Movieline caught up with the busy Evans to get the scoop on all of his upcoming projects and the one movie musical he's desperate to be a part of.
I know you've spent your whole acting career in theater, up until this point. What had kept you from dipping a toe in film or TV?
Mainly, I think it was opportunity -- it didn't arise. In the UK, I found it harder as a theater actor to cross over. It isn't the easiest thing -- you can ask any theater actor in the UK, it's not an easy transition. I was very lucky, because I got a job at the Donmar Warehouse, which helped put me on the map for people who cast movies and hadn't seen me in anything else I'd ever done. That really was how I got my first film audition, from a play I did at the Donmar called Small Change, which was about two years ago.
Which film was that?
I think the first film I went up for was Dorian Gray [starring Colin Firth and Ben Barnes]. I never got it. [Laughs]
Do you feel like you're going up for different types of roles in film than you were in theater?
I think I've been very lucky with the films that I've gone up for, they've been really quite different in not just roles but in size. They've been great big studio movies but also independent films, so I feel like I've had a great chance to play these different roles. In theater, I did a lot of musicals where I played leading men, and they're usually romantic leads, so yeah, I think I do get to play some different roles in film. Also, films don't take as long to do -- maybe three or four months, if it's a studio movie -- so if you can fit a couple into a year, you get to play a lot of roles. In theater, you play the same character for a set amount of time, and that could take up to a year.
Your Tamara Drewe role is really going to be kind of a calling card for you. What was the Cannes experience like for the film?
It was completely overwhelming, but not to the point where I wasn't enjoying it -- I thoroughly enjoyed being part of a film that was received so incredibly well. The audience just lapped it up because I think it was such a heavy, dark year for film at Cannes, and Tamara Drewe is totally opposite of that. It's light and fun and it has so many gifted British actors in it, excluding myself. [Laughs] You get such closure when people accept it and love it. It was really nice, and I'm looking forward to that coming out.
Are you still shooting Immortals right now?
Literally, I just arrived back in Montreal after having a month off to film Immortals. So yeah, I got back last night, and went straight back into training this morning. Now, I'm back in my apartment, exhausted.
When you say "training," what does that entail?
Well, I've lost 33 pounds in weight since starting the physical training three months ago for this film.
Jesus, Luke! Well, I did see a picture of Henry Cavill from the film and he looks ultra-ripped. Is that the aesthetic that Tarsem is going for?
I had a trainer and a stuntman, and basically, we worked for two to three hours a day, six days a week, for five weeks. Yeah, I dropped, like, 33 pounds. It's crazy.
He's obviously a very particular visual stylist. Is that the sort of movie where you really want to go look at it in the monitor after you finish your take?
Oh, absolutely. It's exactly that. Knowing Tarsem and his work and his reputation, the film's going to look absolutely stunning.
And you're playing Zeus in this, right? That's sort of a Greek upgrade from your role in Clash of the Titans.
Oh yeah! I've been upgraded. This is as far as I can go now, there's none higher. [Laughs]
Now, I actually heard that your character was pivotal had a lot more to do in the first cut of Clash of the Titans, and then reshoots changed the plot quite a bit. Can you tell me what happened?
I don't really know! I just know I shot a hell of a lot more than what was in the film. It's quite funny -- that's one of the things you learn when you do a movie. It was one of the first movies I got, and just to be a part of Clash of the Titans was a big help with me as a budding film actor. It opened doors and I had a fantastic experience on it, but yeah, Apollo had way more to do in the film than was in the final edit. But there we go. That's life.
After you wrap Immortals, do you go straight to The Three Musketeers?
I potentially have something in between, but I probably shouldn't talk about it because it's not confirmed yet. If it does happen, I'm playing a psychopath in a thriller [called No One Lives] down in New Orleans. It's something I'm desperate to do, but it's a logistical nightmare trying to get it all together before I start Three Musketeers. Like we were talking about earlier, it's something completely different than what I've done so far in film, and it's nice to be able to embrace these challenges.
This is a quality problem you're dealing with, that you have so many films booked that you can barely schedule another.
It's a nice position to be in. Long may it last!
Obviously, the chemistry of the cast on Three Musketeers is going to be important. Have you guys all had a chance to hang out yet?
I haven't read with most of them yet -- although it's such a great cast -- but fortunately, I've met Matthew Macfadyen, because I play his thug in Robin Hood. I spent a few weeks with him on set, and for one, he's a incredibly gifted actor, and two, he's a very nice man. So yeah, I've bonded with him, and it'll be nice to actually play against him now, you know? Robin Hood was one of the first films I ever got, and I was supporting him.
And then where does Vivaldi fit into it?
Vivaldi, I know! God, yeah. When I learn to play violin well enough, then we can finally begin it! [Laughs] I think it's scheduled to go at the beginning of next year. Both Jessica and I are attached to it, and we're both passionate about it. I don't know if you know how hard a violin is to learn...
Luke, I can barely play Chopsticks on the piano.
It's quite daunting, so the more time I've got for that, the better.
You did quite a lot of musicals on stage, and Hollywood is having something of a musical renaissance. Are there any parts you'd want to go up for, or that you want it known you'd take a meeting for?
You know, Kyle, I've heard a rumor that they're making Miss Saigon into a film.
And you actually did that on stage, didn't you?
Yeah, I did it on stage, and it's certainly one of the high points of my musical career. I've always loved the show, and thought the show was very filmic in its stage production. I always said it would be a brilliant film, and I've heard rumors that they're going to do it, so if I was going to do one, that would be at the top of my list.
OK, we're putting it out there. Lee Daniels, take a meeting with Luke Evans for Miss Saigon.
Ah, that would be fantastic.
[Lead Photo Credit: Venturelli/WireImage]