Partick Wilson as Nite Owl
In recent years actor Patrick Wilson has quietly been making a name with himself with roles in Hard Candy and Little Children.
But in March he moved into the big budget blockbuster when he cloaked up and Nite Owl II in the adaptation of graphic novel Watchmen.
Hi Patrick. Your character Dan Dreiberg-Nite Owl II appears to be the sanest in a film full of colourful characters. Would you agree?
Yeah. I would say he is the most human and earnest and has the biggest heart. He is a guy who is rock solid and will try do the right thing. Everybody else you wonder if they are the villain. The movie asks the audience 'How far would you go?'
At the end of the movie you ask yourself 'Who really is the villain?' That's the problem with the conflict between Dan and Adrian at the end because what happens is so diametrically opposed to what they believe in.
Watchmen fans are a unique breed. Have you met any? What was it like?
My first face-to-face experience was at the Comic-Con convention down in San Diego. We had a taste for their passion for the project. We would bump into them away from the convention they would be like 'Wow, what are you doing here?' They were reasonably calm.
We weren't like the Beatles and had hundreds of fans chasing after us down the street. That would have been quite funny, but I'd be like 'Hey, I'm a dude. Why are you chasing after me?'
The guy you play is in a love triangle with Malin Akerman's character, Silk Spectre II. Your character is competing for her with the superhuman Dr Manhattan. Dr Manhattan is actually naked in the film and let's just say he is quite impressive physically in a certain area. You must be happy that Silk Spectre II gives you a look in?
(Laughs) What are you saying? How do you know I don't stack up? You don't see it , but maybe Nite Owl II is just as impressive? He likes to hold his own cards close to his chest (laughs).
True.
Don't dismiss Nite Owl II!
Nite Owl II is also impressive when it comes to beating up the bad guys. Can you talk about the fight training you undertook because you are involved in some pretty complex fight scenes.
Yeah I had three complex fight scenes with Malin Akerman's character Silk Spectre II, so the training and practice was not just to get your moves down but also to get your body in fantastic shape.
I've done combat work before, but on this we had to stretch our muscles to such an extent. We were also in the suits which were quite restrictive so we had to train for the endurance of it. Not just train for how it looks in the final shot. Endurance training is important because you don't want to get injured.
Each superhero appears to have a different fighting style. Would that be correct?
Yes. We had very specific fighting styles for each character. So, we were working with our double on how you feel the guy should fight. We would glean that from the script and the graphic novel's pictures.
They helped inform us of their style. The diehard fanboys who know Watchmen inside and out will probably recognise certain moves and reactions of a particular character. We tried to keep it as close to the graphic novel as we could.
That was part of the joy of shooting the film. It wasn't just every character doing karate. Matthew Goode's character was so outlandishly fast, Rorschach was violent and guttural and my character, Night Owl II, was slower but power-based.
The director of Watchmen is of course Zack Snyder. One thing the actors and crew members of his films always say is Zack never loses his cool or gets frustrated on set. Is that true?
It sure is. He is amazing. He is at the helm of this huge production with hundreds of cast and crew under intense circumstances and he never shows the pressure. This is the honest truth. Every single day for a 100 or something day shoot - it was a long, long movie - I never saw him frustrated or raise his voice.
He always had the best energy on set. When that is your leader nobody else can complain. How can you be frustrated when Zack is the first one on set and the last to leave and never is frustrated. He really is that positive and remarkable.
Do you have an anecdote about Zack that demonstrates this.
Yeah (laughs). I do remember one day. It was our lunch break and we had been working all morning. I was in my trailer resting and could hear a noise. It was 'bang, bang, bang'. I went outside and there is Zack.
He is trying to fix his paintball gun. He is shooting it and fine-tuning it. Zack is constantly going in 100 different ways. I said 'Zack, what are you doing?' and he said 'Yeah, I'm just trying to figure out this trigger and practice.
We've got that paintball tournament coming up'. I said 'Zack, you can't rest and eat lunch like the rest of us?' He said 'No, I need to master this trigger. My sight is off'.
It must be inspiring for an actor to have a director that is so full of enthusiasm.
Definitely. I don't know how an actor could not sit with Zack for a few minutes and say 'No, I don't want to work with him'. It would be impossible. I remember having breakfast with him one morning. He had driven from his home in Pasadena.
It was pretty early in the morning but he showed up with all of his storyboards under his arm. This was eight months before we started filming and he was so excited to show me the storyboards.
I didn't even know at that stage if I had the part, but Zack was so hyped up. I was like 'Yeah, that's awesome. That's great'. When he left I thought 'Oh man I want to do this movie'. He would make a great car salesman.
Is Watchmen a movie you would take your wife to go see?
I did take her to it. I usually drag my wife to comic book movies or genre movies and she doesn't always enjoy it. I took her to Watchmen and she really did love it. After we watched Watchmen she turned and said to me 'I have never seen anything like this.
That was so cool.' The great thing about it is you can sit back and let it roll over you. Yes it is thought-provoking and stir up a lot of controversy, but at the end it is a sensory overload.
My wife wouldn't lie about it. It's not just a guy's movie. I would say it is an adult movie, but not just a guy movie. My wife is the ultimate test.
Watchmen is out on DVD now.
In recent years actor Patrick Wilson has quietly been making a name with himself with roles in Hard Candy and Little Children.
But in March he moved into the big budget blockbuster when he cloaked up and Nite Owl II in the adaptation of graphic novel Watchmen.
Hi Patrick. Your character Dan Dreiberg-Nite Owl II appears to be the sanest in a film full of colourful characters. Would you agree?
Yeah. I would say he is the most human and earnest and has the biggest heart. He is a guy who is rock solid and will try do the right thing. Everybody else you wonder if they are the villain. The movie asks the audience 'How far would you go?'
At the end of the movie you ask yourself 'Who really is the villain?' That's the problem with the conflict between Dan and Adrian at the end because what happens is so diametrically opposed to what they believe in.
Watchmen fans are a unique breed. Have you met any? What was it like?
My first face-to-face experience was at the Comic-Con convention down in San Diego. We had a taste for their passion for the project. We would bump into them away from the convention they would be like 'Wow, what are you doing here?' They were reasonably calm.
We weren't like the Beatles and had hundreds of fans chasing after us down the street. That would have been quite funny, but I'd be like 'Hey, I'm a dude. Why are you chasing after me?'
The guy you play is in a love triangle with Malin Akerman's character, Silk Spectre II. Your character is competing for her with the superhuman Dr Manhattan. Dr Manhattan is actually naked in the film and let's just say he is quite impressive physically in a certain area. You must be happy that Silk Spectre II gives you a look in?
(Laughs) What are you saying? How do you know I don't stack up? You don't see it , but maybe Nite Owl II is just as impressive? He likes to hold his own cards close to his chest (laughs).
True.
Don't dismiss Nite Owl II!
Nite Owl II is also impressive when it comes to beating up the bad guys. Can you talk about the fight training you undertook because you are involved in some pretty complex fight scenes.
Yeah I had three complex fight scenes with Malin Akerman's character Silk Spectre II, so the training and practice was not just to get your moves down but also to get your body in fantastic shape.
I've done combat work before, but on this we had to stretch our muscles to such an extent. We were also in the suits which were quite restrictive so we had to train for the endurance of it. Not just train for how it looks in the final shot. Endurance training is important because you don't want to get injured.
Each superhero appears to have a different fighting style. Would that be correct?
Yes. We had very specific fighting styles for each character. So, we were working with our double on how you feel the guy should fight. We would glean that from the script and the graphic novel's pictures.
They helped inform us of their style. The diehard fanboys who know Watchmen inside and out will probably recognise certain moves and reactions of a particular character. We tried to keep it as close to the graphic novel as we could.
That was part of the joy of shooting the film. It wasn't just every character doing karate. Matthew Goode's character was so outlandishly fast, Rorschach was violent and guttural and my character, Night Owl II, was slower but power-based.
The director of Watchmen is of course Zack Snyder. One thing the actors and crew members of his films always say is Zack never loses his cool or gets frustrated on set. Is that true?
It sure is. He is amazing. He is at the helm of this huge production with hundreds of cast and crew under intense circumstances and he never shows the pressure. This is the honest truth. Every single day for a 100 or something day shoot - it was a long, long movie - I never saw him frustrated or raise his voice.
He always had the best energy on set. When that is your leader nobody else can complain. How can you be frustrated when Zack is the first one on set and the last to leave and never is frustrated. He really is that positive and remarkable.
Do you have an anecdote about Zack that demonstrates this.
Yeah (laughs). I do remember one day. It was our lunch break and we had been working all morning. I was in my trailer resting and could hear a noise. It was 'bang, bang, bang'. I went outside and there is Zack.
Tagged in Watchmen Patrick Wilson