Ryan Kwanten

In his latest film, ”Griff the Invisible”, Aussie actor Ryan Kwanten plays Griff an ordinary guy who works in a shipping company in Melbourne. There’s nothing particularly special about Griff, at least not during the day. He’s bullied by his colleagues, and is the butt of all their jokes. If that wasn’t enough, his job sucks as well. By night it’s a different story though. Once Griff rips his suit off he becomes Griff the invisible superhero and bad guys quake in his presence… well sort of. Gaynor Flynn caught up with the extremely nice Ryan Kwanten – who took time out from filming ”True Blood” to promote this small Aussie film – at the recent Toronto International Film Festival.

Congratulations on the film. I understand you had to fight for the role?

Yeah, the problem was convincing others to say yes to me. That’s the eternal battle of an actor. (Laughs).

People might be surprised to hear that given the success of ”True Blood”.

You still have to prove yourself but I don’t mind doing that though because I’m from a very competitive sporting upbringing so I’m used to finding ways to being the best and to proving it. And it’s weird to bring that kind of mentality to an art form but that’s what works for me.

What did you like about this role?

That I felt like it was just speaking to me. I felt that Leon (Ford the director) had somehow channeled into who I was and wrote this labour of love to me and no one else could possibly get what I got out of it. That’s what I really felt so I fought tooth and nail to even audition then I put myself on tape a few times.

How would you describe this film?

I tell people its like Lars and the Real Girl meets a superhero. It’s the type of film that makes you ask questions about yourself like am I living the kind of life I want to live? Griff is a loner; he lives a very internal life.

Do you think being in a successful TV show can work against you sometimes? In that a director of a small film might think you are out of their reach given your success?

I never listen to that stuff anyway. I always do my own diligence on film projects and read scripts and all that kind of stuff. It’s nice that you get into a position where you can say no scripts because actors work so fing hard to get to a point where someone wants them for a job. But to be in that position to say no, without any sense of arrogance, just because it might be a character you’ve played before and I don’t need to do it again, I don’t’ want to play a character similar to Jason Stackhouse in the five months I have off from the series. I couldn’t think of anything worse. I love doing the show but I want different challenges.

How has life changed since ”True Blood”?

You obviously lose a certain amount of anonymity but I’ve always been relatively reclusive anyway. I’m not the guy who’s seen at the hottest bars or anything like that. If any of my mates come into town we’re always at the dive bar where no paparazzi in their right mind would ever be seen at anyway. It’s not cool enough for them. And outside of that I just go about my life. I try to leave most of the drama in my life on set so outside of that, its drama free.

A lot of actors talk about being shy. It seems a strange profession to choose if you are shy.

I think there are three different types of actors. You’ve got the actors that don’t act for a living but act in real life you know that are always on show. Then you’ve got the actors that do act and they’re the most extrovert, gregarious types that love being in the limelight and the centre of attention. Then you’ve got someone like myself who’s not that. Who is more reserved and its almost like this alter ego that comes out and its almost like a therapy you give yourself when you embrace a character and switch off the vulnerability factor and give yourself to the character.

Sort of like Griff?

Totally like the character and I think any actor would relate to that because if there’s an once of that in any character, you know I wonder if I could have lived my life or I wonder if I did this choice. It’s the whole Sliding Doors mentality. I mean those sorts of things determine who you are as a person and make you think if you’re really happy. So if a character or a film can conjure up those kinds of thoughts at the end of the film then I think it’s done its job because it’s so rare to be affected by films. That’s what I loved about this character.

I also saw ”Red Hill”, which is coming out later in the year. What was the attraction there?

I loved the script and then I met Patrick (Hughes) who was going to direct it and I loved his enthusiasm for the project and his vision. I’m looking for challenges as an actor and I thought this one offered a lot (Laughs). I mean it was a low, low budget film and the only way we could make it was for everyone to chip in and put their heads together because we had no money whatsoever. That was pretty exciting because everyone was working for the common good. I also thought that the script was one of the best I’d read. There was no fat in there. It was sleek and it moved and there was not one unnecessary word and that impressed me. Then of course there’s just the dream of every kid, to be a hero in a western and one that’s set in Australia, doesn’t get any better than that.

You’ve made ”Red Hill” and now ”Griff”, are you consciously looking for Australian projects?

I would love to say yes but it just so happened that the two best scripts were from Australia. There were scripts I was offered from America but the scripts I chose to do were far superior to anything I’d read back in the States so I just follow where the stories take me and I think there’s some superb talent in Australia. Both Leon and Patrick were first time feature film directors and you would never know it. Patrick had an advertising background and Leon had an acting background so there are certain things you can tap into but ultimately its still a risk. You are putting a certain part of your career on the line for these people and then vice versa so you go into it with that kind of mentality and that’s the beauty of filmmaking; all these people coming together for that common goal and when it works its magic.

When did you know you wanted to be an actor?

I was acting before I knew I was an actor. Does that make sense? A lot of people I think just came out of the womb acting and just knew it. I was not that guy because like I said I was very reclusive. I’ve always been very shy and like Griff, socio-phobic. Far more enjoyed other people’s conversation other than my own. I’d be that guy at a dinner table who would just be enraptured listening to a conversation take place between two or three people and be more than happy not to contribute at all. I loved just to listen. I love observing human interaction and listening to how people use words, their mannerisms, how they hold themselves all that I think is such a fascinating take on the human condition.

So you were sort of researching for becoming an actor before you were aware of it?

Absolutely.

You mentioned that you have five months off from ”True Blood” each season, that sounds like a lot?

It is. In terms of having a TV series that allows you five months of the year off its very unusual. Most of the Yankee shows shoot for ten months of the year. And in that two moths they’re either exhausted and films have a very finite time from when they can start and finish and even then its always pushed and they quite often can’t bracket that time off to fit in with a film schedule. So I feel totally and utterly blessed.

What’s you’re plan for your career?

Yeah we’re sort of merging into producing now. I say we, there’s a whole team of people that I trust implicitly with my career that have been with me for many, many years. So next year there’s a couple of films we’re looking at producing as well as going in as an actor.

Is it just so you can have more control over what you do?

It is and ultimately to open up and start my own producing company where I can start fostering good, young talent myself. I think that would be such a give back to the industry.

What are some of your other goals?

I’ve thought about directing. That has crossed my mind but I feel there will be some sort of epiphany that will happen and suddenly I’ll know if I’m meant to direct something.

Early on in your career did you doubt whether you would be able to make it as an actor?

Never.

You just knew you’d be okay?

No. But I never thought it wouldn’t work out. I didn’t know if it would be okay. They’re two different things. One’s I would keep working and fighting as hard as I could to make it work but that doesn’t mean that through those times everything was going to be okay. And I’d want there to be a struggle to get to where I was and there was a struggle. Because that way it means so much more when you really work for it. There’s no great achievement that’s not the result of great patience, hard work and determination.

What’s next?

I just wrapped a film called Knights of Badassdom with Steve Zahn and Peter Dinklage. It’s like a great Shaun of the Dead meets Role Models type of comedy.

Who do you play?

I play a guy who discovers that the woman he loves has been cheating on him. He’s thrown into this world of depression but then he’s kidnapped by his friends and thrown into an entirely new world called LARPing, which stands for live-action role playing. At first he thinks it’s the silliest thing he’s ever heard of but then the made up world becomes real and he finds he has to fight for everything he wants.

And you’ve also voiced an owl in ”Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole” right? Had you wanted to do an animated film?

Not particularly but its with Zack Snyder’s film, the guy who did 300 and The Watchman and that was with a few other people like Helen Mirren and Geoffrey Rush who I never actually saw and who I never met but we’re all in the same film together apparently.

What attracted you to that film?

I admired Zack’s work but it’s always the story first but this was a really interesting experience because we worked on it over two and a half years. What I found was amazing was how much you can change a character just by the inflections in your voice. I’ve never voice anything before so it was pretty wild to discover how much you can convey just by intonation.

They’re all very different roles.

Yeah that’s the plan. Mix it up and try to show people what you can do.