Enjoy this. I know I did!
xoxo.
Rachel.
Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga is practically the Midas touch for up-and-coming actors like newcomer Charlie Bewley, the strapping British actor who won the role of the menacing Volturi guard, Demetri. We spoke with Bewley via phone from Philadelphia, where he had just completed one of many stops on a cross-country Twilight tour with co-star and fellow Volturi Daniel Cudmore (and where, earlier in the day, the avid runner had tackled the infamous Rocky Balboa stairs, with mixed results).Bewley, who maintains an air of mystery about his personal life (is he single or not?!), regaled us with the tale of his pre-Twilight life, how he came to nab a role in New Moon, and how he plans on parlaying his Twi-hard fan base – or, as they call themselves, Charlie's Angels – into a long-term career in front of and behind the camera. And in case you've been curious, he answers an age-old question about his character: Is Demetri gay or European?
You announced on Twitter that you had injured yourself on the famous Rocky steps. Did Demetri's special talent for running not save you from the stairs?
Charlie Bewley: I like to run every morning, and I had to do the Rocky stairs, being in Philly. I'm the only guy there, it's a bit rainy, and I get to the top – I'm wearing my black Spider-Man outfit – and I jump up and down. A little voice in the back of my head is like, "You've got to do the whole thing. You've got to do it." So I was jumping around like Rocky on the top of the stairs, took one step down and twisted right over my ankle. I'm such a bad vampire.
Your role as Demetri in New Moon is your first big break. Tell me about life before Twilight – what were you doing for a living and how did you first pursue acting?
Well, it's fairly diverse and abstract and all over the place. I grew up in the middle of England in a wonderful old farm house that was a bit of an adventure playground for me. I didn't really have too much of a leash when I was a kid, and I kind of ran amok a little bit. I wasn't too worried about my academic studies; I was good, academically, but I was more interested in being active and getting out there and making stuff and blowing stuff up and kicking things. I was a real sportsman. And when I left school having failed my exams badly – I just didn't concentrate, I was too ADD -- I went traveling. I started snowboarding, I went traveling in Europe, I had a multitude of jobs. I was a henna tattooist. I was a pot washer. I was a ski instructor. I just loved throwing myself at the most abstract things. I ended up painting walls in nightclubs, it was very strange. I did a ski season in Canada and came back with a girlfriend and went to university for four years doing French and Business. I saw myself in the financial sector and became more material with life. I went back to Whistler and rediscovered my more organic roots and decided that I'd done so much in my life, there was something great inside me but I didn't know what it was. I sat myself down and thought, "What could I do for the rest of my life?" All I thought about doing was acting. So I started to act and found myself in Vancouver, got a headshot, found an agent, and just began to act. I was in an audition room a year later standing in front of Wyck Godfrey and Chris Weitz, and that's when I booked Demetri.
Do you feel like this has all happened pretty fast, then?
Yes, it has happened fast. But I feel like I've been an actor all my life. I really do. I feel like I've tried to be so many different people; whether I was trying to act, or whether I was trying to fit in, it's a fine line. But in terms of how long I've been acting, it has happened fast. This is a huge role for me, and I'm not unaware of that. I realize that this is probably the best role I could have got, in any context. This is a huge franchise, The Twilight Saga, and it's a wonderful thing to be a part of – as a springboard towards where I want to go as a person and as an actor in film in general.
What kind of career do you envision for yourself?
I don't expect just to act. I expect to be on both sides of the camera, to direct and produce, and I have been writing already. I think acting is a great form of creativity, but in many respects you're limited to what the script says, or what the book says, or whatever. I'm equally interested in pursuing my own productions and my own writing, and directing them, because I feel they're more towards who I am as a person. What I want to express as a person, creatively. But I accept that I haven't got the imagination that breeds characters such as Bond, Jack Sparrow, Tyler Durden, and all these wonderful characters that I would like to play as an actor. I would love to play these deep, controversial figures, but at the same time I'm going to entertain this career for myself.
How do you feel about the idea that being objectified by millions of teenage girls will help you achieve this goal?
I've already got a decent fan base, having done nothing. It's a real act of blind faith. But a lot of people have met me, and they can see the person I am. I'm not the typical actor; I'm just a real person who decided to be an actor and wants to breathe life into roles. I don't think I'm ever going to really stray away from that. That fan base will grow with you throughout your career. They will be with you as an actor, not as a vampire. And that separation issue will eventually sever itself and you'll move forward, and they'll always be there with you.
What new fans will New Moon bring into the Twilight fold?
I think New Moon will bring in a whole male demographic, who I think will be more receptive towards the primal characters in these films – the Volturi, the guards, and the werewolves. They'll be a good solid fan base there. Not to mention the fact that my character is very sexually ambiguous, and therefore I hope to claim the gay demographic. [Laughs.] I did a very flamboyant portrayal of Demetri.
That's definitely the first that I've heard of sexual ambiguity in the Twilight Saga. Did you approach Demetri with that in mind?
It wasn't a choice – that's the way my character [is]. We were saying, I'm not sure if he's European or gay. You know that saying? I've struggled with that kind of thing my whole life, or while I was traveling in North America, I should say. I don't see the problem in indulging in that side; Demetri is Italian. He's very European. He's also acutely arrogant and he's probably going to come across as borderline gay.
The Twilight films are PG-13, and because of that there are certain restrictions they'll always have to limit themselves to. What would you want to see yourself do, or even the rest of your cast, if there were no ratings boundaries?
Good question! There is a scene in New Moon where our "food" is brought into the dining room -- the "food" being, as the books state, a bunch of well-fed American tourists who have come to appreciate Volterra. I would say the more vicious aspect of our characters, whereby we go in and absolutely rip these guys to shreds in the most primal, vicious, aggressive fashion. I think you're going to see a little bit of that when it comes to David Slade's Eclipse. I don't think it's going to go that far, but vampires could go a lot further. We are a vicious breed.
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