Interview with Bill Nighy
Did you have any idea that there would be a number three?Bill Nighy: "No, I had no idea that there’d be a number two and I had no idea that I would get to be in number one. I walked in off the street, it was one of those interviews you go for - in those days I used to go for dozens a year, you know? And I met a nice, young man called Len Wiseman with a camcorder and he said, 'Would you like to do the scene now?' And he gave me the gig more or less on the spot."
"I was thrilled because I like vampires. I actually dig all this stuff. I’m a real enthusiast and I thought Underworld 1 was as hip and as cool a script, a vampire/werewolf script, as you'll ever find anywhere in the world. And they're believers, you know? They're real enthusiasts. They didn’t just make a vampire movie because they were trying to get into the movies or something and it was their first movie. They chose very carefully. It was the movie that they wanted to make and they wanted it to be their first movie. And it went straight in at number one in America and made a whole bunch of money, and they're really, really, really, really nice guys so I was thrilled. And then when there was another one, I was pleased they got me in at the front there. You know, they'd got a little preface at the front there. And now that they've gone back in time I’m even happier."
Why were you so fascinated with vampires? What is it about them that interests you?
Bill Nighy: "I've always liked vampires. But the funny thing is that there aren’t many really good vampire movies, you know? When you were young there was an English franchise, Hammer Horror, with the great, the wonderful Christopher Lee and the marvelous Peter Cushing. But they were the only ones ever made. And since then…I mean now there are quite a lot. I think Underworld actually helped in that way. I think it tipped the scales because it was a kind of serious, grown-up - if you can call it that - vampire/werewolf movie. It was made with respect and wit. I think it probably led to a lot of what's happening now on TV. There's lots of vampire action. But what was the question? And I've completely forgotten what I was saying now."
What was your fascination for vampires?
Bill Nighy: "Yes. Well, you know, they wear groovy clothes. They stay up late. You know what I mean?"
Yes.
Bill Nighy: "They never go to bed. They sleep in the daytime. They sometimes sleep upside-down. They drink blood which is kind of cool - usually, extraordinarily from the necks of beautiful women which I kind of, I don’t know, I find that strangely moving. And so it’s kind of sexy. There's obviously something about the biting of a woman’s neck and drinking her blood. I don't know where everybody else stands but I hope it’s not just me, but it is obviously erotic. But there's something about the fact that it’s almost, could almost be true. You know what I mean? They're nearly plausible. The idea that there is a race of people that exists and nourish themselves simply on other peoples’ blood or the blood of young people or whatever."
"I love it when it gets technical and the boys who wrote Underworld, at one point one of my favorite notions in it was the fact that they had the werewolves develop glass bullets which contained harnessed daylight, which is sort of perfect nonsense, you know, but absolutely cool. And it all makes sense. You shoot it into a vampire, it releases daylight into his system and he ceases to exist. It’s a very cool thing. Everybody knows they can't stand daylight. But I love all that stuff."
"What else do I like? I like the fact that usually they live in great places. They live in castles and it's usually in Eastern Europe. I've been to Transylvania. I have actually spent the day once in Transylvania which is just across the border from Budapest where Underworld 1 was made and yes, you can get on a train and go from Budapest to Transylvania. You can go for the day. It’s beautiful. There's lots of forests and it’s very cool."
Is it spooky?
Bill Nighy: "It is kind of spooky because obviously, you know, one's imagination. But yes, I just kind of love the whole. It's thrilling. I don't know. I think lots of people are the same, obviously, because they go and see the movies. But it’s one of my favorite kinds of myths."
What do you think makes Viktor such an interesting antagonist?
Bill Nighy: "I think part of what helps is that he struggles with the morality of it all. That there is some indication, particularly in the first one, that he is torn between his decent impulses that may remain in his psyche and his overwhelming impulse to protect the bloodline, basically. And I mean in this one he behaves so appallingly…he is unredeemable in this. If you think he’s been bad before, it really gets, very, very, very - it’s terrible what happens. But I do think what makes him interesting is that he is slightly complex in as much as he’s not just a straight up and down bad guy. He does have some kind of struggle within him, which it makes it more enjoyable, hopefully, to watch."
Page 2: A New Director and Vampires vs Werewolves
