300
Angel
Creek
Hunger
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On his role in 'A Bear Named Winnie': Trainer: "One of the serious things we've noticed about Michael is when we said to him 'we'd love you to spend some time with the animals'. He never leaves. We come in the morning at 5:30 and he's here on the ground with the bears. We try and pack up at night to go and he's like '5 more minutes!' He's like a child. 5 more minutes! He just, he won't go. We love him but geez go home, Michael, sometimes." Michael: "Yeah it costs a lot to feed me as well. I go through a lot of bear milk." "Every day I got to roll around with little black bears, that's one of the real privileges of this job - I get to do crazy things." "Just, you know, it makes a happier environment to come to work to and you know that if you can have a laugh while you're doing creative stuff and you're getting the work done as well, then that's great." "He likes the sins of the flesh and has been punished for that. That's the interesting thing about Azazeal: there's a lot of sadness there, he feels like he's been wronged, but he wants God's redemption in one way, yet to get him back in another." "It deals with questioning certain religious aspects as well. The fact he's [Azazeal] challenging the authority of God is a bold thing to do, and hopefully audiences won't despise him. They'll understand that he's just made some wrong decisions through the weakness of his flesh, which isn't really that bad." "I don't have any voodoo dolls. I don't even dabble." On Period costumes: "They're great. I love them. It makes my job easier. You put on a costume and you look different." His part in 'The Three Sisters': "...Russian dancing. I have to do a lot of that in the play but actually it isn't too bad. Did you know, some of the moves are very similar to break dancing?" "My training for the theatre was very useful. When you are working live in the theatre you may be looking out over an audience but you are imagining another environment. On the set of 300 the actors, very often working up to 16 hours a day, were surrounded by a giant blank green screen and nothing else. In our mind's eye we would project onto the screen the invading hordes of Persian soldiers or a vast landscape or extreme climate conditions - whatever was required - and take on the physicality of that. In those condictions the actors are thrown back onto the relationships and dynamics between themselves, which is exactly how it is in the theatre." On the struggle between theatre and film: "In an ideal world I would like to balance between the two. I think of theatre as a marathon and film as a sprint. There is a period of time set aside for rehearsal in theatre. It is a more physical experience and I love the live connection with the audience. With film there is usually little or no time for rehearsal - most rehearsal is done on your own at home and you need the discipline for that. And the camera picks up on every little inflection - you can't lie to the camera." "It's a shame that it is easier to raise the large amounts required to make a blockbuster than it is to raise the relatively smaller amounts needed to make low-key, interesting pieces that can have a social impact." "Possibly, Ozon thought I was related to Rainer Verner Fassbinder - so he gave me the role." "It's a wonderful dream for a young actor to star in a movie by such famous director as Francois Ozon. and my dream has come true."
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