It's always great when an actor you've long admired ends up being as cool and friendly as you'd hope they'd be. This was the case when I participated in a group interview with Kiefer Sutherland on the set of Paul W.S. Anderson's 3D disaster flick Pompeii earlier this year. As a fan of Sutherland's since I was a kid (who didn't love Stand by Me or The Lost Boys growing up?), getting to ask him a few questions on set was very cool.  Sutherland plays the antagonist of the film, a politician who is trying to marry the love interest (Emily Browning) of Kit Harington's heroic character and take over her father's company. While you might think the script would be your typical paint by numbers gladiator/disaster film, Sutherland says it was actually the quality of the screenplay that got him involved:
"I was so surprised how beautifully well-written the script was. The dialogue was really rich. The structure is unbelievably sound and itâs a very classic love story. So yes, itâs a gladiator movie. Yes, it has elements of a disaster movie, but thereâs such a well-told story at the root of it that those seem to be in the backdrop or in the background. The story is actually really engaging."
In case you didn't know, Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey) worked on the script for a couple of months, which could help to explain why it's better than he expected. During the rest of the interview, Sutherland talked about playing the bad guy, filming the gladiator scenes, getting to ride horses, what it's been like working for Anderson, what he's learned over the years, the future of 24, and so much more. Hit the jump for the interview.
Before going any further, if you haven't watched the Pompeii trailer, I'd watch that first:
Question: (Sarcastically) We hear your character is super-nice. Heâs a really nice guy. He gets along with everybody
KIEFER SUTHERLAND: Obviously, heâs the antagonist of the film, but itâs very different. Iâve played a lot of nasty characters over the course of my career. I would think the worst one was a film called Eye for an Eye. This is not that guy. Heâs very funny, in an awful way, but heâs very funny. With a class system like you had at that time, if someone was wealthy and powerful, the ease with which they dispatched other peopleâs lives was kind of frightening. He does it with great aplomb. Heâs funny. I havenât really had a character to play that has had the dialogue that is as rich as in the script, so itâs been a real pleasure. But youâre right. Heâs an asshole.
This is a big gladiator scene. Do you get to do one of these deals?
SUTHERLAND: I almost do. In the course of the film, Iâm trying to covet young Cassia, who is in love with Milo, who is the very good-looking young gladiator. Iâm about to do it and she comes up and saves his life instead and then threatens me saying, âI might end up having to be your wife, but if you go against me now, back in Rome, I donât obey you.â So I have to go along with her for the moment.
Would you also describe this as a disaster movie?
SUTHERLAND: It was described to me as a gladiator movie and a disaster movie. I was like, âWell, why are you sending me this? This would be the last thing Iâd be interested in doing.â Iâm in an odd position because my brother is actually my agent, so I had to talk to him longer than that. He said, âTrust me. Just really read it. Just trust me.â And I did. I was so surprised how beautifully well-written the script was. The dialogue was really rich. The structure is unbelievably sound and itâs a very classic love story. So yes, itâs a gladiator movie. Yes, it has elements of a disaster movie, but thereâs such a well-told story at the root of it that those seem to be in the backdrop or in the background. The story is actually really engaging, so I followed that. But yes, having gone through a month of riding horses and chariots through ash where you couldnât see a foot in front of youâ¦.yes, itâs a disaster.
Can you talk more about that, about the preparation to ride the horses and so on?
SUTHERLAND: No, because Iâve been doing this my whole life. I started riding horses when I was about 16, 17 years old. I rode them in Young Guns. I rodeoed on the USTRC circuit with the National Finals of 94/96, so horses were really familiar to me. The chariot was not. I drive a chariot with four horses. The chariot is unbelievably light. Thatâs a nervous proposition. Iâm very alert when I actually pull those reins in because they are unbelievably powerful. So whoever started charting horsepower for cars really underestimated the power of a horse because I would say I have four horsepower. Iâve ridden a moped with 16 and these four horses would kick the mopedâs ass. That was something I had to get used to, but the horseback riding, Iâm familiar with that.
Again, I did extensive training for Three Musketeers with fencing, so I had to step up with the sword play in that. Obviously with 24, there was unbelievable physical combat. Nothing is unfamiliar. Itâs a question of learning the specific dance for this film. Each battle sequence is a dance. I used to always make the joke that if you were in a bar fight with an actor, youâd have no problem because they are trained to miss you by that much. And they will and Iâve done it. So, it really is more of a dance. You learn the choreography of that and youâre good to go.
With really big films like this, sometimes the complaint is the villain doesnât seem to have much of a motivation. Heâs just kind of evil or mean. Is there a play on class?
SUTHERLAND: Itâs two-fold. A lot of it directly informs an audience of that. He wants to marry this girl. Heâs come to Pompeii to marry this girl and to take over the fatherâs company. He has a line where he says, âAs soon as this deal is done and the marriage is settledâ¦â The line earlier is my right-hand guy says, âWhat a mouth on her.â And he says, âYes. As soon as the deal is done and the marriage is settled, Iâll take great pleasure in shutting it.â Thatâs exactly what heâs there for. The deal and the marriage and then he goes back to Rome.
How does he deal with the crisis at hand once this chain of events starts happening?
SUTHERLAND: With unbelievable arrogance. With the arrogancy you would expect. He actually has a line where heâs making a speech in the arena. The tremors start and heâs like, âCome on. Come on. Get over it.â He doesnât pay attention to it. Itâs not a threat to him. Everything heâs had in his life, heâs been able to control. Itâs also an interesting kind of result in Pompeii when you actually look because it happened so fast. One of the most awesome things I saw there was a mother holding her child and she died so quickly that she couldnât bring her own child to her breast. She was literally holding her up like that and they were locked like that forever. I donât think any of them had any idea that could possibly happen. Thatâs an interesting aspect of the movie when it gets into that stage.
Is it important for you to find something relatable in a character like this or do you just let go?
SUTHERLAND: Itâs a combination of things. But no, and the same with an Eye for an Eye. In Eye for an Eye, that character was a much more realistic character than this. I had two daughters at the time and I would try to build a character that was my greatest nightmare if my daughter were to run into this person, so I developed the character on this. This is much more fun. I keep pushing it and Paul goes, âOkay, yeah, that was funny. Back off a bit. That was a bit flamboyant.â The shape of the character for me is what I relate to in the context of the story and how much fun can I have with that part in the balance of what heâs doing and what she sheâs doing and so forth. So no, itâs not that kind of character where I have to have some kind of some deep emotional or intrinsic connection.
With Pompeii, they are doing a big exhibit in London. Thereâs a lot of history that has literally been unearthed in the last couple of years. Have you become more of a history buff about it or are there any other points in history that you have a great interest in?
SUTHERLAND: Me, specifically, World War II has always been the most fascinating thing for me from a historical point of view. It is still so tangible and close to us. There were very few instances where the world was divided by what I still perceive as very right and very wrong. And yet it galvanized three and a half billion people to put themselves in serious harmâs way. What Iâve enjoyed about this is I started to learn about Pompeii as a result of being a part of this film, which is great.
SUTHERLAND: No, I havenât. Iâve just read a lot of books. Iâm going to actually go after. I was working when Paul went to shoot there, which was a drag because they actually shut it down for six days or something like that, and itâs never been shut down before. Then they shot there, so that was the time to go. No, Iâm going to go with all the other tourists when we finish.
Paul is such a nice guy. How is he when heâs commanding this huge set?
SUTHERLAND: Well, he hasnât faltered. Heâs a nice guy. I keep waiting. Heâs a nice guy. Okay, I get that. Heâs a nice guy in prep. Okay, I get that. Whatâs going to happen when youâve got 400 extras, 300 people in armor, 16 horses standing by and it starts to rain? Heâs just a nice guy. He rolls with it. And through that, heâs worked with this crew many times, so he has great familiarity with them. He commands a set with absolute authority. Heâs the guy in charge. And as an actor, to work for a director who knows exactly what he wantsâ¦Heâs so technically proficient that Iâm not even aware weâre shooting a 3D movie. That is a real testament to him and his crew that have done this before and know how to do it. But as nice as he is, heâs very clear about what he wants. Itâs such a gift to work in that. Thereâs a real safety in that. Again, I can push this direction all I want, but heâll pull me back and make sure Iâm fitting into the context of this film. Itâs just one of the most comfortable environments Iâve ever been in.
Youâve been working in the industry for a really long time. If you could go back in time, is there any advice you would give yourself that youâve learned along the way?
SUTHERLAND: Most of my career Iâve spent really nervous. Just about work, getting work and having it in. I would probably tell myself to lighten up a bit and relax. Itâs going to be alright. Enjoy it a little more. Iâve had people come up to me and go, âOh my God. Lost Boys is one of my favorite films,â or âYoung Guns was one of my favorite films.â And I wish I enjoyed them more because when I look back on them, the opportunities to have had, and they were great people I was working with, Stand By Me, I wish I had enjoyed them more. I was so nervous about being out of work, or this was my last job, that I forgot to realize how lucky I was. Does that make any sense?
Out of all the movies youâve done, whatâs the most research or the most prep youâve ever done for a role?
SUTHERLAND: Dark City would have been one of them, just because physically it was a really different character and I had to try a bunch of different things until I got to that place. And then 24 because it was always such a long period of time, whether it was physical training or figuring out how that character is going to evolve. But I spent a lot of time thinking about that.
Were you a little surprised by the fact you were coming back to TV?
SUTHERLAND: Well, not TV. I love the medium, so TV, not so much. But 24. Yeah. Yeah, if you had asked me that a year ago, I would have said, âNo, thatâs ridiculous.â The studio has been getting a lot of mail about wanting the show back. Howard Gordon had an idea, if we were going to do a ninth season. He honed it down to 12 episodes and finally just said, âIf you guys really want to do this, Iâll do it.â He called me up and pitched me the idea and I was like, âThatâs really cool.â Itâs a great group of people, so Iâm thrilled to come back to work with them.
Kit is obviously well-known from Game of Thrones. This is really his first movie as a lead. Paul clearly has faith he can deliver. As somebody who has played these roles before and a vet of these types of productions, what do you see in him that makes you think heâs capable of leading a picture?
SUTHERLAND: Heâs an extraordinary actor. Thereâs something about certain actors and you canât teach it. When he walks into a room, you know heâs there. You just do. You donât know why, but for whatever reason you end up turning around, and heâs there. He has an aura of power, or whatever you will. You just canât help but watch what heâs doing. And Iâm a huge fan of Game of Thrones and many times Iâll wait for certain scenes to be done to get back to that his storyline. I havenât worked with him a whole lot, but Iâve seen a lot of the work. I think heâs going to be extraordinary. And letâs face it⦠heâs a good looking kid.
Toronto hardly screams Greek architecture to me. Can you talk about the movieâs production value?
SUTHERLAND: I was talking with someone and I said, âI think Iâm going to be in Toronto for about four months.â She said, âOh, what are you doing?â I said, âA film called Pompeii.â She started laughing and couldnât stop laughing about how ridiculous our business is. I canât specifically say whether itâs Toronto or not, but what is interesting is unlike a film like 300 where they had no sets and literally youâd have a stool or a table covered in green tape, we have sets. They are tangible so as an actor, itâs very easy to work with. What I canât wait to see is the multi-layered backdrop. Youâre going to see Pompeii in the background with everything they shot there. Thatâs going to be extraordinary. And if you take a look at a film like Gladiator, the technology they had is almost archaic compared to what the technology is now. Iâm expecting a lot from Paul in this area and I canât wait. Itâs a back lot, so for me, itâs not Toronto or Los Angeles. Itâs a back lot. I canât speak to whether we have a better set here in Toronto than we would have had somewhere else. Itâs just nice to be here because my mother and sister are here.
Itâs just funny that in a city like this we haveâ¦.
SUTHELRAND: Itâs hysterical. I donât know where they shot Ben-Hur, but I guarantee it was not in Rome.   Â
Check out some of my other coverage from the set visit:
- 5 Major Takeaways and 65 Things to Know About Director Paul W.S. Anderson's POMPEII From Our Set Visit
- Kit Harington Talks Bulking Up for the Role, His Love of Action, the Popularity of GAME OF THRONES, and More on the Set of POMPEII
- Director Paul W.S. Anderson Talks Building Practical Sets, Expanding into Love Story Territory, and More on the Set of POMPEII
- Producer Jeremy Bolt Talks Shooting in Canada, Drone Cameras, How Much of the Film Is Factual, 3D, and More on the Set of POMPEII