By starrymag | August 10, 2016

By: Kelly Kearney

Q) You’re in the new film Suicide Squad and you play the mysterious character Incubus. Can you tell us about the character since it’s different than in the comics?

 

Alain: Incubus is a demon and brother of a Succubus who inhabits June Moon played by Cara Delevingne. Incubus, who once ruled the Earth with his sister, has been imprisoned for thousands of years and is now freed by his sister [Delevingne] and is determined to take back what’s his.

 

Q) What was it like working with such a variety of A-list talents, especially when you faced all of them in arguably the film’s biggest scene? Was it intimidating?

 

Alain: Intimidating at first when I didn’t have the part. Once I got on the set, these guys were so professional, such open people and loving that they make you feel at home right away. It was an amazing experience especially since Will Smith was such a huge role model for me growing up. I wouldn’t even speak English if it wasn’t for him. I got to talk to him and tell him how important he was in my development. It was just an amazing experience.

 

Q) With all those A-List actors, how were you chosen for this role?

 

Alain: Yeah… I don’t know! [laughs] I guess I’ve been doing this a long time. I’m no A-list actor for now, but I’ve been working consistently for many years. I auditioned from Montreal by tape. I met with David Ayer on my second audition and had a chemistry read with Cara Delevingne on my third audition. I didn’t know who she was, but I looked her up and I was like WOW! I can do that chemistry. I’m a walking chemist! I realize I am very fortunate as I know lots of A-list actors would have jumped for that opportunity.

 

Q) Do you have any fun stories from working on the film? I heard about an on set play tent? What’s that about?

 

Alain: Oh so Joel [Kinnaman] and Will decided to build a tent and it was huge. We were all in there, the fun tent. There was basketball, pool, ping pong and a huge sofa. It had a DJ booth actually and flat screen TVs. We were all hanging out in this fun tent during our downtime. I can remember Will playing chess with Joel while other people were playing pool and my very pregnant girlfriend was playing basketball. It was very surreal with everyone dressed as superheroes.

 

Q) The characters of Enchantress (played by Cara Delevigne) and Incubus are brother and sister, which may be a little different than comic book fans might remember. Can you tell the fans what we can expect from these siblings and what it was like acting alongside supermodel Delevigne?

 

Alain: I was very impressed with her acting skills. Ya’ know I looked her up and saw she’s a supermodel so I didn’t know what to expect. On set she’s very giving, focused, natural. She really brought it with the chemistry because you know we had to get along since we played brother and sister. The way they fight together the public might see them as the bad guys, but if you look at all the things humans did to them from another perspective they might not be as bad as we think. They’re just fighting whoever is fighting them. We’re talking about family here so the relationship is really important. It’s not so black and white. What’s the saying? “Every terrorist is a freedom fighter?” That’s the same thing here. We are the bad guys but if you turn it around, humans can be the bad guys, too.

 

Q) The fans were chomping at the bit to find out who the villain or villains were in the film but the producers remained tight lipped until recently. Can you talk about the decision to hide the character’s importance a secret for so long?

 

Alain: It wasn’t a surprise; I knew that from the get go. They didn’t want to release anything about Incubus and the villains of the movie. Sony Image Works was working on the character up until a couple weeks before the premiere so I knew it from the get-go. So, I got to do two things – I got to shoot the movie and then a year later I get to promote the movie when it finally comes out. So, I actually like that better that way.

 

Q) Can you tell the fans about the film’s use of CGI with your character? It’s something we’ve never seen before right?

 

Alain: Yes, the guys at Sony were so excited about a character like Incubus. I had a hard time grasping how important the CGI work was. I was on set as a reference and ran my lines with the other actors, but afterwards they few me to L.A. for a whole week of scans, shooting, motion capture and things like that. They set me in this sphere with cameras 360 degrees around me and even under my feet and everything. They said these kinds of effects have only been used for people like Tom Cruise and Angelina Jolie’s characters. I don’t really know the terms or what it was called, but I do know only the best of the best in that field worked on my character.

 

Q) You’re on social media, like most of the world. Do you enjoy getting that instant fan feedback on your work?

 

Alain: Yeah, to be honest I’ve only been really active the past couple weeks and I’m getting the hang of it more and more. I wasn’t on it before because I really didn’t understand it, but now I get it. I mean you get instant reactions from the fans and from the movie. You get to keep a public relationship with colleagues so yeah, it’s a lot of fun. I’m definitely getting to know social media, slowly but surely.

 

Q) Suicide Squad scored big in the box office on Friday. Could this mean a sequel? Have there been any talks about it and if so, would you return?

 

Alain: Anything’s possible. I talked to David [Ayers] about it so yeah, anything is possible. For now, they have to see what’s happening with the movie. David Ayers has to be interested. The studio has to be interested. So for now, we are so far from a sequel anything can happen. There’s been talks about the Harley Quinn movie. I’m not in a position to know and I don’t think the studio even knows yet, but like I said anything is possible.

 

Q) You started out as a stunt performer and worked with some pretty big names in Hollywood. What’s the difference between preparing for an acting role versus preparing for, say a fight scene?

 

Alain: Its very different, it’s a different craft and art form. Both are about telling a story. They take completely different skills. I see it as two different things completely. Acting is about crafting the human experience whereas stunts are telling story with your body, basically like dancing…and sometimes it also hurts. [laughs]

 

Q) Besides Suicide Squad, do you have any upcoming projects you’d like to share with the fans?

 

Alain: I wish I could. I’m working on something really great right now in Montréal and I cannot talk about it. It’s a great project and totally different. Also great actors, but unfortunately I really can’t talk about it.