Courtesy of Warner Bros. StudiosThe Daily Aztec: Chris, you’ve been in a lot of movies based on comic books and graphic novels. Why do you keep taking roles in all of these movies?
Chris Evans: Yes. I get asked that question a lot. You know, I think it just seems to be what Hollywood is making right now. Comic books translate to film incredibly well. You know, there’s obviously the built in audience and I’m sure the studios are fans. I just said this weekend (that) they make for a great blueprint, you know, with all these people involved: the actors, the director, the visual effects provider. Everyone involved is trying to make a movie come to life. It’s nice having this kind of foundation to reference so I think it’s an easy transition from page to screen when it comes to comic book movies.
The Daily Aztec: Columbus, considering the past roles you’ve had in films like “Stomp the Yard” and “Armored,” how would you compare those to your role in “The Losers” and what sets “The Losers” apart from the rest of those films?
Columbus Short: Interesting question. I guess it’s the natural progression in one’s career. I mean I guess this is how you would define it. “Stomp the Yard” was … a genre piece. “Armored” was a suspense thriller, a little more on the heavy side, and you know, everything, every movie I’ve done feels like, you know, culminated to this movie … This is an action piece, comedy, there is drama, there is intensity and there’s (academy), so all of the tools that I’ve picked up along the way in my career so far have kind of made it appropriate for me to be ready to do a movie like this … A film is a film, the work is always required, the preparation is always required, it’s just a bigger action, fun film and so I think the difference between “Stomp the Yard” and this is that we have on stomp boots instead of guns, you know?
The Daily Aztec: Chris, a lot of your recent movies involve you portraying wisecracking, superhero good guy roles such as in “Fantastic Four” and then “Push.” What is it about you that makes movie producers seek you for these specific types or roles and what do you enjoy most about being the good guy?
CE: That’s a good one. I’m not quite sure if I was a wisecracking guy in “Push,” I don’t think we made too many jokes but I do know what you mean. I do tend to play smart-asses. And I am not quite sure. Up until this point in my career, I still (am) auditioning. It’s not like they just come in and offer me movies. So I don’t know, maybe there are movies that I just audition for a little bit better. You know, it’s hit or miss. The truth is I have actually played, believe it or not, just as many non wise-ass parts as I have played wise-ass parts, but the other movies haven’t had the same exposure that things like “Fantastic Four” has. In my world, it’s been pretty balanced and I just don’t know if everyone always gets to see every single piece of film that an actor makes.
The Daily Aztec: Columbus, your character in the film, Pooch, is a devoted family man. In “Armored,” you also played a character that had strong family devotion. Have you found that the casting of these two roles has reflected an aspect of your personality that you have empathized with?
CS: Absolutely. I empathize. I have a son and I have a wife (and) it’s easy for me to tap into what a man would do for his family. In “Armored,” I had a little brother and (I applied) the thought of “This is my son, what would I do, how would I approach it?” (It’s) the same with this movie. So it’s not a departure at all, it’s actually a great help that I don’t know if I’d be able to necessarily tap in the right way if I didn’t actually have a family.
The Daily Aztec: What was the most difficult part of doing this movie?
CE: I’d say the heat, for me at least. I’m Irish from Boston and I’m not built for warm weather and we were shooting in Puerto Rico and as far as I’m concerned, getting up every day in 100 degree weather &- it was 100 and humid … It wasn’t my cup of tea, so that was my challenge. But I think I was the only one that was struggling as much as I was.
CS: You know, I’m going to be honest. It’s one of the most exotic locations that I’ve shot in and it’s hard to shoot a movie for me in a place where you want to be on vacation at, you know what I mean? It really is &- so you know, that was a tough time for me.
The Daily Aztec: Chris, how do you feel about your character development? Was it something collaborative or was it something that you understood right away reading the script?
CE: Absolutely. You know, I will say the foundation of the character was pretty much there when I first read the script that’s why I signed on. But when we arrived at the location, when you show up in Puerto Rico, you never know: every director is different, every cast is different, some people like rehearsals and some people don’t. I’m a huge fan of rehearsal and luckily, so is Sylvain White and so we got to have a couple of weeks of (running lines) and doing read-throughs and just kind of getting along the same page. And I guess that was the first part of the collaborative effort. The second was once you arrive on set, a lot of times, no matter how much preparation you put into it, things change … Sometimes the director’s aren’t able or willing to evolve and go with the flow and Sylvain is great when it comes to that … Sylvain is very accommodating, I thought he was great.
The Daily Aztec: Why did you decide to do this project?
CS: People aren’t pounding down my door offering movies but I will say this: I’ve worked with Warner Brothers and when Joe was telling me that they were going to do this, I found out Sylvain was doing it, and so I talked to Sylvain and just the chance to work with Sylvain again, I was like, let me check it out for real and once I read it, I thought it was amazing. It was a movie that was refreshing. We needed this but we hadn’t had the fun, action movie since like, you know, “Lethal Weapon” and “Bad Boys.” So I just thought it had that tone but was new and fresh. And then I went and read the graphic novel and thought it was really cool. I thought I could bring something to it, and so the next step was just hoping that they actually gave me the movie. So it was kind of a no-brainer, and then hearing Chris Evans was attached and they were going after Zoe, and the cast is going to be really amazing so, you know, I would be an idiot not to have done it.
The Daily Aztec: I heard the cast went through a lot of rigorous military training for the movie. What were both of your experiences with that like? Have you ever had to do anything like that for another film?
CE: It was pretty intense. We had a guy named (Haley Humphrey) down there who is the real deal. This guy had seen battles. This guy had bullets in his leg and he’s trained actually before so he definitely knew how to communicate with the people who had absolutely zero experience in this world, and it was a lot of fun. The best part of movies like that, you get to get an education in a world that you would otherwise never touch. It was a lot of fun. We had about two weeks of gun training and just working as a tactical unit and clearing rooms and all these really fun military stuff. It was like summer camp for the military.
The Daily Aztec: How does director Sylvain White make the movie standout from anything that’s ever been seen before?
CS: You know why this movie is going to stand out is the source material. You always got to go back to the source. “The Losers” the graphic novel is fantastic &- period
. They did a great job and created the graphic novel, and it starts there. So from there, Sylvain did an excellent job of translating what was on the page of the graphic novel to screen, and I think it’s some of the closest translation I’ve seen from graphic novel to film, and that alone is going to set it apart … With this taking something from a graphic novel and translating it to screen, they’ve never seen these characters really speak and talk, only in their head, so it’s going to be refreshing for people, I think, in audiences to see. And people who don’t know “The Losers,” they’re just going to be like, wow, this is just freaking cool.
The Daily Aztec: As with all movies based on graphic novels, fans of the series are always some of the biggest critics. Do you find it easier or more challenging to play characters that already had a following from a comic book series, and how do you hope fans of the series will react to this film adaptation?
CE: It’s easier and more difficult. It’s easier in a sense from an acting standpoint, but again you have a blueprint. It’s like doing a film based on a novel. You have some kind of reference to give you a world to create a character in. More difficult in a sense that you have fans who have specific ideas and you don’t want to disappoint. So it’s a double-edged sword, but again, when you go into movies like this you take that into consideration. That’s one of the top priorities for not just the actors but the director and the producers, and I think we’ve done a great job on this movie. And I was not a big fan of comic books in my youth, and I certainly had never heard of “The Losers.” But obviously, I went with the cast and did our homework and we all read the comic books. And I can say that what I’ve seen on screen, I think we did a pretty good job, so hopefully the fans will be happy.
The Daily Aztec: What is the process like in this movie in terms of working with an ensemble cast? A lot of action movies might rely on one big star, but everybody is involved in this movie.
CE: It was fantastic. The chemistry of the cast is just like a throw back in the “Lethal Weapons” and “Bad Boys” and even if the script is great, even if the direction is great, if you don’t care about the characters and the relationships they have with one another then I think we miss the ball. But everyone got along incredibly well. And I guess part of the question has to do with, you know, stardom. It’s not always the case that if you have a gigantic star in your film that there’s a bit of an alienation. But certainly in this movie, since there were no gigantic movie stars that there were absolutely no egos. Again, let me just be clear. It doesn’t necessarily means there will be egos if there is a movie star, but luckily for us no one was, you know, all over Us Weekly every week so there is this kind of this humble nature in everyone, and everyone really clicked and they just felt kind of like a family right away.
The Daily Aztec: What is it like to play a character who is versatile in the sense that he is an action guy and a computer guy?
CE: It’s fantastic, it’s fantastic. That’s, you know, it just adds to the richness of the character. It’s always fun to play someone who (is) making a fool out of himself and tripping over with his own words and awkward around a girl and then the next scene, kicking open doors and shooting guns. It’s a lot of meat on the bones with Jensen, so I had a great time.
The Daily Aztec: Was there are a lot of improvisation on the set or was it all scripted? And do either of you have a preference?
CS: There was a lot of improvisation actually. I think even at some point too much … You want to rehearse and see what works. And sometimes what’s written on the page might read well but (on its feet) it just doesn’t quite translate as organic or as believable. And so, you know, having such an actor as director, we were able to collaborate … And Chris was really great with the coming up with stuff on the fly, I mean, one of the best improvisers I’ve worked with I think, in my career.
