The eagerly anticipated THE WOLFMAN is about to be unleashed in cinemas everywhere come next February. One of the film’s stars, Hugo Weaving, has graciously granted Fango an interview to answer questions about this lycanthropic masterpiece ready to bite the jugular of the movie going public…
FANGO: What can you tell us about your character in THE WOLFMAN, Scotland Yard law official Detective Aberline?
WEAVING: Well, he’s a no nonsense detective who comes into the lives of the Talbot’s by investigating the strange murders that are somehow happening around the family. He was not in the original film from the forties, although after watching that film with Lon Chaney, I kind of liken him to the Claude Reins character. I even tried to do a Claude Reins style voice in pre-shoot rehearsals, but it didn’t work (laughs).
FANGO: On that note, how did the original WOLFMAN troupe (Lon Chaney Jr., Evelyn Ankers, Maria Ouspenskaya and Ralph Bellamy) feed the performances of your fellow cast members?
WEAVING: Everyone seemed to bring their own interpretation of the character to this film. It is a far more gritty movie then the 1941 film as you could imagine. The original film is loaded with that glamour of the Universal horror pictures of the golden age. In this film, everything is on show and that includes the blood, sweat and tears and that most definitely alters the mood and style and totally feeds the performances of the actors. Geraldine Chaplin who is the legendary Charlie Chaplin’s daughter was a hoot to work with and brings so much of herself to the role created by that great character actress Maria Ouspenskaya. But listening to her it’s as if she had channeled Maria. There was something truly haunting about her performance. But I think Benicio did the most studying of Lon Chaney Jr. There are points in the film where he looks remarkably like him.
Complete interview here
The make-up from Wolfman kicks ass. Wow! Hugo Weaving looks great.
I didn’t intend to see this movie, but I like what he has to say. I might have to check it out. Will you be seeing Wolfman? Why or why not?
