British actor Toby Kebbell gets back in the motion capture rig as Warcrafts noble Durotan.
We spoke with Kebbell about those,Warcraftand more recently in Los Angeles.
Den of Geek: Youve obviously had experience before doing this throw in of performance capture.
What made this different?
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Toby Kebbell: Im intrigued by the motion capture craft.
Its something thats very unique.
I just find it easier.
You are not being messed around with, with hair, and makeup, and costumes.
You are just like, Leave me alone.
So motion capture is really about the essence of the performance.
Your performance is literally being captured, just your performance, the essence of that.
So its a great craft.
He probably moves a lot differently, for instance… Koba stoops and he has a different thing, and a hanging lip and a lazy eye.
So, with Durotan, he was much bigger.
So I had to stand correctly.
And I had to give that force of energy.
But Terry Notary is a great movement coach.
The knee is not how they walk.
Lift from the small of your stomach.
Lift that and stop with the back.
So its a long process.
One of the first scenes in the movie is with Durotan and his wife Draka.
The close-ups of their faces are really incredible.
Whats your feeling watching yourself in this kind of role?
What was in your head, did you manage to get that out?
I wish hed look like this or I wish I had that kind of jawbone.
So Im able to watch: Yeah, hes pondering there.
Hes wondering what its going to be and the dangers and the trepidation.
So it actually makes it easier to watch your performance and critique that.
Durotan is one of most conflicted characters in the movie.
You really see how torn he is by the different allegiances.
Can you talk about playing that central conflict for him?
I went through the psychology of it.
So I wanted him to be a very thoughtful character.
I found it really useful to spend time pondering what it would be to be a father myself.
But also, I sort of conceived the Fel would be the force.
Not like The Force inStar Wars, but an actual force; forcing something in, pushing it.
It seems powerful, but its actually just force.
And so, I wanted Durotan to discover what powerful meant during his journey in the film.
How familiar were you with the game mythology before you signed up?
I was aware the game existed.
I was aware it was an online game.
I had never played it.
I didnt know anything more about it.
It didnt bleed into the performance because Im playing Durotan.
But it bled into that intrigue
Did you end up playing it or checking it out at all?
thats a whole thing, buying a PC and doing all that.
I mean, you know, there are extremes.
Blizzards got to hook you guys up with some free gear.
When you were in the motion capture suit, how physically challenging was the role?
And what were some of the more physically challenging moments?
I mean standing straight all day is not the hardest thing in the world.
But it is exhausting and draining on the body.
You are like, I could be this person.
Im this kind of human being.
Maybe I should be more like this in my existence.
So it gave a great deal playing Durotan.
But yeah, my job is not hard.
You are back in performance capture inKong, too, right?
I play Chapman inKong.
I play the second in command to Sam Jacksons character.
Are you not doing Kong himself?
Theres been a leak online that I was doing Kong.
What it is, is Terry Notary is playing Kong.
Terry is playing Kong.
I want to call them and say, Can we have Kobas own film?
Is there not room for what happens after he falls?
We dont know that hes dead for sure, I guess.
So theres definitely a script available to be made.
Its whether Matt wants to direct it and Fox wants to produce it.
You are also inBen-Huras Messala.
How do you update that for an audience today?
Were actually honestly doing a retelling.
Its just not necessary.
So where does forgiveness come into that?
Yes, there is a great chariot race, which is really the reason I took it on.
I love spending time with them.
To learn to pull four horses was just incredible.
So that was what drew me to it.
But could you forgive that if someone did that to you?
Ben-Huris coming out this summer, but you are still filmingKong?
(Note: this was several weeks ago.)
Whats different about this version of the story?
Theyve done it very cleverly.
I got to learn to fly helicopters in Hawaii and fly to Australia myself and be in Vietnam.
So basically, my job was hanging out with Samuel Jackson flying helicopters [laughs].
It wasnt a job.
It was such an easy piece of work.
Sam is such a good dude.
I had such a nice time with him.
And Ill keep in touch.
Warcraftis out in theaters this Friday (June 10).
