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What can’t Dan Stevens do? He melted hearts on Downton Abbey, played a force to be reckoned with in The Guest, proved he had some serious comedic chops in Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, is busy showing off his stellar voice work in Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts - I can go on and on. Stevens continues to show off his range this summer with two new features, Dave Franco’s directorial debut, the horror thriller The Rental, and Netflix’s latest original feature, the undeniably silly and lovable Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.

In the film, Stevens plays Alexandre Lemtov, Russia's entry for Eurovision. Loosely inspired by past Russian Eurovision contestants, Lemtov rocks an operatic voice and some serious stage presence. When not performing (even though Lemtov is always performing in a sense), he takes a vested interest in Sigrit (Rachel McAdams) and her career while testing Lars’ (Will Ferrell) patience. 

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Image via Netflix

Watching Stevens’ perform “Lion of Love” is undoubtedly a highlight of Eurovision Song Contest, but my personal favorite scene of the movie is the Song-Along at Lemtov’s wildly extravagant home. During an episode of Collider Connected, Stevens highlighted the pure joy of the moment: 

“It’s a really epic sequence, and it’s completely bonkers and it kind of is really the sort of hallmark of the movie in terms of how insane it can get. You know, I think we had 12 real-life contestants from previous years - some of them winners, some of them very notable performers - and I’ve shown that sequence to a few hardcore Eurovision fans who absolutely lost their minds when they saw it because it’s very joyous I think. I just can’t help smiling when I watch it. It’s just pure silliness. The arrangement of the music is brilliant and the way that we go through that party and they just pop out and join in, it’s just joy. Even if you don’t know who those people are, it’s a fun sequence.”

Stevens also gave us a little insight into what it took to put that set piece together:

“It was about three days of shooting up at Knebworth Castle in Southside London, and it was a real party atmosphere and those contests were pretty thrilled I think that, A, that we were doing a Eurovision movie but that they got to be a part of it, that they got to sort of play and sing with us. All of them are incredible singers, and just kind of keeping up with them was a challenge. But yeah, it was great just talking to them about their Eurovision experiences and they all, without question, said that it was one of the most bizarre nights of their life performing at the real Eurovision and I think ours came close.” 

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Image via Netflix

If you’re looking for even more from Stevens, check out his full episode of Collider Connected at the top of this article where he details his journey from Downton Abbey to Broadway, The Guest, Eurovision Song Contest and so much more!

Dan Stevens:

  • 00:50 - What was Stevens watching when he was younger and does he find that those movies shaped his taste with the roles he picks today?
  • 02:24 - Did he ever picture his career sticking to a specific medium or genre?
  • 03:29 - Downton Abbey was his first TV series; what were some of the biggest production surprises and challenges on that?
  • 04:36 - After the huge success of Downton, did Stevens find himself getting a lot of offers very similar to Matthew Crawley?
  • 05:29 - Taking the reins of your own career is a big deal; Stevens discusses the motivating factors when making the decision to do that.
  • 07:37 - Stevens revisits working on The Heiress on Broadway.
  • 08:50 - The pandemic’s effect on the theater industry.
  • 11:50 - Does Stevens know who his character in The Guest really is; has a sequel been discussed?
  • 13:11 - If Stevens could play another Disney animated character in live-action form, who would he pick and why?
  • 13:46 - Stevens talks about working on Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts and if he’d like to voice more animated characters.
  • 14:55 - Stevens talks about what it’s like recording the narration for an audiobook.
  • 16:49 - What’s one thing Stevens has done for a show or film that now makes him think, “Glad I did it, but never again?”
  • 18:17 - Does Stevens have a genre that’s his favorite to play?
    eurovision-dan-stevens-lemtov-rachel-mcadams
    Image via Netflix
  • 19:08 - What’s the key to playing with big comedy but also making his Eurovision character feel like a real person?
  • 20:10 - What it’s like working with Will Ferrell not just as a co-star, but also as a writer and producer on the film?
  • 22:15 - Figuring out how big to go with Lemtov’s song.
  • 23:20 - Stepping into Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams’ worlds while making the movie.
  • 25:05 - What it was like filming the song-along.
  • 26:46 - The time Stevens was watching one of his movies for the first time and caught himself thinking, “I can’t believe I did that.”
  • 28:07 - Stevens talks about making The Rental and what it is about Dave Franco that makes him stand out as a new director.
  • 29:33 - What’s next up on Stevens’ bucket list?