So recently I took part in some junket interviews with the cast of THE LAST WITCH HUNTER, and since typically these interviews are must shorter than some of the ones I’m used to, I decided to put these two together (hopefully you caught my fun stand-alone interview with Vin Diesel, which ran slightly longer). These two actors are the two primary supporting players in the film (along with Michael Caine), and their characters are critical parts to the witch hunter’s plan to defeat a renewed source of evil on the planet. First up is our good buddy Elijah Wood, who plays a priest and the newly appointed assistant to Diesel’s character after Caine’s character retires.
Since Wood ended his FX series “Wilfred” last year, he’s shown a renewed interest in starring in and/or producing low-budget genre work, including GRAND PIANO, OPEN WINDOWS, COOTIES, and the upcoming THE TRUST, opposite Nicolas Cage, set for release next year. A Butt-Numb-a-Thon and Fantastic Fest regular, any opportunity to sit down with Wood feels like a family reunion. Here’s a few minutes with the always-great Elijah Wood…
Elijah Wood: How have you been, Steve?
Capone: Great. I’m sorry I missed you in Austin.
EW: I know. You missed out on Fantastic Fest.
Capone: I haven’t gone for a couple of years. There’s so many of us down there, we’ve got it covered and then some.
EW: It’s the best weekend of the year.
Capone: I know, believe me. You’re the resident genre expert in this film, especially in the horror field. Was there anything you were able to contribute in that sense to make this film a little more interesting, a little scarier, a little grosser?
EW: That’s interesting. I didn’t really. It was a pretty fully formed thing when I read it, and then speaking to Breck [Eisner, director] and seeing the production design that our incredible production designer was doing, there was so much detail and so much beautiful work being done, and on the level of like the creature design and all of that, there was nothing for me to add.
Capone: I love the relationship between these two guys. More to the point, the relationship between Vin’s character these series of men that come and help him for decades at a time. Talk about what you dug in that relationship.
EW: It’s interesting, I played Dolan the 37th. He’s a priest in a long line of priests that have been tasked with serving him and helping him stamp out black magic. The very nature of that job is to be very close and intimate with Vin. It’s to know him, it’s to be his confidante, and in some ways to become family. But it’s that forced thing, where it’s not an organic thing, whereby you were to meet someone in an organic sense and form a bond in that way. It’s this job that you’re tasked with.
We meet my character after the notion that Michael Caine’s character is letting go of his service, and he’s been very close to them all this time—almost like a family member. So I’m up against so much when I am introduced to Vin’s character. I have to establish myself as the new point person in this changing of the guard. I don’t have a lot of time to establish myself in this life. And then of course, all hell breaks loose very quickly. I don’t get much time with him to establish what that relationship is. It’s a unique kind of role, ultimately.
Capone: Over the years, you’ve had the opportunity to work on giant-budget genre pieces as well as recently, especially with your production company, much smaller things. What do you enjoy about making the most out of very little, and what are the challenges in the horror genre to make that work?
EW: You and I both know the best storytelling is happening on small scales. We experience that going to film festivals like Fantastic Fest and even like TIFF. A lot of the more interesting stories are being told on a much smaller scale with much smaller budgets. So from a production standpoint, having this production company to produce horror and genre, more often than not, the kinds of stories we want to tell are a little bit weirder, a little bit smaller, a little bit more unique and therefore on a slightly more intimate scale. As an actor, I’m drawn to cinema first and foremost, but I’m drawn to really interesting storytelling, so I go wherever that is, and it typically exists in a much smaller space.
Capone: Perfect. Thank you, sir.
EW: Ah, it’s never enough time, Steve. Thanks.
Next up is the lead actress in the film, Rose Leslie, best known for her series work in “Downton Abbey” and “Game of Thrones” as well as the terrific 2014 horror film HONEYMOON. She’s already shot the family drama STICKY NOTES, set for release in February, and is gearing up for the sci-fi story MORGAN, with Kate Mara, Paul Giamatti, and Toby Jones.
In THE LAST WITCH HUNTER, Leslie plays the benign witch Chloe, who seems far more interested in running her bar than using her special powers to invade people’s dreams. She is recruited by Diesel to assist him on his quest to defeat the evil Witch Queen, and she’s easily one of the best things about the film, bringing a spirit and enthusiasm to the work that you don’t often see in horror-based genre work. Please enjoy my chat with Rose Leslie, who was suffering from a bit of a sore throat on the day we spoke…
Capone: Hello, nice to meet you.
Rose Leslie: I’m Rose. Nice to meet you.
Capone: It’s okay for you to whisper, because I hear your voice isn’t doing so well.
RL: Oh, thank you. It’s not doing too well. I’m afraid I contracted something on the plane. But thank you [laughs].
Capone: It happens.
RL: It does.
Capone: I love that being a witch is almost secondary to your character. Running this bar, for example, is far more of a priority. Being a witch is a means to an end, but it’s not the end all. When you first read the script, was that something that interested you in her? That she had a full life beyond just invading people’s dreams?
RL: Yes, invading people’s dreams, exactly. Rather wonderfully, that wasn’t like her main reason to get up out of bed in the morning. But yes, certainly reading Chloe for the first time, I was struck by the fact that she’s inherently a good person. She’s wanting to make sure that the nasty witches are kept at bay and using the power that she has. She doesn’t necessarily want to explore that or tap into that, because she’s afraid of what she might discover. I think that was very cool to be able to play that in the subtext. She approaches it with trepidation, even though she needs it to create this very successful running business.
Capone: Almost every scene you’re in is with Vin Diesel, and he’s a very physical guy, and you’re right there with him at every step. Was that a challenge, or was that something that you loved about the part, how much of a fighter she is?
RL: Yeah, I did love it. I think that was the challenge in the sense that Chloe, I certainly wanted to portray her as somebody who was more than a match to Kaulder, and could stand on her own two feet and not just be the sexualized female, other half and really hold her own. That’s why.
Capone: And it’s not a traditional love interest situation either, which is a nice change.
RL: Yes.
Capone: We live in a culture of outrage right now. Everything is politically correct again. Were you worried about offending the Wiccan community at all with these portrayals? Or offending witches in general?
RL: [laughs] Yes. Particularly the demonic queen witch types.
Capone: Going back to the old standard.
RL: Yes. I’m really learning about witchcraft and the practice of witchcraft now absolutely being present here in this day in age. I was almost oblivious to it. I was naively unaware that this might upset a certain amount of people.
Capone: Well, all you have to do is meet Stevie Nicks, and you’ll be in their good graces.
