Lockout: An interview with Guy Pearce. How early did you get involved in the project? I met with Luc Besson at the beginning of 2010 in LA to discuss the film and then met with Stephen St. Leger and James Mather a few months later. I thought the script felt original which is always what I’m looking for. I liked the idea of playing an irreverent character like Snow. I was drawn to him because he’s not the typical action hero. He exhibited a lazy and exhausted quality, which I thought was quite funny!
How did you prepare for the shoot?
Physically it was just about getting back into some old routines of weight training and gaining weight. I’ve always been fairly active so it wasn’t that much of a challenge. The greatest challenge always is just being convincing.
Is it more complicated for an actor when there are two directors?
Stephen was mainly dealing with character and James with camera and the visuals so it wasn’t so weird. That’s not to say they didn’t cross over. There were occasional times when they contradicted each other which was odd but that’s happened before between directors and DPs too, so it’s nothing a bit of discussion couldn’t sort out.
Did the directors leave you any leeway?
Definitely. Most people learn pretty quickly I need to do things my way if they want a convincing performance. We read through most of the scenes for a week or so beforehand just to iron out a few things, but didn’t really rehearse as such.
Was it a particularly challenging shoot?
Relatively challenging from a physical point of view and we did long days, but not necessarily difficult. I did manage to injure myself each week somehow or other. Being in Serbia was fascinating. It’s always good to see a part of the world that’s unfamiliar.
What was it like working opposite Maggie Grace?
Maggie was fabulous. She was a lot of fun and we had a great time together. It’s always nice to bond with someone during a shoot, and Maggie and I helped each other out a lot.
Related Link: View the Full Production Notes for Lockout
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