Luke Goss – One Night With The King

Q.  What are some of the recent projects that you’ve been working on?

A.  I have done twenty-one movies in five years, it’s been crazy.  There is one coming out which is like a science-fiction, horror thriller film.  It’s really good and it’s with Emmanuelle Vaugier and myself, she’s the girl from Saw II.  The two of us play the lead in that and it’s called Unearthed.  Then there was a film called Bone Dry, which is like a thriller, with Lance Henriksen.  He’s like hunting me through the desert, it’s like a 1970s thriller like Deliverance or something like that.  It’s kind of a combination of that and Castaway, it’s just the two men.  I just did a great film based on the International Best Seller which is Shanghai Baby.  It’s a steamy, passionate love story.  It’s about a Chinese woman who falls in love with a Western man and he’s married.  There are things missing in her life and there are things missing in his life.  It’s a really passionate love story and a film called Deep Winter that’s coming out with Michael Madsen. 

Q.  What can you tell us about the premise for One Night With The King and about your character?

A.  It’s a love story, it’s a story from the Bible obviously, but from a filmmakers point of view it’s a love story.  It’s about courage and faith and love and all that good stuff.  It’s inspiring because it’s a true story and people say, “Come on, now that’s too far fetched.  This couldn’t happen.”  But, it actually did!  I’ve done a few true stories before but that become somewhat contemporary.  They are still period pieces, one of them was set in the sixties, but this is four hundred years before Christ.  It’s about a Jewish orphan who falls in love with a man, not necessarily a king, but he is a king.  She falls in love with a man and becomes queen of Persia.  At the time the Persian Empire would rival, if not more, then the Roman Empire.  It was huge and the likelihood of a Jewish orphan girl becoming a queen and a queen of Persia is almost impossible.  It’s one of those movies that you watch over and over, I mean I was at the premiere and I love all kind of movies.  I love action, I love love stories and passion and all of this stuff.  I felt this is absolutely gorgeous, it’s a love story.  I watched movies when I was younger like The Way We Were and if you’re watching a movie and you love it, all that love stuff, especially if the backdrop is epic.  It doesn’t feel like a chick-flick, so it was a lot of fun making that film.  Being in India for four months, living in the palace, with the Maharaji and the Maharani still residing in the palace we were living in.  It was an unbelievable experience making the movie.

Q.  What made you want to be a part of this project?

A.  I read the script and it read really big, it read like a huge project.  I read the king and I thought he was whimsical at times in the script.  I knew that if I got the chance to strengthen him and not use a whimsical approach and use something else.  It’s a good challenge because playing a king a lot of people play him with his nose up in the air.  It’s somewhat arrogant, I wanted to play him as a benevolent king, a man that is king as opposed to a king that is king.  They talked to me about playing the role of Haman, which is obviously the guy who was trying to annihilate the Jews and I didn’t want to play the role.  I told them that and after many meetings, so it was an amazing things to get.  I remember the night before the screen test, I was stupidly sick.  I went to the hospital, it was the only time in my life where I got this virus and it was this one day thing.  I literally passed out and I have never passed out ever in my life.  I checked myself out of the hospital at like five in the morning.  The doctor told me I should stay there but I said I had a couple of things to do.  So, I did the screen test and then went back to the hotel where I was living for about five or six months.  I got a call from my mangers and agents and I heard about four voices and they said you’re the king.  I smiled and I said, “Really?  Cool.”  I handed the phone over to my makeup artist and she kind of screwed around on the top of the roof of the hotel.  I kicked back and thought, “Great, this is going to be a journey.”  And it really was, it was a great experience.

Q.  Did you have to go through fight training for the role?

A.  I probably would have had to if I hadn’t done a lot of fighting with Wesley Snipes for Blade II.  I did a lot of fighting, like five hours a day, maybe more.  It was for about ten weeks and it was a lot of training.  The solidity of that and the understanding of movement.  I think I understood it really quickly and the stunt coordinator and I, funny enough the director said, “No, no, we’ll work it out.”  I said, “You don’t work those kind of things out in the day.  It doesn’t work that way.”  So, the stunt coordinator and I actually spent our own time choreographing the tiny little fight scene that I did.  It’s like a twenty-four move combination, it was quite crazy.  They had three cameras running, all running at five stock, and we shot it in its entirety every time.  We didn’t break it down, we shot it in its entirety every single time.  I did it about six times and it was done that quick.  For me it was like two days, when you do it on film it’s quick, it’s short but effective.  We did six takes and that was it, they ran it from different angles.  It just worked and it was really effective because the stunt coordinator and I found a piece of grass and worked it out.  It was cool, it was quick for me.

Q.  Why should viewers take the time to check out the film?

A.  I always get asked this question a lot when I was in music or when I wrote a book or did a film.  I always say they should only take the time if they want to take the time.  If they do, a good reason to see the film is because it’s a love story.  If you like love stories, if you like an epic visual then it is a good film to see.  It’s just a beautiful movie.  It’s made in India, it’s got some screen legends in it.  Omar Sharif is in the film, and I know there are many people out there who want to see him.  It’s a really inspiring story, it’s beautiful, you can leave the cynicism behind for a day or night and just check out the film.  It’s a beautiful film and it’s romantic, it’s a good film to curl up with a cutie next to  you.  It’s a good thing to go and do, I’m really proud of it.  If people don’t go and see it, it’s not like I’m parting with my money and it’s the same old story.  It’s not, you have to pay attention and it’s engaging for the two hours plus that you see it.  So, there are worse things you could spend that cash on for sure.

Q.  You’ve done acting, writing and singing, is there anything else you’d like to try your hand at?

A.  I’d love to direct, I am definitely going to direct.  I’ve done twenty-one movies now and I think I’m going to do two or three more maybe.  Then, start with a five million dollar picture and then direct.  Find a story that I like and a movie that I could totally surround myself with people I trust and a technical team that can help me.  I would definitely want to direct for sure, I want to be an actor that also directs occasionally.  And produces, I’m starting up my production company, so I’ll be an actor, producer and director.  Just make movies in different capacities. 

Q.  Do you have a latest obsession?  Are you into any particular book, sport, or activity?

A.  I have a few things I do and I like doing them.  I don’t know if I have an obsession right now just because I’m crazy busy.  It’s ridiculous, I am looking at scripts and by the time I got back to Germany I was asked to jump into another movie.  I love suba diving, I love water skiing, I love riding horses.  I like flying a plane, I’ve done a lot of stuff, I wake up each day and I’m pretty happy to be here.  So, I am a big fan of just getting up.

Q.  What would you like to say to your fans and supporters?

A.  I have to say I feel like I’ve been working forever.  I have been doing this in different shapes and sizes for twenty years and I’m still quite a young boy.  But, they’ve always been so incredibly supportive.  They are a huge part of why you do what you do.  I want to say a fantastic thank you, thank you for the kindness, thank you for the support.