Why India wouldn't dare play Juliet

BEVERLY HILLS — Two newcomers are cast in Underworld Awakening, the fourth in the hit franchise which now focuses on the epic battle between Vampires and Lycans, shot in 3D with Kate Beckinsale (featured in last Sunday’s Conversations with Ricky Lo) back to reprise her role as Selene the Vampire Huntress who escapes imprisonment to find herself in a world where humans have discovered the existence of both Vampire and Lycan clans conducting an all-out war to eradicate both immortal species.

They are India Eisley and Theo James, the former as teenaged Eve whose life has been lived as a test subject for the biotech conglomerate Antigen that imprisoned her mother (Kate), and the latter as Vampire David who has been searching for Selene whose reputation has inspired him to want to fight back against human aggression.

Funfare did an exclusive one-on-two with India and Theo at the swanky Montage Hotel in this city.

India, 17, is the daughter of Olivia Hussey who is fondly remembered as the iconic Juliet (to Leonard Whiting’s Romeo) in Franco Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet. India is earnestly working hard to make a name of her own...that is, out of her mom’s huge shadow. She stars as the feisty and rebellious Ashley Juergens in the ABC Family’s Teen Choice Award-winning TV series The Secret Life of an American Teenager.

India: My mom’s portrayal as Juliet was quintessential; it’s hard to top.

Trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theater School, Theo has appeared in a few films (Woody Allen’s You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger, A Passionate Woman and The Inbetweeners Movie), TV shows (BBC’s Room at the Top, HBO’s Red Tails, Bedlam and Downtown Abbey) and theater productions (Closer, Zoo Story and The Slippery Soapbox).

First, India. Excerpts:

Were you named after the country?

“You mean India? Yes, I was. You see, my mother had a very good teacher from whom my mother heard about India. So for 20 years my mother dreamed of having a child in India. But it was my brother who came along first and she couldn’t name him India. So…”

Does being identified as Olivia Hussey’s daughter push you to work harder to get out of her shadow?

(Laughs) “No, I’m quite proud of her shadow. Even if people say that we are in some way similar, the truth is that we are two completely different types. There would never be any kind of competitive thing anyway, that’s why I will never play Juliet.”

Why not?

“I’ve been asked to audition for the role but I said, ‘Oh no, I won’t!’ I think that my mom’s portrayal was quintessential, she was perfect as Juliet, and I don’t want to be compared to her.”

Any acting tips from your mom or dad (musician/actor David Glen Eisley)?

“I don’t think I really needed any tips from them because, in the first place, I’m quite hard on myself. But yes, in their own quiet way they do encourage me somehow. I don’t remember having gone to her for advice or anything. All she told me is to ‘feel’ my role. My mom and I are good friends.”

I understand that you are an avid movie fan and that you’ve been watching a lot of movies since you were a kid. What kind of movie do you love to watch?

“Hmmmm…anything from drama to comedy to action... loved it! Movies have always fascinated me since I was small.”

* * *

Now, Theo. Excerpts:

The character Vampire David is a very physical role. Did you have a special training before the shoot?

Theo: Oh yes, I did. I trained in many different forms of combat because I didn’t know what they were gonna use. One of them is a Filipino type of martial arts using only the hands; I forgot what it’s called (Maybe arnis de mano. — RFL). I trained with a Filipino instructor. I also had gun training and some boxing.”

What part of the movie did you find hardest to do?

“The toughest thing is finding realism within the character. Even in a character like a vampire you need to find some kind of empathy, some kind of truth. For David, Selene is a kind of legend; she’s this super-hot Vampire and she’s also as hard as nails. When David hears that Selene may be alive, nothing can stop him from trying to find her.”

Theo: For the role, I trained in a Filipino martial arts using only the hands…

Did you watch other vampire movies as part of your preparation for the role?

“I didn’t really watch any other vampire movies because there were already three Underworld films that I have watched and that was more than enough.”

Kate is the veteran of the franchise. How was it working with her, you being an Underworld first-timer?

“She was very helpful. She served as my mentor in my entry to the Vampire world. Kate is so embedded in the mythology and she knows her character Selene like no one else can. She gave me pointers about the limits of the Vampires, about what they can do and what they cannot do.”

(Note: Underworld Awakening is based on characters created by Kevin Grevioux and Len Wiseman & Danny McBride, directed by Marlind & Stein. A Sony Picture released by Columbia Pictures, it’s opening nationwide today, simultaneous with the showing in the US and other parts of the world.)

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