Actor Luke Goss co-stars as Prince Nuada in 'Hellboy II: The Golden Army'. The former UK pop star-turned actor sat down with Mania to share his thoughts on the film and his upcoming projects.
Mania: Luke, your character, Prince Nuada, was the film's villain and yet he was a sympathetic character, almost Greek tragedy-like. He was doing what he thought was best to save his people. What was your approach with the character?
Luke Goss: Firstly, that's so del Toro. Never to make it so black and white as Good or Bad. It was a Joy working with Nuada because so much of his basic premise was rooted in the right place. Being a second class citizen, is just being second class citizen, - and he'd had enough of it. It was about embracing a place of absolute loneliness and complete sadness. It stopped him being grandiose and villainous based upon his care for the planet and his people. He'd also realized that his Father had stepped too far and he was expending his people. However I insisted that the character took no pleasure in harming people. So, to play that kind of role is very, very rare – but a wonderful experience for me.
Mania: The role called for a great deal of fighting and physical work. Tell us about the training that went into the role and how much of your own stunts did you do?
Luke Goss: Nine weeks of training – and the thing is, the same as Blade 2, to try and do as much as you can. The least you can do is to at least try and contribute. I can't put an exact figure on it, but I feel as if I contributed enough, and it's the way I always approach those kind of roles.
Mania: How long did your climactic fight with Hellboy/Ron Perlman take to shoot?
Luke Goss: Approximately ten to twelve days of filming. But, eighteen hours a day on the same set for nearly two weeks, let’s just say we were all very, very ready to move on from that set at the end of that scene. Don't get me wrong it was great doing it. It was a magnificent set and very exciting. But definitely very ready to leave it when we'd spent nearly two weeks on there!
Mania: Guillermo del Toro seems to be an extremely meticulous Director. Tell us about working with him and his approach as a Director.
Luke Goss: He never guesses. I've done two movies with him now and I've never seen him guess. I've always seen him knowing exactly what he wants. The time that direction needs some assessment, he'll wait…work it out…and then only move forward when he truly understands what the best way forward is. He's very, very meticulous with his direction from an actor’s point of view, except he is a collaborator – he's not a dictator. He's a strong minded collaborator. But, he's not a dictator.
I can truly say I've never seen…..I mean…people say 'what is it about Del Toro that makes him special' but every detail….production design…weapons…peripheral….foreground, every single thing you see on the screen – has been discussed by Guillermo. When you realize you are part of his world, you are free to jump in and enjoy it and you feel completely protected from start to finish.
Mania: Prior to acting, you had a very successful career as a pop star in the UK. Is music still in your future or is acting what you want to pursue primarily?
Luke Goss: The only way I'd do music is with someone like Baz Luhrmann. A director who knows how to bring that mixed medium of music and film to film. But as far as pop music or rock music or whatever….no. I had a lot of fun…but it's well and truly done.
Mania: What is the next big project for Luke Goss?
Luke Goss: There are a bunch of movies I'm doing between now and the big one, which is ‘Magdalena'. 'Tekken' is going to be a big release. But my next big project which would be regarded as a major project is ‘Magdalena' which is being produced by Gayle Anne Hurd and Platinum studios. I'll be shooting three independents before that – true stories, drama based stuff – But most definitely 'Magdalena'. The source material is from 'Top Cow' who also have 'Wanted' and stuff like that – and I absolutely cannot wait!
For now, watch Luke Goss as Prince Nuada in 'Hellboy II: The Golden Army' out on DVD and Blu-Ray today!
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