Clive Standen – Vault

By: Lisa Steinberg

Q) What are the recent projects that you are working on?

A) I haven’t stopped this year. Actually, it’s been crazy. I’ve been traveling all around the Middle East and now I’m in North Africa and Morocco filming a six-part spy drama called “Mirage,” which is all about the private military companies employed by the oil companies to try to take out a new sustainable energy and I play a spy in the middle of it all trying to stop it all from happening. It’s kind of like “The Night Manager.” It’s a lot of fun. It’s a lot of espionage. Then, my pilot for NBC was picked up for series so as soon I finish this I’m headed off to Savannah to film “Council of Dads,” which is a completely different direction for my career. It’s an emotional family drama about a man diagnosed with cancer so he starts to think about trying to find all of the best males from throughout his life to be good role models for his children in the event he passes away and leaves his wife a widow. I play his best friend and a bit of a loose cannon. He’s got a lot to impart on the children and is one of the members of The Council of Dads. My whole year is planned out. It’s fantastic, but I’m crazy busy. Then, “Vikings” is now released on iTunes and On Demand.

Q) What made you want to be in the film Vault?

A) I sat down with the director Tom DeNucci who wrote the script himself and the script was fantastic. It’s his first time doing a movie at this level and he was so passionate about it and also the producer Chad [A. Verdi], who recently produced The Irishman with Scorsese and also did this brilliant film Bleed for This starring Miles Teller a few years ago that I saw. As an actor, I like to spin as many plates as possible. I’m in my mid 30’s so I want to remind people that I’m not just one thing. And I’d been doing “Vikings” for a long time and then I was doing “Taken,” the series, that is full of action. I did a series in Australia called “In Like Flynn,” playing this 55-year-old crazy alcoholic nutcase sailor. This was just another chance at a character that kind of scares me. It’s a Rhode Island accent, which I’ve never done before. I didn’t know if I could pull it off and the character itself was a transformation. I like wiping the slate clean and starting fresh with every character and this one just fascinated me. That’s why I stepped on board and it didn’t let me down. When I was there, Theo Rossi (a fantastic actor who gives you everything every take) and Chazz Palminteri, Don Johnson and Samira Wiley (who is fantastic) all kind of banded together. It’s kind of a low budget film compared to Scorsese’s work on The Irishman that is like a hundred-million-dollar movie, but if the script is good then it is going to be good. With a good team of people who were passionate about making it was a lot of fun. I’ve seen the film and I’m really happy with it. This goes down as one of the biggest heists in US history. It’s an original story. It’s not kind of high stakes mafia guys doing it. It’s actually the mafia controlling the whole situation. It’s the se two small time crooks who get in way above their heads. Things just escalate and escalate. I think the moral of the story is if things look too good to be true, they often are. If you try to steal from the mob it’s not going to end well. You’ll see all of that play out in the movie.

Q) How was your character Chucky described to you?

A) All of these guys were real. It is based on a true story and we were filming in Rhode Island. It’s a small place and they’re all very passionate about their history. The 1970’s wasn’t too far ago and a lot of people there were old enough to still remember it or were there at the time or know family members or people involved. Chucky is a small-time crook and the stakes just get bigger and bigger. He starts to get more drawn into the criminal underworld and Theo’s character starts off sensible and begins spiraling out of control. I think if you put these characters in a similar situation that the outcome would be entirely different. I always love that saying, “Some people can change more in one day than others can change in a whole lifetime.” This one event takes these characters on different spirals. Chucky is a live wire. He is slightly unstable and it’s always exciting watching a character like that because you’re always thinking about what he is going to do next.

Q) Did you do much research into the actual event to get into character?

A) I always try to immerse myself in everything that I can, especially playing a real person who walked the world. Just like Rollo in “Vikings,” you kind of have a responsibility to try to be as familiar with that character as possible or that person. This person is not just coming out of the mind of a writer. This was a real person. Once I got to Rhode Island I did all the research into the crime itself and police documents. But when you get to Rhode Island and meet the people who live there, everybody knows somebody who knows somebody that knows Chucky. The stories are so vastly different that you kind of have to realize that the truth lies in the middle somewhere. Some people tell these stories that are larger than life and some people say the opposite. You have to figure out this person because I couldn’t actually meet Chucky. But, yeah, it’s quite interesting because in between takes you’d talk to extras or just passersby who just happen to be watching the film and they’d be like, “Oh yeah! I knew this guy,” or “I knew a guy who knew that guy.” Sometimes it was quite terrifying when someone is telling a true story about someone who has maybe disappeared or was “taken out with the garbage” so to speak. Sometimes it’s just like little stories and you remember these people are all human and they are all providers for their families. No one is a villain. Everyone is a bad guy to somebody else. At the end of the day, everyone loves their children (if they have them) and they have their things that motivate them. But it was fun actually filming in Rhode Island in some of the real locations and actually meet some of the locals that knew this heist when it went down.

Q) Talk about working with director Tom DeNucci.

A) Tom has been a revelation for me. It impresses me as to how dedicated he is, what a great writer he is and how he handles a film like this with actors like this (Don Johnson, Chazz Palminteri and Samira Wiley) and takes it in stride. We had a low budget compared to some of the big mafia films out there. We hardly ever went over and we didn’t drop scenes. He was fantastic working with the actors and I think he’s going to have a great career not just as a director, but as a writer as well.

Q) What were some of your favorite moments from filming Vault?

A) I think the 1970’s is just a fantastic period of time to be immersed in. I’d not done anything like that before. I choose characters where I can draw attention away from myself so I can completely immerse myself in the character. I’m not a method actor, by any means. I just like to do everything I can to fill like the whole of this person is not into Clive other than some of the thoughts. I can look in the mirror and not recognize myself. So, there is the character, but also the 70’s itself is kind of electric and sexy and mental. It was kind of fun to do those scenes. The first one that comes to mind is we had this scene in Las Vegas in a casino and it was like no acting required. They had the roulette tables and they made it all in Rhode Island. It was fun to go back to the 70’s and be in Vegas in its heyday because it was even more corrupt than it is now! That was fun.

Q) What did you personally take away from your time working on the film?

A) It was nice to be in such a small state and see how much people are there for each other and it’s a family. I always say to people, “I think we should go to the island just for the people,” and Rhode Island gave me that experience too. They are very passionate. They would close down. The Chief of Police was just so happy we were filming in Rhode Island that he closed down roads and things for us. The people were donating 70’s cars and they were almost thinking they had to pay us to have their cars in the film. They were just so generous. Everyone got on board and show Rhode Island on the movie screen, which was lovely. That was the biggest memory I took away, the people of Rhode Island and just how normal and down to earth they were.

Q) What else would you like to be sure we share with our readers about your time on Vault?

A) I think it’s an original crime drama and it has not been done before. I can’t believe this is the biggest US heist in history and it’s never been put on the screen in this way before. It’s very different. A lot of the crime and mafia dramas out there already and I think it will stand alone. But it’s just one those crazy stories that you almost can’t believe it’s true. So, I think people should go and see it for the performances itself. They are great. They managed to get Theo Rossi and Samira Wiley, who were fantastic to work with. They kind of give everything. Just go and catch it and see it for yourself.