Watchmen Week! Stars Patrick Wilson & Malin Ackerman Interviewed

The countdown has begun. It's only four days until the release of Watchmen, surely the most highly anticipated graphic novel adaptation ever made. To celebrate, this week is Watchmen Week here at Roll Credits and everyday until Friday we'll be bringing you interviews with its cast and crew!

To kick off proceedings, stars Malin Ackerman (Silk Spectre II) and Patrick Wilson (Nite Owl) give us the inside story on the movie of the year....

How familiar were you both with the source material before you got involved in the movie?

MALIN AKERMAN I had no idea that there was a source material! I had never heard of Watchmen and I didn't really grow up in that world. So I read the script and went, 'What just happened to me?' Then I went out and got the novel and read it, and was blown away.

I was really excited that both the novel and the script were similar. It was such a well-written script. Everyone was nervous about making this movie, but I just thought, 'What a fantastic opportunity to be able to do something like this and with some really great source material.' It's just something really raw.

PATRICK WILSON I'd heard of [Watchmen]. I had a buddy who is very much into comics, so I called him and he was so excited and nervous. So I knew it was hallowed ground!
I'd always had a great respect for comics because I knew the parallels and the sort of Greek (tragedy) aspect of these characters. For not growing up in that world, I always admired it.

Malin Ackerman as Silk Spectre II

Did you read any of the fan reaction when you were cast in the movie, and do you feel under pressure to live up to expectations?

AKERMAN Yes. Some of it was lovely and some of it was harsh, which I totally get. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. There were talks about who they thought would be better and people had their favourites. But I think once they see the film then that's sort of Judgment Day and then they can say whatever they want.

I only checked [fan websites] a few times, in the very beginning and then I decided not to because you see some of the harsh comments and you go, 'Okay. I'm going to just leave it for now, until they actually see the film'!

WILSON I was cast fairly early on and, even though the deal wasn't [officially] done I knew from Zack [Snyder, director] for several months. So I'd be watching TV or just hear randomly, about something about how [the fans] want this person cast and I'd be like, ‘Oh man, but I already have the part!’ I feel like writing an email and saying, ‘I've got news for you! I'm nowhere on your wish list but I'm going to be him!’

The film contains some truly impressive stunts; how did you find the training?

AKERMAN Intensive! We actually had fight training throughout the whole film. Two months prior to filming, I started training with an ex-Navy Seal and that was the most excruciating thing I've ever felt in my life! We did a month of real training and then when we shipped off to Vancouver we started doing all the fight coordination with [fight choreographer] Damon Caro. We had a full month before we started shooting to figure how to make punches look real, and stretch so that we could actually kick higher than just above our knees!

WILSON You worked with the stunt coordinator as well as each [stunt] double. You had as much input as they did, because you came from the acting side of it. You have a sense of structure about how each character has a different kind of fighting style. Everybody was so receptive so we could help them in that respect and they could help us in the physical respect.
Even on our day off, we'd come in and [practice the scenes] in our street clothes. And then you'd get used to fighting in your suit, because that's a whole different element.

Patrick Wilson in full Nite Owl get-up

So your costumes were something of a hinderance to the action?

AKERMAN It was so uncomfortable! I'm not going to develop a latex fetish at all. Don't get me wrong, it was beautiful and the design was incredible but if I were a superhero I would wear sweats and a t-shirt!

Like Patrick said, we train in sweats and running shoes and then you put this costume on and you go, 'I have to start all over again because I can't even bend my elbows in this!' In stilettos, are you kidding me? It was definitely a challenge, but the end result was pretty fantastic.

You had a pretty intense love scene together; how did you approach that?

WILSON It's always uncomfortable no matter what the situation is, but I felt like we knew the story we wanted to tell and it's so important for these characters. When I saw the movie, my wife was there and we both sort of high-fived at the end of the scene, because [she'd] never seen a scene like that in a superhero movie. That's what you wanted. You wanted all this passion, the weird fetishes, every bit of that was intentional.

AKERMAN We were so lucky because it was sort of towards the end of the shoot and we'd been together for six or seven months, so the comfort level was there and the respect. But it was definitely a closed set and there were the minimal amount of people.

WILSON We also were in the Owl ship so there wasn't a lot of room anyway. Maybe Zack in there, a camera guy and a microphone!

Silk Spectre II's mother, Silk Spectre (Carla Gugino) in her heyday

What was director Zack Snyder like to work with, considering it was such a long shoot and he was under immense pressure to get it right?

AKERMAN Phenomenal. I don't understand how he did it, being the first one on set and the last one to leave [everyday], keeping up the energy. He was always positive, he was diplomatic, and he kept everyone afloat. He was this monster machine. It couldn't have been any other director.

WILSON To have a shoot this long and in Vancouver in the rainy season, it can be depressing. You're there from August to February. Every single day that man was so positive and when that's your leader, you want to be like, ‘Let's go for it. You can lead me into battle!’

I remember sitting down with him two years ago, and he already had the storyboards for the opening. ‘What? You don't start shooting for eight months!’ He knew exactly the story he wants to tell. And when you have somebody like that, everything else doesn't matter.

Interviews by Judy Sloane

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Make sure you come back tomorrow, when we'll be talking to Billy Crudup (Dr Manhattan) Matthew Goode (Ozymandias)!