DAVID WENHAM
By : Suzanne Philips
Saturday, March 10, 2007
By Suzanne Philips
David Wenham arrived
onstage to the catcalls and applause of the mostly female audience during
his panel. He was wearing a long sleeved black button up shirt and jeans.
David sat in the directors chair for the majority of the panel, and answered
questions from fans on both sides of the stage. He said he felt as though he
was doing an episode of "Inside the Actor's Studio".
When asked if he kept in touch with the other actors from RINGS, David said
that "RINGS is something that we will always have in common. Wherever we are
in the world, whenever we run into each other, we will always have that
bond."
One fan asked if the reports were true that John Noble (Denethor) kept
himself removed from the rest of the cast during filming, and David replied
that he did. David and John were the last two actors to arrive on set and he
really didn't get to spend much time off-set with John which really helped
Daisy to feel the rejection and distance that Faramir has from his father.
His favorite scene to shoot was his "suicide mission" scene because the
scenery was so beautiful in New Zealand and he was surrounded by all of
these soldiers and it was quite easy for him to get in character. He thought
it was a beautiful scene. David liked how director Peter Jackson portrayed
Faramir in the films. He thought the changes that were made from the book
worked will for the trilogy.
He
really liked working with Sean Bean (Boromir) and thought those scenes were
really important to showing the family dynamics. The Faramir costume was
quite heavy and hard to move in, particularly the "tin can" outfit from the
suicide mission scene. It was really difficult to wear all that armor and
ride the horse. Remarked David "it was a bit of an issue". During the cave
scene where Faramir has a sword to Frodo's throat, David asked for a
stand-in to do that scene because the sword was razor sharp and the way the
camera was set up, it was a very tiny space and no room for error. He was
worried that he would hurt Elijah so he asked for his stand-in to do that
scene.
When asked if he had any souvenirs from LOTR, he remarked " I have a heap of
stuff Peter doesn't know about. I could make a fortune on Ebay." He actually
has the clapboard from his final scene and his sword. David also said that
the fans know "more about LORD OF THE RINGS" than he will ever know.
Many fans had questions about the film "300". Originally he was worried
about the leather codpieces, but he is friends with the costume designer and
was reassured after he saw the sketches of them. The most difficult thing
was all of the physical training the actors had to do to prepare for the
film. They all trained in their home countries for several months and then
they all got together in Los Angeles for 2 months of intensive training with
a former Navy guy. He said most days they wanted to either pass out or
vomit. "300" was shot entirely in front of a blue screen. Blue is easier to
work with than the typical green screen because the green starts to hurt
your eyes when you work on it for months on end. David stated that the whole
cast was physically there the entire time. All of the fight scenes were
real. The only thing they used the blue screen for was to insert the
environment.
Fans wanted to know how
David got involved with the memorial service for Steve Irwin (Crocodile
Hunter). "I did a film called COLLISION COURSE with Steve many years ago. I
became friends with him and also with the producer of that film. When Steve
died I was in Los Angeles and Terri Irwin called me and asked me to read a
poem at his memorial so I did."
Many fans have always wanted to know why David's nickname is "Daisy" and he
said that in Australia, they shorten everyone's name. According to David
"Australian's are really lazy people, so everyone's name gets shortened".
His was shortened to Dais when he was younger and his sister added a Y
making him Daisy from then on. He said that he knows of 2 other Davids in
Australia who are also called Daisy.
Some other tidbits from the talk:
* RINGS gave David a love of the country of New Zealand and great friends he
will have for the rest of his life.
* He would love to be independently wealthy. He would travel around the
world and be a professional art gallery-goer.
* David held puppet shows for his parents when he was little to try to make
them laugh.
*His favorite thing about Australia is the sky. Every time he comes back
from traveling, he is amazed by how high and light the sky is.
*Wenham would like to work with director Peter Wier (also Australian)
because he uses music on set to give the actors something to work with in
scenes and that would be special for the actors.
*He went to Japan for the
VAN HELSING release there and it was exactly how he imagined it. It was a
feast for the senses, the food was great, people were friendly. He even
stayed in the LOST IN TRANSLATION hotel but he didn't meet Scarlett.
* There will NOT be a sequel to VAN HELSING
*A portrait of David was done by an artist called Adam Cullen 5 or 6 years
ago which won the coveted Archibald Prize which is one of the most
prestigious art completions in Australia. David didn't buy the painting but
he did find out that it is owned by a famous British musician and he would
like to buy it from him to have for future generations of his family.
*He did a film with Pierce Brosnan called MARRIED LIFE in which he plays a
promiscuous writer.
*David is preparing to film AUSTRALIA, the upcoming film from Baz Lurhman
which also stars Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman. It is not a musical and is
set during the Japanese invasion of Northern Australia. It is a "romantic
adventure".
David was a huge hit, and very easy on the eyes!