Kellan Lutz: If going shirtless helps this movie, so be it

The last time I interviewed Kellan Lutz, his piece was titled "Get To Know: Kellan Lutz." Of course that was before "Twilight," before "90210" and before his body became the object of global admiration. But even after two years worth of attention, infatuation and success, Kellan is still the super down-to-earth guy who first got excited over my love of "The Comeback."
This time around Kellan rang me up to talk about "Meskada," a crime drama following two down on their luck friends (Kellan & Jonathan Tucker) who get mixed up in a small town murder investigation. In addition to finding out why this indie appealed to Kellan, I learned that his very well plotted plan for box office domination is still very much in effect. Next step: rebooting Bourne?
PopWrap: When we spoke back in 2008, "Twilight" had yet to come out -- what have the last two years been like for you?
Kellan Lutz: Life flies by man. You look back and think, "God, what have I done in the last two years [laughs]." But I love making movies and I feel so blessed for someone who didn't dream of ever being an actor. If I don't win an Oscar, I won't cry a river ... but it would be amazing [laughs].

PW: What attracted you to "Meskada?"
Kellan: It’s just so different from anything I've ever done. I’ve been a part of these commercial movies, like the “Twilight” saga, so I wanted to play something that was real. Something that may not bring in a huge audience, but had a very well written story to tell. Plus, I grew up in a small farming town in Iowa, and the conflict that they go through with jobs disappearing is very real, so I really liked that about the script.
PW: But there are a lot of younger male characters in the film -- what appealed to you in particular about Eddie?
Kellan: He is a very simple character, he’s just trying to help out his friend – who he sees like a brother – when he gets pulled into this whirlwind of a mistake. He gets caught up in something bad by trying to do something good.
PW: Plus, it's the first movie where you probably didn't have workouts written into the contract.
Kellan: [laughs] Yea, but then they told me my sex scene would be topless. I thought, “of course! Of course you guys would ask that!” But you know what, if it helps the movie by bringing in two more people who just want to see me shirtless, great. It’s a fantastic story, so I’m happy to help in any way.
PW: And then of course that scene shows up in the trailer.
Kellan: Trailer? It’s on the poster! I couldn’t believe they picked the only shot where you could tell I didn’t have a shirt on [laughs].

PW: The other thing I remember about our conversation from 2008 was that you had a very intentional plan in terms of your career, have you stuck to those guns?
Kellan: I have to say, I really take pride in the career that I’ve chosen. I didn’t have the dream to be an actor, so this is a great hobby I want to keep doing for the rest of my life. And when you look at something that way, you want to do it right. By no means do I need to work all the time, or that I am still in everyone’s face. I don’t care about that – it’s all about choosing better projects.
PW: I'm really excited about "Immortals," where you play Poseidon.
Kellan: It's been a dream of mine to work with Tarsem [Singh, director]. And to do so alongside Mickey Rourke, Henry Cavill, Luke Evans, Frieda Pinto is really cool. Sometimes I think, ‘wow, I got here!’ I also have “Love, Wedding, Marriage” coming out, which is a romantic comedy. With that one, again, I just wanted to do something different. Then I did The Killing Game,” with Sam Jackson, which is a huge action movie. That’s where the end goal is.
PW: How do you mean?
Kellan: I want to be the Matt Damon of my generation. Someone who can do a serious drama and then a really funny movie like “The Informant" and then kick some butt in The Bourne franchise. I want to get my hands on something like that because I’m very athletic, I love action movies – I love those real world action heroes. I look up to Matt Damon’s career. He’s a very intelligent actor and person. I try and study what he does.
PW: Well they're rebooting the Bourne franchise, have you thrown your hat into that ring?
Kellan: [laughs] I have been throwing many hats into that ring. I’ve had a couple great meetings and it’s something I’m really pushing for as much as I can. That's one role I want. I want it baaaad.
nypos

~Robstenfan