MoviesOnline sat down with Patrick Wilson and Malin Akerman to talk about their new film, “Watchmen,” the big screen adaptation of the most celebrated graphic novel of all time, brought to life for the first time by visionary director Zack Snyder. A complex, multi-layered mystery adventure, “Watchmen” is set in an alternate 1985 America, a world darkened by fear and paranoia where regular human beings who once donned masks to fight crime now hide from their identifies and where the ultimate weapon–an all-powerful superbeing–has tilted the global balance of power, pushing the world implacably closer to nuclear midnight.
Malin Akerman plays Laurie Jupiter, aka Silk Spectre II, the one human being with a genuine connection to Dr. Manhattan. As he grows more and more distant, there’s nothing left for her in the relationship. His work comes before her in her eyes. She feels him falling out of love with her and the more he drifts away, the more she loses her identity. After the murder of The Comedian, Laurie reconnects with Dan Dreiberg/Nite Owl II (Wilson), who shares her inchoate sense of loss. Reconnecting with Dan gives Laurie back her sense of being a woman and reignites the fire that used to be there as Silk Spectre, the need for the adrenaline rush. In turn, Laurie opens Dan up to putting the suit on again. It’s the thing that he’s most terrified of and the thing he wants more than anything.
Patrick Wilson is an award-winning theatre actor who has also become well-known for his work on the screen. He next stars in the title role of the independent comedy “Barry Munday,” due out later this year. In 2008, Wilson starred in three very different films: Neil LaBute’s thriller “Lakeview Terrace,” with Samuel L. Jackson and Kerry Washington; the mystery drama “Passengers,” opposite Anne Hathaway; and the independent film “Life in Flight,” which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Wilson previously received praise for his work in the critically acclaimed drama “Little Children,” in which he starred with Kate Winslet and Jackie Earle Haley under the direction of Todd Field. His motion picture work also includes the indie films “Evening,” with Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, Claire Danes and Vanessa Redgrave; “Purple Violets,” directed by Edward Burns; “Running with Scissors”; and “Hard Candy,” opposite Ellen Page. He also starred as Raoul in Joel Schumacher’s big-screen adaptation of “The Phantom of the Opera,” showcasing his musical talents.
Malin Akerman is fast becoming one of the industry’s busiest young actresses. Last year, she starred in the hit romantic comedy “27 Dresses,” with Katherine Heigl, James Marsden and Edward Burns, under the direction of Anne Fletcher. Akerman recently reunited with Fletcher to star with Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds in the upcoming romantic comedy “The Proposal,” due out this summer. Also in 2009, she will star in the Peter Billingsley-directed comedy “Couples Retreat,” with Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman and Jon Favreau. In 2007, Akerman starred with Ben Stiller in the romantic comedy “The Heartbreak Kid,” directed by the Farrelly brothers. Her other film credits include the independent releases “Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle” and “The Brothers Solomon.”
Patrick Wilson and Malin Akerman are fabulous people and we really appreciated their time. Here’s what they had to tell us:
Q: Were you familiar with the source material before you got the script?
Wilson: Well –
Akerman: You can speak for me, too. You know the story.
Wilson: No. I had heard of it, but I did not know the comic at all. Both of us sort of came into it knowing the script. Certainly, we had the same sort of visceral reaction of, ‘What the hell is this? It’s amazing. It’s great, crazy -’ and nothing like you had expected. I called my friend who’s a huge comic fan. I always call him with whatever comic book script it is and I said, ‘”Watchmen”?’ He just goes, ‘Oh, God.’ I sort of gauged the interest and fear of the ‘Watchmen’ fan right there because he’s a very big fan of the comic. So I knew going into it that it was a very sort of special thing, treading on hallowed ground. Then I went out and got the graphic novel and was so blown away by it. Even though I didn’t grow up reading a lot of comics, I always had a great respect for it and I just felt like this was everything that they could be which was almost Greek in its importance, I think, to literature, if that’s being too deep.
Akerman: No. It was the same for me. The first contact that I had to do with anything having to do with ‘Watchmen’ was the script which was amazing. I went, ‘Wow. There’s source material for this and I have to get my hands on it.’ I went and got the book and I think anyone who reads ‘Watchmen’, there’s no way that you can’t become a fan. I was shocked because I always had the idea in my head, having watched superhero films and my cousins would read these comics and seeing ‘Batman’ with the ‘pow’ and the ‘pop,’ but this was something completely different. It was amazing to finally read it and understand why people are so in love with this amazing graphic novel. It’s well worth the pedestal it’s been put on. I think we all became huge fans from this and we’ve read it over millions of times over.
Q: You’re both sort of the every-men in this piece. Was that a challenge, being normal and playing a superhero?
Wilson: I think the point of the comic is that you don’t cater to that stereotype. This was really the deconstruction of the superhero. So outside of John, Dr. Manhattan, there’s nobody that’s a superhero. Actors only know the way to play it organically and luckily we’re given such great source material and a really faithful script so your character is detailed throughout the course of these issues and you know exactly what you come from, what you do. Any questions you have about your character you have such a great source material. You’re not having to cut corners because it’s a genre film. That’s what was so exciting. You never felt like you were catering to the idea of like, ‘Well, I’ll just be a superhero now.’ This is a very organic, certainly for our characters, very human struggle, both. Between two men, feeling important, feeling empowered, feeling like a man. Whether you’re in ‘Watchmen’ or not, if this were just a small off Broadway play or something it would be as equally dynamic I think.
Akerman: And if you take away the costumes and the crime fighting, then it’s really just an exploration of how far human nature can go in either direction and it’s the rawness of these characters that’s so hard to call it a superhero film because it’s really its own thing. For me anyway, I feel like because we’re not superhuman and because it’s more character driven, that’s the beauty of it. It is this character driven film that you get to see glimpses of what it would be like to be a washed up crime fighter of all things. You could do the same thing and say, ‘What would it be like to be a washed up UFC fighter -’ or whatever you want to do. But that’s sort of not the point of the story. I think it’s more about everything that’s around us being these dressed up superhero types.
Q: Patrick, you had to put on weight. And Malin, you had a pretty unforgiving costume. With the fight training, you said that you almost threw up and peed your pants at the same time.
Akerman: [laughs] I’m glad I was so eloquent.
Wilson: A charmer.
Q: Can you talk about all that work and how you dealt with that?
Akerman: For me, it was great actually. I really enjoyed it. It was definitely a challenge because I don’t go to the gym and pump weights.
Wilson: Pump iron, we call it.
Akerman: Oh, sorry. Pump iron. I didn’t even know the term, but I got to train with an ex-Navy Seal starting off. So you’re going to boot camp right away and that first week you’re like, ‘What did I get myself into?’ But throughout it helped get you into character and make you feel like these fighters we were and it was nice that you come in at a point where we have been washed up for a little so that we still need to brush up a bit and we don’t need to be on cue and amazing. But it’s like riding a bike. You get right back up there. We had months and months of training. We trained all the way throughout the film, different fight sequences and coming in on weekends, trying it in running shoes and then trying it in the stilettos. So it was almost like doing two films. It was its own challenge. I really enjoyed it at the end, as much as I did feel like all those things that you said. In the end, you felt amazing and you really got into the role and it was an incredible experience. It was a bonus to the rest of it.
Q: Is there something that you’re so passionate about that you’d lose your identity and devote yourself to it as much as these characters do?
Wilson: I don’t know. It’s hard to relate to that because so much of it is based on the public perception in a way. When you think about a rock star and you think about how much they’re playing the part of a great lead singer and how much that sort of weighs into their persona and when they lose that; that’s always interesting to me, the further you get in this business and the rock stars you get because I’m a huge music fan. That’s always fun, when you see somebody that maybe you idolize and you always wonder how much of that is maybe the public perception of them, especially with the whole fame thing. There’s this perception that the person changes. Well, does the person change or do the people around them change because they view them differently. That’s just really raising a question. I don’t know what to say about that really.
Akerman: Definitely. I sort of feel like we all do it to a certain extent on a daily basis. I feel like we’re all different when we get home and close the door behind us and get into that safe spot where you can relax. Then we also have a face that we put on when we present ourselves to the world.
Wilson: You’re so fake [laughs].
Akerman: I don’t think it’s a fake thing, but you kind of adapt to your surroundings. That’s what people do.
Wilson: You’re at your best. With these characters, I think about what Dan is at his best. At his best, he’s this really powerful Night Owl crime fighter, strong willed, physically strong, mentally strong, sexually strong – he’s this powerhouse of a man. In reality, he’s the opposite of all of that. I think that comics at their best are that duality of strength. You’re dealing in huge strengths and huge weaknesses. So I think that you just take any of these real characters and sort of stretch them out on both ends.
Akerman: A lot of times in superhero films you know who the good guy is and who the bad guys is, bad versus evil. Where here it’s almost like, ‘Who’s the bad guy? Who’s the bad guy?’ It’s sort of the best and the worst of human nature and we’re sort of struggling with it ourselves to find our good side and our bad side and what’s right and wrong. This whole film is a trip, such a journey.
Q: Was it treacherous working in those heels sometimes?
Akerman: Yeah. I don’t know how we got to this point, ladies and I don’t know why we got the heels. But it’s definitely something that makes it a lot tougher. At the same time, I have to say that as a woman when you do put on a pair of heels, you sort of present yourself in a different light than when you’re wearing flats. So it was way more difficult to do it in heels, but at the same time it just gave it that extra sort of umph to the whole outfit and finished it. It was more like here is a woman who is fighting instead of her being one of the guys and a tomboy. It was more like, ‘No, no, no. She’s definitely a woman doing her thing. We don’t know how she does it and so she gets extra kudos for that -’ at least in my book. Steel stilettos. I mean that can poke an eye out. That’s the whole point.
Q: Can you talk about the two scenes that you have together that are the awkward, clumsy sex that doesn’t work out and then the other one with the costumes on that’s a lot hotter?
Wilson: For me, that is the cornerstone of his character. That’s the pinnacle of Dan’s struggle, the clearest metaphor that you can have – being impotent. There’s no stronger metaphor, all giggling aside. There’s nothing that makes you feel like less of a man than that. That’s what I mean when I say that if you’re going to go there, you have to go all the way there. So it’s this incredible sadness and loss of not being able to perform. That’s to the core the problem of Dan. Not feeling important. Not feeling like a man. Not feeling like he can do anything. That’s the most basic ritual here of sex. So going into the scene downstairs, for me it’s one of my favorite panels in the book because you’ve seen Dan sitting there looking at the badge with the suit behind him and now you see naked Dan from the back, standing there looking at the suit. He’s completely emotionally naked, physically naked and then the end result is being in the Owl Ship. So it’s the best journey. In some ways, it’s just the most primal journey for these characters, to go from that place and so that’s certainly Dan’s side.
Akerman: I think this is the conclusion of, like, ‘This is what makes us feel passionate in life.’ For Laurie, I think she’s trying to figure that out throughout the journey in the film. Where we come in, she’s been pushed into this career of crime fighting by her mother. So we have like a stage mom and this is her chance to figure out who she is and what she really wants to do and what sort of floats her boat. I think she realizes through it all that this is the man that she wants to be with because he’s a real man and he cares for her and she’s never felt like this before, but that passion and that drive, what is it and where does it come from? I think that we both discover that when we finally put those suits on. She goes, ‘Okay, this is my choice. I do need to do this. I do want to do this -’ and it turns on and it just gets us going. It’s an amazing thing to feel. When you are happy in life and have one aspect of your life that works, everything else sort of falls into place. If you have an amazing career that you love, it’s easier to drive your love life and your relationships because you’re coming at it with such passion and you’re alive. So it’s a similar journey, but not quite the same.
Wilson: And it’s great to see it onscreen. I think we both had this great reaction of seeing the love scene in the Owl Ship and feeling all these different emotions of it being beautifully shot, sexy, fetish-y, if that’s a word. We knew it was going into the scene, but just this great scene where you’re pulling for these guys so much. I feel like we’re both really proud of the scene for that reason and where it fits into the film and for all these characters.
Q: In real life, do you feel sexier in those suits?
Wilson: We don’t wear the suits in real life.
Akerman: Yeah. You definitely feel sexy. It’s a sexy suit. Don’t get me wrong.
Wilson: I actually wear your suit.
Akerman: That’s where it went.
Q: The Owl costume covered half of your face. Was there a technical challenge to that?
Wilson: I didn’t really think of it like that. I think when you’re dealing with something like that, and so much of film is the expression in the eyes, then, yeah. If you’re putting goggles on, then you’re making a real choice for that character, what your hiding behind. Certainly with Dan, so much of that…we went through the graphic novel and sometimes he has his glasses and sometimes he doesn’t. So what kind of sight problems did he have? That’s stuff we’d get really deep into. But I didn’t feel any struggles with the mask on because we just pick and chose the scenes where it would come off and how expressive a view could be. If they were on, for instance going into Adrian’s office, maybe it was because he was hiding something and not really wanting to take it all off and open up to Rorschach which he does later.
Q: Were you aware while you were shooting that your casting was the subject of great debate?
Wilson: Not while we were shooting. I think that would’ve been the death of us.
Akerman: Yeah. I definitely stayed far away from that. That’s the thing, obviously everyone is totally entitled to their own opinions. I feel like it’s so far away from what we’re doing when we’re on a set and we’re getting into these characters so it’s like you can’t even deal with that just yet because it’s not the time. You just have to focus, be present and do your thing. I think that once the movie comes out then I think that judgment is welcome and the finished product is there and it’s like, ‘This is what we worked really hard at.’ Regardless, I’m so proud of this and I think that it’s the best thing that I’ve ever been a part of. Nobody can bring me down from that. Nothing is going to bring me down.
Wilson: I will try.
Akerman: Personally though I try to stay away from that because there are always going to be people who think someone else would’ve been better and some people are just going to praise it.
Q: Also, you’re talking about comic book geeks making their casting choices.
Wilson: I actually sort of didn’t mind it. I also knew pretty early on actually and so I was sitting on this information knowing that I was going to do this role for months and would hear people or even see interviews with people wanting other actors in the part. I just wanted to say, ‘I have news for you. I’m already the guy.’ But I think that because of film, there have been so many attempts over the years that it’s really interesting that some people would feel like, ‘No, no. This guy is absolutely perfect for it.’ Fifteen years ago you would’ve had one version. Ten years ago. Five years ago. Three years ago. For this time when we shot this movie, I think we’re all just so fortunate that we were the guys right now. I don’t fault anyone for wanting anyone else. For Dan, I found it really interesting that some people would get really, really passionate about the weight issue and how it should be this kind of person because ‘He’s really overweight -’ or ‘He’s a lot older than him.’ Even if it’s positive, there’s nothing that you can really do with that. I guess it could give you confidence on some level, that someone thinks that you’re right for it, but all you can do is your work and just know. I think that’s what we’re talking about, too. As long as you do your work and give the best performance you can, that’s all you can do anyway.
Q: Do you have a favorite traditional superhero film from childhood or more recently?
Akerman: Well, I do. My first superhero film was ‘Superman’ with Christopher Reeves and that’s always stuck with me. I loved the ‘Superman’ films and ‘Batman’. I did grow up with all the traditional superhero films that were more sort of pop culture. But Superman was my hero. He was my Superman and so gorgeous. I was so in love with him.
Wilson: Yeah. I loved ‘Superman’. I loved ‘Dark Knight’ and I’ve loved all of them, especially in pop culture and the history of ‘Batman’ and growing up and watching the TV series. I remember in ’89 when Michael Keaton came out and I was blown away by that, by his performance. I think that ‘Superman’ for me was always the one. It was the duality of Clark Kent. It was just unbelievable. He was absolutely fantastic in that movie.
Q: How difficult was it working with Billy Crudup with all his Dr. Manhattan gear on?
Akerman: The first week took a little bit of time because Billy got laughed at quite often. He just let it come and was such a good sport about it. He was like, ‘Get it out before we start.’ Ultimately though, once action was called, we got into it and he’s such an amazing actor. He gets so into the performance that you forget about all the other things that are around you which is what made it easier as well, being on Mars and having this green screen around. You’re so sort of taken in by the performance that you forget everything else. Of course though, when they call cut and his pants are falling down because the battery packs are too big, the giggles come back. So the first week was a bit of a challenge, but we got through it.
Q: Are those skulls on your dress?
Akerman: They are skulls. A little bit badass.
“Watchmen” opens in theaters on March 6th.
From Movies Online