What made you most excited about returning to the Terminator series?
I got excited as soon as I read the first draft of the script which was way before anyone was hired. I was very happy about the fact they paid a lot of attention to the storyline and characters. This was the most important factor in why I wanted to be a part of Terminator Genisys, as well as who they wanted to hire to play the other characters — they really went after great actors and great performers.
Well your character and Emilia’s appear to work really well together.
I remember when we did the first table read. Emilia was sitting next to me and for the first five minutes we didn’t talk about the script, we only talked about clothes and shops we liked. It was funny. But then we got going with the reading and got into it. And it read so well. I mean like within two-and-half or three hours we read through the entire script, and people laughed in the right places, it was very intense in other places, and so on. It was really terrific.
How do you think your male co-stars did with all the action scenes?
Amazing. They really got into it. We had great stunt people, who really mapped out the fight scenes well, but the key is to be into it, to be inside the fight. What was so appealing about working with this cast is their commitment. I said to Alan Taylor, our director, “Have you ever thought: we’ve been shooting now for at least three months and not one actor has ever complained that they’re sore or injured or tired, or they can’t do this and that?” It really just says a lot for you guys.
Was it strange coming back to this role?
No. It’s like riding a bicycle, you fall right back into it. When I started practicing the lines I started talking like a machine again. It was like you slip into that character and the only thing you have to be careful about is do you play the Terminator or do you play the Protector or do you play the Protector and therefore you’re also the Terminator because you protect? Like, in this case, I protect Sarah Connor but anything that is coming close to her, or threatening her, I terminate. So I’m the Terminator in some way and I’m the Protector in another. So you have to be careful how you play that in each moment. Be very careful you don’t go too strong but then communicate the kind of fatherly protector to the director to make sure we get that across.
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