Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje talks PompeiiPosted by Wilson Morales
December 17, 2013
Coming out on 2014 is Paul W.S. Anderson’s latest film ‘Pompeii,’ which stars Kit Harington, Carrie-Anne Moss, Emily Browning, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Paz Vega, Jessica Lucas, Jared Harris, and Kiefer Sutherland.
Set in 79 A.D., “Pompeii” tells the epic story of Milo (Kit Harington), a slave turned invincible gladiator who finds himself in a race against time to save his true love Cassia (Emily Browning), the beautiful daughter of a wealthy merchant who has been unwillingly betrothed to a corrupt Roman Senator. As Mount Vesuvius erupts in a torrent of blazing lava, Milo must fight his way out of the arena in order to save his beloved as the once magnificent Pompeii crumbles around him.
For Akinnuoye-Agbaje, who play the gladiator Atticus, the British actor is looking to add memorable role to his list of recognizable figures he’s played over the years. From Lock-Nah in The Mummy Returns, Nykwana Wombosi in The Bourne Identity, Mr. Eko on Lost and Simon Adebisi on Oz, the former fashion model has been characters that been despised as well as loved. After appearing as Heavy Duty in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and as Algrim in Thor: The Dark World more recently, Akinnuoye-Agbaje will soon be seen opposite Oscar nominee Quvenzhané Wallis and Jamie Foxx in the remake of Annie.
Blackfilm.com recently spoke with Akinnuoye-Agbaje on his role in Pompeii, which hits theaters on February 21, 2014.
How would you best describe the character that you are playing?
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje: Iconic. I’ve wanted to do on film what I created on TV, which is to create an iconic character such as Adebisi or Mr. Eko, and I think Atticus is right up there with them. He’s textured, he’s layered, he’s human, and he’s spiritual, but he’s absolutely brutal in what he has to do, which is kill the next man before he gets killed. He’s very stoic. Often when you see these movies, unfortunately, the black guy is normally the first to die. This isn’t the case. He has a really great arc and I’ll just tell bit of his background.
Atticus is probably an African that was probably captured by the Romans and enslaved and because of his physical abilities and prowess, he was put into the gladiator arena. He then became the champion gladiator of Pompeii, so he is their prized bull basically and everybody has to beat him. He ultimately has one more fight to win before he earns his freedom. That was Roman law. A slave or gladiator could earn their freedom by winning a certain amount of fights. That’s where he’s at in the story. He has only one more fight to earn his freedom and that one fight is with none other Mr. Kit Harington, who he is imprisoned with. They have to share this cell knowing that they have to kill each other very shortly. There’s this great relationship and tension that eventually becomes one of respect and you will see the outcome. There’s this lovely line that the respect comes in the form of “I will make sure that I kill you quick.” That’s the best words these guys can give each other in their world. He’s just a great character and you are going to love this guy.
What was the attraction to doing this and how much research did you do on the role?
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje: When I choose a role, there’s always two points that I look at. It’s the story and my part in the story. If they are appealing to me, then it’s really an easy decision. I open the script, read this character and I’ve been doing this long enough to know when you have something special. You have a special character. It was written so that this character would stand out as a heroic figure. It’s just brilliant. Obviously the story of Pompeii is a true story. It’s a fascinating story. When you have this heroic character within this historical true event, it’s a great combination. Growing up in Europe, I was very familiar with Pompeii, so that excited me as well. It’s probably one of the most disaster stories that we’ve encountered. This is the end of the world, and you will see what that looks like in 3D. It’s a phenomenal ride and you will a real rush when you see this.
How was shooting in Toronto?
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje: Toronto is one of my favorite places to shoot. I love the city and we built these amazing sets. It’s amazing what these production designers can build now. You would think that we were really in Pompeii but all the sets were built. We were up there for four to five months and just grinding it out. There was an intense training program because director Paul W. S Anderson and the producer Jeremy Bolt had a particular vision. They wanted you to perform the fights and go through physical gymnastics yourself and the training was a very important part of it. For four to six weeks, I trained four hours a day and lost about 30 pounds in the process. I was wearing things, in the arena, only women should probably wear. There was no CGI that would be possible for that. You just had to come and bring the goods that wear there. That was part of the process. As actor, it’s a great challenge when you are young enough and fit enough to be able to pull that off. I grew up watching “Ben Hur”, “Spartacus” and films with that arena and the sandals and the swords. I can say that I’ve been there and done that.
When you mention those films, will they think of “Pompeii” as different or same when it comes to your character?
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje: You are going to see two main differences. If you look at my character, I don’t think you have ever seen a black character so heroic and so powerful. We’ve seen “Gladiator” but you will have to see this. This guy is the champion fighter of Pompeii. There’s a reason he’s earn that title because he’s ferocious and he makes no apologies about it. We’ve never seen that. They wanted him to be like almost like a superhero in the arena. There’s that kind of build. He also has compassion. He will save a gladiator’s life because he’s very principled. He doesn’t like anyone to get stabbed in the back. If he’s going to get killed, it will be from a blade in the front. He has these rigid ethics on how to fight. How it differs from those gladiator movies is that it’s a true story. All of it is part of a true historical event from Pompeii and I think some will be aware. It’s a fascinating disaster story and you’re going to see that. Even though I play a gladiator, it’s all against this powerful phenomenon of the disaster of Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius is very much a character within this story. These are things that you don’t have in what I call “sandals movies.” That’s just one element of this movie, but the real story is what do you do when you are faced with the end of this world? How do you face death? Do you face it like a coward? Do you kiss your beloved? Do you stand up and face it? It’s just all of these notions and the ride itself? Wait until you see it.
How was working with Kit?
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje: First of all, we had a connection because we’re both from North London or we live in North London. Kit’s not from there but I am. We also trained together for 4-6 weeks. We really supported and pushed each other. We knew that we had to have a bond and that bond was earned through the training process before the movie. He’s a young, very dedicated and talented actor. We just had a lot of fun doing it. It was hard work. Because we both had to hit the same goals, it made it easier because we both were doing it side by side. The training process was very bonding for both of us and of course, the fights that we had to do, and the choreography. We had to be very much in sync.
From Thor 2 to Pompeii to Annie, you seem to have a vast amount of different portrayals on projects. How comforting is it that you’re not typecast for these projects?
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje: I’m always trying to expand the repertoire and just to keep myself invigorated in the acting process because I just don’t to keeping churning out the same roles. What excites me is to be diverse. I have the opportunity to play opposite Quvenzhane Wallis, whom I regard as a phenomenal talent. I always look at the talent, whether it’s Robert De Niro or a young 10-year old girl, who’s brilliant. I was excited at the prospect of playing a lighthearted comedic role and maybe do a little song and dance, which I had to do in the movie. I like flipping the genres of films that I’m in.
Having said, is there a role that you want to do that you haven’t had the opportunity to play?
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje: I would say anything specific, but I wouldn’t mind being the lead of an action film or a romantic comedy to show my sexy side. It’s about pushing the barrier. I think I’m leaning toward playing the lead guy or action guy or something like that.
