Idol Magazine Edi

NEW MOON

With the impending Twilight mania which is sure to break loose on the release of New Moon on DVD tomorrow, we thought we’d heighten the hysteria with a few exclusive interviews with some of the cast.

In true IDOL style, we chat with the guys about how they came to be where they are now, how Twilight has affected their career and their journey from past to the future. It’s easy to look at these actors as buying into the empire of a franchise which is the saga, but once you hear their stories and struggle to where they are now, not only is it inspiring but you gain a new found respect for the actors who have been dubbed an ‘overnight success’, and learn that actually, their story is far from that.

Enjoy.

EDI GATHEGI, LAURENT

Edi: I’m Edi Gathegi and I play Laurent in Twilight and New Moon. (Momentarily get’s distracted by IDOL member’s tattoo)  I like your tattoo by the way.

IDOL: Thank you

Edi: What is it?

IDOL: ‘Keep believing’

Edi: Yeah? Where did you get that from? We’re switching the roles here! Ok, ok back to work!

IDOL: How does your role develop in New Moon from when we last saw your character in Twilight?

Edi: In Twilight my character is traditionally a vampire, he needs to kill human beings in order to survive, but he’s not all bad- he’s got a sort of moral compass, he knows right and wrong. He warns the Cullens that James is bad, so you know he shows some compassion. But in New Moon, he’s less conflicted. He’s been to Alaska, he’s tried his hand at vegetarianism, doesn’t like it, it’s not for him, he’s rather just eat a nice delicious human being. So he comes back in New Moon ready to kill, ready to eat, so I guess he’s considered bad because he’s dangerous now to the heroine of our story.

IDOL: How did prepare for the role, how did you get into character?

Edi: Well, for the first movie, I might have over-prepared, I did a lot of work that maybe wasn’t necessary. I came up with an entire back-story for my character, who he would’ve been friends with 300 years ago in France, what they did together.

IDOL: Wow, how did you that?

Edi:I just created, because I was fascinated with Saint George, he was a renowned fencer and general in France, and I thought you know it would be interesting if Laurent was his contemporary, you know 300 years ago in France, and they were friends, and he got turned but he that sort of refined lifestyle. So that’s where I began, and I’ll also say that Stephanie makes every character, she sets the rules for the vampire world very specifically, so there’s not much you should do if you just follow what she sets, but I did my own research. And then because my character is slightly French, I decided to learn as much French as I could before we filmed so I could get the accent down, I was eating at French restaurants all the time, I tried to ge a French girlfriend- it didn’t work! So I over-prepared, and going into New Moon I didn’t have to do much work because the work was already done for Twilight, so I just showed up and learned the new lines.

IDOL: Did you do that for all your films? I mean you’ve been in quite a few high profile films such as ‘Gone Baby Gone’ and ‘Crank’..

Edi: I try to. Twilight was, like I said I think I over-prepared, but that’s also where I find a lot of joy in what I do, the detective work, like going and doing as much research as you can. Believe it or not I’m fascinated by real life characters, like I would love the chance to play historical personalities, people who really existed. Because there’s real documentation, video footage in some cases, then I can do the detective work because that’s what excites me. So for all my roles, as much as I can, I like to do that detective work. So, for ‘Gone Baby Gone’, I got mannerisms, cultural mannerisms down, and I created a back story for my character.  Yeah, I like to do that, I think it’s important to feel confident as an actor in what you’re doing, so there’s not a question in your mind on whether you’re being authentic. I get into the world and try to get into the mind.

IDOL: If you weren’t playing Laurent in the Twilight saga, who would you play?

Edi: Jean Pierre, Laurent’s twin brother. We’re creating a new story!

IDOL: God, I was like I swear I’m a Twi-Hard fan I swear! Who the hell’s Jean Pierre?!

Edi: My character obviously dies so we’ve got to find a way to bring him back. Jean Pierre played by none other than Edi Gathegi! (Laughs) Um, what character would I want play…  James.  Because where Laurent sort of goes back and forth with naughtiness, James is just hardcore evil. And I’m just too good in my life that sometimes I just like to play bad. It’s fun to play bad. Women like the bad boy, right?

IDOL: But James gets cut out early!

Edi: But it’s worth it because he goes out with a bang.

IDOL: Ok so when you were younger who did you look up to? Who was your IDOL?

Edi: My father was an idol for me, because his story is phenomenal, he came to the United States with $50 and a suitcase, and just like the American dream, and he brought my mother and my brother and I out within one year, working three jobs, one of which was a newspaper delivery boy, man. And now he’s a professor, he’s got five degrees from UC Berkeley, one of the most prestigious universities in our country, and now I get to pursue my dreams, I get to do what I want because of his sacrifices and his hard work.

IDOL: That’s an amazing story. I read that when you were younger you were really interested in basketball, were you considering that as a career before you sustained a knee injury?

Edi: I wasn’t so delusional that I thought I would become a professional in it, it was more of a passion. And I discovered it quite late, in my senior year, I don’t know how you guys break up high school but I was like 17 going on 18, and I had never played an organised sport ever, and my friends convinced me that there’s no way I should graduate without ever playing an organised sport, so I tried out for the basketball team. And I was quite good but I hadn’t played with them all through high school so I basically sat on the bench and watched. But in college I started to play every day to refine my skills, and I got quite good, and I was going to play for the college basketball team, and that’s when I injured my knee. I was depressed because I never hurt myself, and I couldn’t do anything. So I just wanted to take an easy class, so I took an acting class, but it turned out to be anything but easy. It was very difficult.

IDOL: But now you’re here!

Edi: Yeah, I found my passion.

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xoxo
Carrie