Rupert Evans – The Doorman

By: Jamie Steinberg

Q) What originally made you want to be a part of The Doorman?

A) To be honest with you, I was just sent the script. That’s how it kind of came to me. I was sent the script and asked if I would be interested. It’s kind of funny that there were no conditions attached. It was just, “Here is the script and would you have a read.” So, I always read the script. I try to read as much as I can. Any script that comes my way I’ll certainly read. It kind of intrigued me when I read it and then I found out a little more about who was attached. I have always really enjoyed Jean Reno and all his work. I knew the other actors as well. Aksel Hennie I had heard of and had friends who worked with him before. Ruby Rose I knew of as well. It was kind of a combination of things that drew me to the project. I just really loved the script and I thought it was great fun. It had an interesting narrative underneath the action. So, it was a combination of two or three things that drew me to it.

Q) The old adage is “never work with kids or animals.” Is that something you can attest to?

A) [laughs] I’ve worked with a lot of kids and I worked with a lot of animals. We actually had a cat in this and it was a nightmare! The cat was supposed to come out of the apartment and turn left and it kept turning right. I just kept thinking, “Well, this is never going to happen.” I remember we spent an hour to persuade it to turn left. I think the camera scared it away. So, maybe it’s right never work with animals. But the two kids that were playing my children (Julian [Feder] and Kila [Lord Cassidy]) were fantastic. I enjoy working with kids in many ways because you’re able to create a family. The dynamic of the family is kind of interesting. It’s difficult to create a genuine connection quickly, but I enjoy that.

Q) What was the backstory you were given between Jon and Ali?

A) Yeah…When the film opens, we find my character Jon is a single father who is really dealing with the death of his wife and trying to raise these two kids who are dealing with their own grief and the death of their mother. Then, in comes Ali (played by Ruby Rose) who is my ex-wife’s sister. It transpires through the movie that, as you’ll see, our relationship is a little more complicated – or has been a little more complicated in the past. And perhaps I haven’t been as faithful as I should have done that adds complications to things. There is an interesting dynamic and it really runs throughout the movie. It’s one that informs the whole movie really.

Q) It’s interesting that this past doesn’t seem to carry over though into the future as they both seem to have an affection for one another.

A) Well, I think the circumstances of the movie bring them together and I think that is what is so interesting, for me. Under normal circumstances, I think there is a lot of confusion, pain and hurt. But because they are brought together for a bizarre situation where this group of art thieves are trying to kind of find these paintings and the fact we’re hostages in this high rise building in luxury New York lends itself…I think we kind of bond as a family and any of the mistrust and the pain that has been created by the mistakes of the past have been put aside at that moment to kind of survive. And I think that’s what the movie is about really.

Q) There is such intensity to the film. How did you shake off a long day of shooting?

A) It wasn’t that bad. There was a lot of joking. It’s funny, the more intense the movie or scene invariably what happens with actors is the more they sort of joke around. It’s kind of one of those weird things. I think it’s kind of like a way of dealing with it. I find that in any movies I’ve done that the more intense it is the sillier actors get outside doing the scene. [laughs] I think it’s kind of a release mechanism. I don’t know. So, we had a lot of fun actually. We were always trying to make the scenes better, which was our main goal really. Actually, we had very little time. This movie was shot very quickly really. It was by no means a huge budget, but it achieved a huge amount in the very short time that it was shot. So, yeah, it was pretty amazing. We didn’t have much time to stop and think. We just kept on shooting.

Q) What were some of your favorite scenes to film?

A) Well, I loved the hostage-y bits when we’re all sort of taken hostage. I did this one scene with Boris (played by Aksel Hennie, who is a great Norwegian actor). He and I have sort of a fight where a gun gets kicked out of a hand and we kind of have a struggle. There is a lot of pointing guns and a will-they-won’t-they shoot with each other. A grenade goes off. Those kinds of scenes were really fun and intense. Get the blood going, kind of thing. Those were my favorite scenes. Actually, also I enjoyed the scenes with Jean Reno just talking to him. He and I have a couple of scenes where we just talk one to one. Those are kind of understated…I don’t know, ego going on between the two characters and I enjoyed those kinds of quieter scenes as well. Those are the two that standout.

Q) What did you personally take away from your time working on The Doorman?

A) It’s been a while since I worked in Eastern Europe. We filmed this in Romania. I just left thinking, “God, Romania is beautiful.” I had forgotten how great…I’ve shot a lot in Budapest and Hungary and Lithuania. I’ve done a lot in Eastern Europe over the years. Romania was just beautiful shoot in. It was just lovely to be there. It gets really hot in the summer and it was great for me. I enjoyed the location. And you know what? It’s been a long time since I’ve done a sort of action movie. Though I didn’t have a huge amount of action to do, it was lovely to be a part of and to see all of the stunt men and all of those action sequences that we did. You forget how complicated and intricate all of those stunts are and how amazing it is that they pull it all off and it looks so natural and real yet there is a huge amount of effort, work and detail that has gone into it. I really enjoy doing action movies. Although I’m not much of an action man myself, it was great to be a part of and I hope to do more in the future.

Q) The film leaves the ending open for a possible sequel in London. Would you be open to returning?

A) YES! Always! Always! I love sequels! [laughs] Listen, I feel very attached to this movie and Ruby was really wonderful to work with. She worked incredibly hard. Not only did she sort of have to carry the movie, but she had a lot of physical work to do and emotionally she was really brilliant. So, I never know. Who knows what will happen in the future? We’ll leave that up to the powers that be. Who knows?

Q) You often take on dramatic roles. Is there something about this genre that continues to draw you to it?

A) Yeah…You know what? A lot of people have asked me that and I think I do enjoy putting myself in extreme situations and I think that’s what drama is. It’s a story that is heightened in an extreme situation. Yeah, I do…I think, subconsciously I’m drawn to those kind of heightened stakes roles and movies because that’s what I find interesting and enjoy doing. And storytelling those types of movies are something I love.

Q) We loved you in “The Man in the High Castle.” What did it mean to you to be a part of such a critically acclaimed series and to portray the iconic role of Frank Frink?

A) Listen. “The Man in the High Castle” will forever be, for me, one of the most enjoyable sort of jobs of my time as an actor. It’s such an iconic book and the group of actors that they brought together…Amazon were very open to really telling the story of what Philip K. Dick had written in the book and it’s such an extraordinary idea. And I think it deals with lots of genres. It’s not only kind of an alternative history – what if the Nazi regime had won WWII and what would America be like. That in itself is extraordinary, but it also had this sci-fi element and with drama and a thriller element. For me, it was just an amazing, amazing project to be a part of. To do it over three seasons, which I did, the iconic character Frank Frink…What a great name, hey? It’s a funny name. [smirks] People do stop me and want to talk about it because people love Philip K. Dick and his writing has such a fanbase. He’s an extraordinary writer from Blade Runner to Minority Report and Total Recall. These are iconic ideas and movies. So, to be a part of that with “The Man In the High Castle” was great. It was really special. Extraordinary idea. So, it was great to be a part of.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who are fans and supporters of the work you do?

A) Oh! God! I have no idea! I want to say thank you. It’s funny, this time of the pandemic we’re all watching a bit more TV and watching films. I hope people are enjoying what is out there and the content they are watching. I love being a part of that. I watch TV too so I’m as much a viewer as anyone else. So, I hope people will enjoy this movie – The Doorman, which is just coming out. And others like “The Man in the High Castle,” as well – streaming. I hope you enjoy all of that.