind of like the ultimate cinema, in a way, without the cuts. You were there and you played the scene out. You were allowed to go, like theatre, where you carry a scene on and you become engrossed within the scene. I loved the speed of it. There was no time to sit around. You actually cracked on with a scene and your energy levels were kept up. There was no time to actually sit around and lose your concentration. So, for me, I actually really, really enjoyed this experience. I would love to do this again sometime because I think it's going to get better, and better, and better."
Beowulf opens to theaters
tomorrow, November 17th.
For stills, posters, trailers and more info on the film, go to the Beowulf
Movie Page.
Fred Topel
Sources: Image property of Paramount.
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