Luke Evans' penchant for the different

DNA chats up with Luke Evans, the multi-faceted performer on The Raven and his other upcoming projects.

Q: You play the role of a detective in The Raven — how did you prepare for the role?
A: My character in the film is fictional but I had to understand the time he lived in, and where he lived, and the places he frequented. As much as I was playing a fictional character I had to understand Baltimore and what it was like in those days. So yeah, all of that information guided me as much as anything else.

Q: Are you a fan of Edgar Allen Poe?
A: Well, obviously I knew who he was and how much of a contribution he’s made to American literature and the genres that he founded. I can’t say that I’ve read a lot of his works but after getting the job, like any job, you start doing research. With someone like Poe, who lived such a long time ago, there is so much information on him, biographies, and obviously his work, which I thoroughly enjoyed reading.

Q: How was your experience working with an actor like John Cusack?
A: He was great; I didn’t have to think too much about John being Poe. He was just Poe. I mean when he was on set and the director said “action” he was there. He was that tormented, lost crazy soul that was Poe. It was very easy for me to play off that. John is fantastic and he’s had such a great career. He’s dealt with so many different genres — comedy, drama and thrillers. He’s great to work against as an actor. I haven’t been doing this for long, so for me to have a chance to work opposite someone as experienced as John, he just takes it by the horns and you learn as you go and watch the master at work.

Q: The Bard in The Hobbit and Apollo in Clash Of The Titans — do you enjoy playing figures from mythology and fiction?
A: They just happen to me. That could be because I am a theatre person and these kinds of movies need a lot of drama in them.

Q: You are the Bard in The Hobbit, how was the experience?
A: All I had to work with for my role as the Bard was the book itself and I loved the book. It is very different from the Lord Of The Rings. It is very humorous. It was great that I could refer to Peter’s (Jackson) video blogs and see who the actors were and what they had been up to before I joined the cast. It wasn’t like I was thrust down on Middle Earth with nothing to work with.

Q: You are also rumoured to be working in a thriller next, could you tell us more about that role?
A: Yes, it is a psychological horror film directed by Ryuhei Kitamara in New Orleans called No One Lives. I have finished shooting for it. It’s almost complete.

Q: And what about Fast And Furious 6, we hear you’re playing a negatively shaded character in that too?
A: It’s too early to comment on that right now.