One of Britain's most respected actors, Bill Nighy's credits include "Still Crazy", "The Lawless Heart" and the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ co-production "I Capture the Castle". Here, he talks about playing a vampire, Viktor, in his first ever horror movie, "Underworld".
This isn't your usual kind of project. Why did you accept the role?
It's a remarkable script, and the guys who made the movie are seriously committed to the whole vampire/werewolf genre. As soon as I read it I knew I was in the hands of people who knew what they were doing. Plus it's a great part. Who wouldn't want to play someone so powerful he can push a werewolf through a 12-inch wall with just a flick of the wrist?
You had to wear a lot of makeup to play this vampire king. How awful was it?
Unspeakable. No one will ever be allowed to do any of that stuff to me again, as long as I live. I had absolutely no idea what they had in mind. I thought there'd be a zip up the back, but it was a medieval process. It took about six hours to make me look as though I'd been asleep for 500 hundred years. Then they gave me contact lenses. And then, they fitted the fangs - battle fangs or street fangs, depending on what the scene was. And then, nobody on the set would want to eat lunch with me!
What was the best thing about being undead?
One of my favourite bits was when Scott Speedman [who plays werewolf victim, Michael] and I were required to touch foreheads, and then hiss like cats at one another for quite a long time. Every time they shouted "Cut!" we just collapsed with laughter. It was just such a stupid thing for grown men to be doing.
What's the appeal of vampires?
I think vampires tickle most people's fancy. Part of the appeal is that it just could be true that somewhere in the midst of time there were such creatures. And who knows, they may, in some secret substrata of society, have survived. I also think it's sexy. There's something about women's necks that makes them terribly beautiful, and rather vulnerable. The idea that you get to drink from them is rather erotic. I hope I'm not alone in thinking that, or I'm going to look really stupid.
If you were an immortal like Viktor, what would you spend your time doing?
I'd get all those jobs done around the house that've been driving me nuts for years.
