Anna Walton
Anna Walton is a rising British actress who has found major success this year with her role as Princess Nualla in Hellboy: The Golden Army, the second outing for superhero Hellboy.
She is currently filming NBC's Crusoe and I caught up with her to talk to her about her blockbuster role and what lies ahead.
In Hellboy II: The Golden Army you star in the role as Princess Nualla can you tell me a bit about your character?
Well she is a princess and her main purpose in the film is her father has created a truce with mankind and it becomes her job to maintain that truce, where her brother is determined to break it as he believes that mankind has abused it and he wants to take revenge.
He wants to use the crown to wake up the Golden Army and use that as his weapon and she has to stop him from doing that, but it’s difficult for her as he is her brother and they love each other and they are almost really the same person, but she absolutely knows what her purpose is and she won’t let anything get in the way of that and, unfortunately not even her brother.
What was it about the character and the script that drew you to the project?
I think that I really connected with the fact that she believed very strongly, it’s a difficult one as she is a much better person than I could ever hope to be (laughs), but I believed in what she was trying to do which was to honour her father and honour the truce and her feeling was what we are given, the beauty of this planet, what we are given is well actually that’s interesting because that is more what her brother thinks and his outlook that human kind were abusing the country. So it was kind of like a mixture of the two of them that I related too, Prince Nuada as well strangely enough.
You are a new character in the film what was it like stepping onto a set with a group of actors who all know each other?
Yeah it was obviously a little bit daunting at first but everyone was very friendly and Guillermo was very friendly and it was a fun process. My make up took quite a long time to get right, which was a bit daunting, Guillermo has to have everything absolutely, and quite rightly so, 100% perfect and so I had seven or eight make up tests and that was I suppose a little bit disappointing because every time you wanted it to work and you wanted him to be happy with it so it took quite a while but in the end it worked and he was definitely happy. But a part from that it was a really fun experience.
Well that sort of leads me into my next question Princess Nualla is thousands of years old what was the make- up process like for you?
The process took about four hours and it was using spray paint and painting on the lines and I had contact lenses and a wig it was a fun process in the end, when we had it all right, because it was a real transformation and it allowed you to make that change in your character at the beginning of everyday.
And what is Guillermo Del Toro like as a director?
He was great really good fun but really hard working and he will do absolutely whatever it takes for you to get what you need but he’s fun and is always making jokes. But he has time for everyone and he talks to the actors in case anyone needs to ask him a question plus he is very inspiring to watch because he is very artistically involved in every sense and to be that hard working but still be a nice is a real achievement?
You don’t get to do many stunts in the film how desperate were you to get stuck in like the rest of the cast?
(Laughs) Oh yeah I was definitely, I had just finished a film before that where I had done a lot of action so I was feeling very able, particularly Luke they were learning some incredible techniques and it did make me very jealous and quite frustrating.
Your on screen brother is made by Luke Goss and there is an incestuous element to their relationship was that in the script or something one of you brought to the table?
I think we both felt that it was interesting that they were so closely linked that they were almost the same being and, I think anyway, that he was almost in love with himself and she was a part of him. However I don’t think that it was reciprocated from her I think that it was all him and I don’t think it was necessarily a sexual thing but more a feeling of closeness and he needs to own and possess I suppose.
Hellboy is a very male dominated universe how was it being one of just two women?
It was fine actually and really good from an acting perspective as it made me feel, as Nualla, even more isolated so it was quite helpful. But from a working point of view it was really fun because there were a lot more women there with all the make-up people and me and Selma got on really well.
And how much did you work on Princess Nualla’s back story?
I worked a lot I just did what I normally do firstly I got as much as I could from the script and when I was in Budapest I talked a lot with Guillermo and to Luke and we all agreed on a back-story. Then I read a lot of mythology and anything that I could get my hands on that I felt was relevant to try and understand what it would have been like to live in a world like that.
The Mutant Chronicles is the other movie that you have worked on this year how did experiences differ?
Well Mutant Chronicles was quite a different part it was very physical, very very physical, and it was so much fun being bale to get involved in the action doing stunts and learning how to sword fight. It was also a much smaller production and it was mainly green screen so it was very different in that sense.
And how challenging is the green screen process?
I think that the main challenge of it, particularly with an ensemble cast like Mutant Chronicles, you really have to make sure that everyone is seeing the same think and looking in the same place otherwise that could look terrible. Apart from that I likened it to theatre you don’t have anything in theatre and you just have to use your imagination.
Finally what is next for you?
Well I have just finished filming Crusoe, which is TV show for NBC, and it’s airing in the States now so now I’m having a little bit of a rest and spending some time with my son while I contemplate my next project.
Hellboy: The Golden Army is released on DVD 8th December
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Anna Walton is a rising British actress who has found major success this year with her role as Princess Nualla in Hellboy: The Golden Army, the second outing for superhero Hellboy.
She is currently filming NBC's Crusoe and I caught up with her to talk to her about her blockbuster role and what lies ahead.
In Hellboy II: The Golden Army you star in the role as Princess Nualla can you tell me a bit about your character?
Well she is a princess and her main purpose in the film is her father has created a truce with mankind and it becomes her job to maintain that truce, where her brother is determined to break it as he believes that mankind has abused it and he wants to take revenge.
He wants to use the crown to wake up the Golden Army and use that as his weapon and she has to stop him from doing that, but it’s difficult for her as he is her brother and they love each other and they are almost really the same person, but she absolutely knows what her purpose is and she won’t let anything get in the way of that and, unfortunately not even her brother.
What was it about the character and the script that drew you to the project?
I think that I really connected with the fact that she believed very strongly, it’s a difficult one as she is a much better person than I could ever hope to be (laughs), but I believed in what she was trying to do which was to honour her father and honour the truce and her feeling was what we are given, the beauty of this planet, what we are given is well actually that’s interesting because that is more what her brother thinks and his outlook that human kind were abusing the country. So it was kind of like a mixture of the two of them that I related too, Prince Nuada as well strangely enough.
You are a new character in the film what was it like stepping onto a set with a group of actors who all know each other?
Yeah it was obviously a little bit daunting at first but everyone was very friendly and Guillermo was very friendly and it was a fun process. My make up took quite a long time to get right, which was a bit daunting, Guillermo has to have everything absolutely, and quite rightly so, 100% perfect and so I had seven or eight make up tests and that was I suppose a little bit disappointing because every time you wanted it to work and you wanted him to be happy with it so it took quite a while but in the end it worked and he was definitely happy. But a part from that it was a really fun experience.
Well that sort of leads me into my next question Princess Nualla is thousands of years old what was the make- up process like for you?
The process took about four hours and it was using spray paint and painting on the lines and I had contact lenses and a wig it was a fun process in the end, when we had it all right, because it was a real transformation and it allowed you to make that change in your character at the beginning of everyday.
And what is Guillermo Del Toro like as a director?
He was great really good fun but really hard working and he will do absolutely whatever it takes for you to get what you need but he’s fun and is always making jokes. But he has time for everyone and he talks to the actors in case anyone needs to ask him a question plus he is very inspiring to watch because he is very artistically involved in every sense and to be that hard working but still be a nice is a real achievement?
You don’t get to do many stunts in the film how desperate were you to get stuck in like the rest of the cast?
(Laughs) Oh yeah I was definitely, I had just finished a film before that where I had done a lot of action so I was feeling very able, particularly Luke they were learning some incredible techniques and it did make me very jealous and quite frustrating.
Your on screen brother is made by Luke Goss and there is an incestuous element to their relationship was that in the script or something one of you brought to the table?
I think we both felt that it was interesting that they were so closely linked that they were almost the same being and, I think anyway, that he was almost in love with himself and she was a part of him. However I don’t think that it was reciprocated from her I think that it was all him and I don’t think it was necessarily a sexual thing but more a feeling of closeness and he needs to own and possess I suppose.
Hellboy is a very male dominated universe how was it being one of just two women?
It was fine actually and really good from an acting perspective as it made me feel, as Nualla, even more isolated so it was quite helpful. But from a working point of view it was really fun because there were a lot more women there with all the make-up people and me and Selma got on really well.