Fuck Yeah, Xavier Samuel!

The Loved Ones is discussed 0:50 - 2:18.

The Young Australian Actor Xavier Samuel Discusses The On Set Antics Of His Latest Chaos-Filled Comedy

If there is one day in your life you want to go smoothly it’s your wedding, however, for Australian actor Xavier Samuel’s character, David, in new comedy A Few Best Men, it all goes pear-shaped very quickly. But who better to share in the hapless groom’s misfortunes than his three best friends, and probably the worst best men a man could ask for! With a hilarious script from Dean Craig (Death At A Funeral), and directorial duties from Stephan Elliott (The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert), you can expect belly laughs and the most insane gags – watch out for the cross-dressing sheep and Olivia Newton-John playing the mother-in-law from hell. We caught up with Samuel as he explains the difficulties he had trying to keep a straight face on set, being a young actor in Hollywood and which stars have inspired him. 

Topman GENERATION: What attracted you to the role of David? What was it like working with director Stephan Elliott?
Xavier Samuel: I had of course heard of Stephan Elliott before and knew that he was a terrific director, and I’d never done a comedy before so I wanted to give that a shot. I guess those were the main reasons for doing it. Also, I really loved Dean Craig’s script, it’s really rare to read a script and laugh out loud like that. It was all those elements and it looked like a lot of fun… I guess everyone can identify with the big wedding day the kind of day you don’t want anything to go wrong and in this film everything goes wrong!

Topman GENERATION: This was your first experience of starring in a comedy, was it more challenging to pull off?
Xavier Samuel: It was very refreshing but it was really hard, I’ve got so much admiration for comic actors. I was, thankfully, in good company – Kevin Bishop and Kris Marshall are both hilarious people. I was really impressed by how it was almost like they had this in-built detector, where they knew what was funny and what wasn’t. There was almost something scientific or instinctive about it, something that you can’t learn I don’t think. The hardest thing for me was just keeping a straight face!

Topman GENERATION: What was it like working with Olivia Newton-John aka Sandy from Grease? Did she give you a few acting pointers? 
Xavier Samuel: There is a lot to learn from Olivia in terms of how much joy she has for life and for her work, and being grateful to have the opportunity to do what you love. And Kevin and Kris as well – they just have this laid-back, down-to-earth approach.

Topman GENERATION: Many people will recognise you for your role as Riley in Twilight. What was it like being part of such a huge blockbuster franchise with such a cult following? Was there any trepidation about being typecast after?
Xavier Samuel: There’s probably this misconception that you have all the roles in the world to choose from, especially when you are just starting out. It’s kind of like you either do this or you don’t work! Yeah, when something like Twilight comes along, doors that may not have otherwise have been opened, do open, I guess the tricky thing for me was just making sure that experience didn’t define me as an actor.

Topman GENERATION: So, which films inspired you when you were growing up?
Xavier Samuel: When I watched Good Will Hunting I thought it was really amazing. Growing up I was really inspired by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck coming together as friends and going out there writing a film and making it themselves. I think ultimately you want to work with your friends or those you have a lot in common with, who are interested in telling great stories or exploring unchartered territory. 

A Few Best Men is out 31 August [in the UK].

Aruba 2012: Xavier Samuel Q&A

Even Aruba has its fair share of Twi-hards. This was evidenced by the thirty minutes Empire waited for a screening of director Stephen Elliot’s A Few Best Men to get going while its star Xavier Samuel (who play Riley in Twilight - Eclipse) was busy getting mobbed by fans on the red carpet outside.

Despite the tardy start, the movie, which also stars Laura Brent, Kris Marshall, Kevin Bishop and Tim Draxl, was a hoot, very much in the vein of writer Dean Craig’s previous movie Death At A Funeral (both the British original and the US remake), a unapologetically R-rated farce where everything that can go wrong does go wrong at Samuel’s wedding. 

Away from the clamour of camera-toting fan-pires, Empire spoke to Victoria, Australia native Samuel in the tranquil gardens of the Hyatt Regency Hotel, HQ of the AIFF and not a bad crib if you’re ever in the area - and have just refinanced your home and are looking for ways spend the money.

Coming from the Twilight zone, this is quite a change of pace for you.
Yeah. It wasn’t a prerequisite, I wasn’t like, ’The next one better be a raunchy comedy or else.’ I think I knew what I was letting myself in for with Stephen Elliot at the helm. It’s so outrageous in parts.

If you can call Olivia Newton John as a middle-aged mum banging rails of coke outrageous.
Right, and felching condoms full of drugs out of a sheep’s arse. (We should point out, Ms. John’s character only snorts the coke, she doesn’t felch for it). 

Given you weren’t looking for a raunchy comedy, why did you sign on for this exceptionally raunchy one?
I think it’s always good to be involved in something that pushes the envelope. The worst reaction you can get to a movie is indifference, so if you can cause a reaction on either side of that you’re on the right track. And when I read Dean’s script I was literally laughing out loud. Also, Australian comedies are kind of rare, so jumped at the chance to be involved.

And you have a nude scene. Any qualms about that?
Nah, it’s kind of hysterical. The situation is my character arrives home to miserable rainy London after a beautiful vacation (during which he proposes impulsively to his holiday fling Mia, Brent’s character). He gets back to his apartment, flings his wet clothes off, opens the door and everyone’s there, all his family anf friends throwing him a surprise welcome home party.

We only get the rear view. How about the cast and crew?
I don’t know what the technical term for it is but they call it a cock sock. It’s like a sunglasses case, one of those cloth ones with the drawstring at the top. Not my most elegant moment, but you have to do these things in the name of art. 

The role of Riley in Twilight was a huge break for you. How did you land that?
I’d been sending taped auditions off to America for quite a while around that time. It’s a bizarre process. yOu put yourself on tape then you send it off into the ether and you don’t know whose desk it lands on or even if anyone watches. So to even hear back is a surprise. I remember [the message] arriving and I thought, Oh wow. This is one of those movies where everyone’s got the lunch-box, and the pillow case and it’s advertised on the back of buses. I was sure it was never going to happen, but I thought Why not? I found out it had come down to me and three other guys.

Any idea who they were?
I don’t actually. But i flew myself to Vancouver to meet David Slade the director. He was very kind and had a lot of interesting things to say about the character.

Can you talk a bit about the character, for those not as familiar as some with the Twilight world?
He operates as kind of the bad guy in the film, although I think he’s a little more complicated than that. When you first meet him, he’s got the world at his feet. He’s a budding university student with a bright future. Then he gets attacked by a mysterious vampire, who turns out to be Victoria, Bryce Dallas Howard’s character - she’s amazing by the way, so talented. I felt as if there was something Blade Runner-esque about him, as if he’d had his humanity snatched away from him and that’s where the remorse and his genuine hatred for humanity came from - the fact that he isn’t human any more. There’s also this kind of Macbeth/Lady Macbeth relationship with him and Victoria, where she has him under her spell and he has to do her bidding. It seemed to me the deeper you dug, there was a well of stuff there. Even though it’s a commercial film and it’s more about the love triangle between Bella, Edward and Jacob, I thought it was important to investigate [Riley] and come up with something more than your typical sneering bad guy.

How do you feel about the fan aspect of Twilight?
I feel alright about it.

Would you ever want the level of fame and adoration it’s brought Robert Pattinson?
I think that kind of adoration is a grotesque thing to yearn for, because it’s not about you. It’s about something else entirely. I’m trying to think of an example of where that adoration is genuine. I have no idea where it comes from. I feel a little bit removed from it actually. Obviously I’m not under the microscope like those other guys are.

Not yet.
Right. It hasn’t been too invasive so far. I look at it and go, Okay, people are excited about the film, they like the story. That level of enthusiasm is a powerful thing.

You’ve made several films in Australia, A Few best Men being the latest. Do you have any aspirations to go Hollywood?
I’ve been spending more and more time there. I don’t have any prerequisites. As long as its interesting work and the people are talented - and nice!

You got a few interesting things coming up. Not sure how nice the people were, but tell us about Bait first of all.
It’s about a group of people trapped in a supermarket. With a pack of sharks. You know, just a little light comedy. When i first read it I thought, Who wouldn’t want to do a film about sharks in a supermarket? Which is a much better title come to think of it. It’s totally absurd and hilarious and hopefully a lot of fun to watch.

Just try and keep us away. And another one is Drift, what seems to be a biker/surfer movie with Sam Worthington.
Yeah, it’s set in the 70s and it has that whole bikers-surfers clash.

Less of a comedy, we’re guessing.
Yeah, although it does have a jovial, colloquial Australian aspect.

Do you play a biker or a surfer?
I play a surfer.

Thought so.
I’ve got the seventies moustache cranking. I should’ve got the mullet going too.

Mandatory. Were you a surfer already or did you have to learn?
I had to learn. And it’s incredibly hard. I felt like a newborn calf out there, slipping around and falling over.

Are you going to keep it up now you’ve got the skills?
I think so, yeah.

Finally, you’ve got The Grandmothers with Robin Wright and Naomi Watts. That does look interesting - two old friends falling for each other’s sons. Obviously you’re one of the sons, but which one?
I fall in love with Robin Wright and Naomi Watts plays my mum.

Is that the way you wanted it, or would you have preferred the other way round?
I think I’m pretty happy with the ways things went. But you’d be lucky to have either of them fall in love with you.

What’s the tone?
It’s a love story.

Is it a comedy as well?
No, not at all. It’s an erotic love story, very emotional and the stakes are high.

So you have a love scene with Robin Wright?
I do. There’s a lot of sex in the film actually.

So, another nude scene for you.
Yeah, that’s all happening. We shot it for hours, and it was all one shot so it was kind of horrendous and awkward. But hopefully it’ll come off all right on screen.

And like you said, you have to suffer for your art.
That’s right. 

Highlight of the day today was overhearing Ray Liotta chat with Richard Kind - who will for Empire, forever be Spin City’s uberschlump Paul Lassiter - chatting near the beach-side juice bar. 

Kind will be on the red carpet tonight for the regional premier of director Marco Spagnoli’s documentary Hollywood Invasion. Not sure exactly why, but there you are. Liotta is here not to promote anything specific but to add some star wattage, chat about his career and chill out. Who can blame him.

Exclusive: Actor Xavier Samuel on ‘The Loved Ones’

Few indie horror films are generating as much buzz in America this year as Australian filmmaker Sean Byrne’s The Loved Ones. I recently caught up with the film’s star, Xavier Samuel, who plays the hapless Brent, a self-mutilating teen who finds he must tangle with the crazed Lola, a power-drill-wielding would-be prom princess who’s more than a little obsessed with him. Find out what Samuel had to say about working on the film, and his next thriller Bait – about a shark in a supermarket – after the break. 

Could you talk about Brent and what appealed to you about the character?

Yeah, well, I remember reading it going, “What kind of sicko came up with this idea?” It’s always good to read a script to generate any kind of response. To be honest, I thought, “Wait, he doesn’t say much. Where’s the dialogue?” That was one of the things that attracted me to the film. He spends a large majority of the film not talking. He gets injected with this Draino and it kills his vocal chords. So just from an acting perspective it was kind of interesting to spend the entire film trying to convey a gamut of emotions without saying anything. And when I spoke to Sean about it, he was really excited about making something that would kind of rock the boat a little bit. So it was cool to be working with people who were interested in shaking things up.

Were there levels on which you found yourself identifying with Brent?

Well, I’ve never spent prom night in the torture chair. [Laughs.] But there are elements to the guy that I think everyone can identify with. He’s kind of grief-stricken, and he’s a bit of an outsider. I guess those elements are ones I think a lot of people can identify with. I don’t think anything can prepare you for a power drill aimed at your forehead.

What was your own worse prom experience?

It went off without a hitch really. The girl said, “Yes,” and we had a good time. There was no torture involved, thankfully. Unfortunately it was quite an enjoyable experience for me, now that I look back on it. [Laughs.]

Your performance is all the more impressive then.

[Laughs.] There was nothing that I could draw on from real life experience, unfortunately.

Can you talk a little bit about your castmates?

Yeah, when I met Robin she’d been doing a lot of really amazing theater in Sydney. I’d seen her perform and I was really amazed by her. I think she’s really talented. She brought a ferocity to the character that really makes it jump from the screen. So I really can’t say enough great things about her. She’s really wonderful. We had a really great time. Funnily enough, when we’re covered in tomato sauce and screaming at each other. It was awesome [laughs]… Victoria’s really lovely. We really got on well together. We don’t actually spend a lot of time on screen together. But it was really great working with her… Richard Wilson, Jess McNamee, John Brumpton – it was just a stellar cast, and we all had a really good time shooting in the five weeks that we did.

How did writer-director Sean Byrne explain his vision for the film to you?

I guess one of the interesting things about the character is that he’s a self-mutilator. It’s one of the ways he deals with the grief of his stepfather. We were always careful about dealing with that, because it’s a real thing. People do that, and you want to make sure you’re not overstepping the line in the film. But in a funny way his self-mutilating prepares him for the torture that he’s about to undergo. In some ways, Lola kind of picks the worst guy, because he’s sort of ready for that level of pain, and he’s not gonna go easily. Yeah, talking with Sean about it we just discussed the kind of battle that ensues between these two complex characters. Also, I remember looking at the rushes and looking at that kind of kitchen with the mirror ball and the balloons and it was like peering into this grotesque doll’s house. All the imagery in the film is really startling.

Is the prom experience, and to a greater extent the whole high school social experience, different in Australia than it is in the US?

I think everyone kind of identifies with it. We call it a formal in Australia, or a school dance. I think it’s a bigger deal in America, but certainly in Australia everyone’s talking about “Who are you going to take to the dance?” and all that sort of stuff. I think it’s something that appeals to most people, wherever you are.

Were you a horror fan growing up?

Absolutely. I wasn’t a dedicated horror fan, but I really enjoyed things like Rosemary’s Baby andMisery. All the films that you weren’t allowed to watch when you were a kid, and you kind of would record them on VHS when your parents weren’t looking… That’s a blast from the past. I suddenly feel not totally in touch with this issue. [Laughs.]

[Laughs.] You’re more in touch than many people… What’s next for you?

I just finished a film called The Grandmothers, well, tentatively The Grandmothers. It’s not quite a horror film. It’s basically about these two young guys who are in love with each other’s mother. So it’s kind of a dramatic love story. We filmed over in Australia with a French director. It’s definitely a change of speed from filming The Loved Ones. Then there’s another film called Drift, which is basically about these two brothers who kind of change the face of the surfing world for good in the ‘70s. Loosely based on the Rip Curl, the genesis of companies like that. There are a couple of other things in the pipeline that haven’t been confirmed yet. I’m kind of waiting to see what happens.

Can you talk about another film you’ll appear in, a thriller named Bait?

Oh yeah. Are you ready? [Laughs.] It’s basically a shark in a supermarket. The guy that I play works at the local supermarket and a massive tsunami hits the town, and it just so happens that his ex-girlfriend is in the supermarket, and someone’s holding up the supermarket at the same time. So all these kinds of mystery characters end up trapped in the supermarket together on top of the shelves, and it just so happens that there’s sharks lurking below. So they’ve got to find a way to get out of there without getting eaten alive.

In real life, what’s your greatest fear?

It’s probably not as gruesome as most fears can be. I guess laziness is probably my greatest fear. [Laughs.]

May you always be active then. [Laughs.] Thank you so much for your time, Xavier.

Thanks, Joe!

Interview with Xavier Samuel from ‘A Few Best Men’

Ever since he sent in an audition tape to the casting offices of the Twilight films was cast as the vampire Riley Biers in ‘The Twilight Saga: Eclipse’, Xavier Samuel’s stock has been rising.

After nabbing a MTV Movie award for his part in a fight scene with Robert Pattinson in that film, he quickly followed it up with a role in last year’s ‘Anonymous’, the film about whether Shakespeare truly did pen the plays we have all come to know so well.

His new film, ‘A Few Best Men’ is a comedy about a brief whirlwind holiday romance that results in a rushed wedding and a stag party that goes oh so wrong. The film also stars Laura Brent (‘The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader’), Olivia Newton-John (‘Grease’) and Kris Marshall (‘Death at a Funeral’).

Now based in Los Angeles, inSing.com caught up the Sydney-born actor over the phone where he talked about the movie, working with his co-stars and what the future holds for him.

No ‘Twilight’ talk though, strict instructions prevented us from asking him any of that and we’re sure he’s answered more than enough of them. 

Tell us a little bit about yourself, Xavier.

At the moment, I’m in Los Angeles. I’m just visiting, I’m originally from Sydney. I studied acting at a place (Rostrevor College) called Adelaide and now I spend my time half in Sydney and half in Los Angeles.

So this movie, “A Few Best Men”; what drew you to it and how did you end up doing it?

Well, I knew the director, Stephan Elliot, he did a film called ‘The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert’ and I knew that he was a very exciting talented director and I always wanted to work with other talented people, you know? Also, I hadn’t done comedy before. I’ve always wanted to do new things and I got to do it on a comedy, which was a lot of fun.

It definitely looks like a very zany comedy.

Yeah. It is. (laughs)

Tell us about working with your co-stars, Rebel Wilson who we’ve seen popping up in quite a few comedies these days and Kris Marshall, who we’re sure many people remember fondly from his bit in ‘Love Actually’. Were there many hijinks on set or things of that nature?

It was very funny working with those actors. I think the hardest thing for me was trying to keep a straight face — because they kept trying to make me laugh when you’re not supposed to laugh. So, they’re troublemakers like that. We had such a great time working together and also, they’re very talented comedians who’re always doing something funny. I laughed from beginning ‘till the end.

‘A Few Best Men’ being an Australian/British co-production, how did that play out in the actual production of the movie?

It’s always good to work with them (the British actors) because I was playing a British man in the film, and it’s always nice to be surrounded with fine British actors. They let you know if your accent is right (or wrong).  I only spent about a week in London because we shot some scenes in London but for the most time it was set in Australia and yeah, I think they had a fun time travelling over to Australia, seeing the beautiful beaches. It was a really great co-production.

Working with Olivia Newton-John, she has a pretty hilarious role in this. Is she funny or is she more of a serious person in real life?

Oh, she has a great sense of humour. She’s very funny. Also I don’t think I’ve met a person as nice as Olivia. She’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. I remember her from “Grease” so I kind of grew up watching her. I never really dreamed that I’d be working with her. It was a wonderful experience working with such a talented and very nice actress. And, she’s always singing.

Singing?

Just umm, when the cameras weren’t rolling, she just breaks into song which is very nice. (laughs)

Okay, so in the trailer… there’s a scene with a ram? Right?

Oh yeah, with the sheep, yeah.

So how was filming with the sheep on set?

(Laughs) Oh, the sheep was trouble. It didn’t know its lines, woke up late for shooting… it was very hard to work with the sheep. I think that after a while, we got along okay and we managed to survive. It’s very unpredictable working with animals.

There was a scene where someone shoots the sheep with a crossbow, right? How was that done?

Thankfully we didn’t have to shoot the sheep with it (the crossbow). But there was also a dummy sheep which they made that was easier to work with.

So, what are some of your future projects? I understand that you’re working with Sam Worthington on a movie named ‘Drift’?

Yeah, ‘Drift’ is a really cool film about surfing set in the 1970s. It’s basically about these two brothers that decided to set up a surfing company and they faced with a lot of difficulties.

It’s a family story – about struggling to do something very special and change the world. It was very exciting for me because I had to learn to surf as I wasn’t a surfer before this so I had to learn to ride some pretty big waves but it was a lot of fun. Pretty cool.

If the video isn’t working for you (for some strange reason, it doesn’t for me when embedded), you can watch here.