Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter – Interview With Benjamin Walker

Posted by Charmaine Blake on Jun 19th, 2012 in Action Adventure, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, New Releases, Suspense | 0 comments

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter – Interview With Benjamin Walker

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is about to be shown in cinemas on Friday, June 22nd 2012. This movie is directed by Timur Bekmambetov and will feature Benjamin Walker as Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter was penned by Seth Grahame-Smith and will show an extraordinary version of America’s favorite president. In this film, Abraham Lincoln’s mother was killed by vampires and this is where his hunt for these night creatures starts. So how did Benjamin Walker prepare for this movie? Let’s take a look at an interview with Benjamin Walker on Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

“Benjamin Walker Talks About His Role On Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

While 20th Century Fox could have easily gone after a “name” actor, I think they made a smart decision casting Benjamin Walker as Abraham Lincoln in director Timur Bekmambetov‘s Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Walker’s an excellent choice because when you see the movie, you are hopefully going to think you’re watching President Lincoln on screen rather than an actor playing a part. If the studio had cast a huge movie star, it’s sometimes hard to get past all the previous roles you’ve seen that actor play.

Last summer when the movie was filming outside New Orleans I got to participate in a group interview with Walker during a break in shooting. He talked about how he got cast, his research, the physical and vocal aspects of the role, working with Bekmambetov, the violence in the film, and a lot more. Hit the jump for what he had to say.
Before going any further, if you haven’t seen the red band trailer, I’d watch that first.

Question: We heard a great story that you were doing a play and the producers came to watch the play to see if you were right for the role. They mentioned that you knew the producers were in the audience at your play. Were you a little extra nervous getting on stage?

Benjamin Walker: I guess that I hadn’t ever fully imagined that they’d give me a shot, so no. I just kind of thought, ‘Well, I hope they enjoy the show.’ So, no, actually. No, sorry.

Can you talk about your initial meetings?

Walker: That was another aspect of it that didn’t really worry me. They’d already kind of offered it to somebody else – a big-name movie star. And the fact that they were courting me just seemed like a long shot in my mind. So there wasn’t much pressure. I was mostly fascinated to meet Timur. I had loved his movies. Nightwatch and Daywatch had kind of blown my mind. So I was excited to meet him and hoped he’d liked my work. But, eh, fear is for pansies. [laughs]

What kind of research did you do in advance of playing Lincoln? Did you look at things like John Ford’s Young Mr. Lincoln?

Walker: Sure, oh yeah. That was one of first things he had me watch. It’s kind of fascinating.

You look a little like Henry Fonda in that movie…

Walker: I take that as a high compliment. Yeah, we watched that. I read a number of books. I read Team of Rivals. There’s a great book about the melancholy of Abraham Lincoln that lends itself nicely to the story we’re telling about his love affairs before Mary Todd, his suicidal tendencies, his journaling, and his depression.”

The rest of the interview can be read at Collider

Browse through the latest movies, trailers, pictures, videos and movie reviews right here at New Movie Launches

Charmaine Blake loves movies, musical theater listening to music and taking pictures of anything that she finds interesting. She is a voracious reader and writer, and enjoys her time writing for New Movie Launches. Charmaine loves spending time with her pets and currently has a Siberian Husky, a toy poodle and a cat.