Graham McTavish

Emmanuel Itier: So how are you doing?

Graham McTavish: Fine–especially after surviving that shooting. Being in the 4 Seasons hotel and doing a press junket is quite nice….well, in a way, it’s a different type of jungle–the promotion of a film…

EI: So what would be your best and worst memory of that shooting of Rambo?

GM: Hmm… Fortunately, I didn’t come back with lots of terrible injuries to show, so I was lucky. As a whole, the experience of being part of something that enormous was such a great reward. Somebody asked me if I had any idea what it was going to be like, and you can imagine that I didn’t know how big this was going to be. You could never imagine something of that scale–to be part of this army on the move, that traveling circus of guys dressed in uniforms and holding guns. If you grew up with these movies like I did, being in it is like stepping into the screen, into your dreams. It’s the greatest thing to have watched these movies and now be in one of them.

EI: So not even a little scar for a souvenir?

GM: Scars? No, unless I got some and forgot about them. Some people got bitten by snakes or spiders. Sly was impaled by a piece of bamboo and he got injured on his hands. Somebody got burned a little bit. Lots of people got very ill because they didn’t look after themselves. They would work hours and hours all day long and then would drink all night long! So you can imagine the result. They would be in hospitals and would not understand. But I was lucky and didn’t get any bad souvenir from it. Really there was really nothing terrible that happened to me. A lot of people would have complained about a shoot like this, which was intense, but not me. I have done hard work in my past life, when I was younger–manual work you don’t get rewarded for, and so doing this was a breeze in comparison. There are lots of people out there doing tougher jobs than working on a Rambo movie.

EI: How much of an outdoor guy were you before Rambo?

GM: I did everything. I was a big long distance cyclist and into rock climbing, horse riding, and stuff like that. Also I learned lots of sword fighting. But all of these things were in a European context, and when you take that into a jungle context, it’s totally different and you have this pre-conceived notion upon arriving in the jungle that it will be peaceful, wonderful, and amazing. But the truth is that it is so much noisier than being in a city. I had no idea that these insects could be so loud, and we had to stop filming at times. So nothing can fully prepare you to be in that jungle environment.

EI: Do you think a movie like this can have a positive message or a negative one about the war, about violence, about America’s position in the world?

GM: Well, it’s hard to say. What I’d like people to get is what I got from this movie, which is to know a little more about this horrible and cruel conflict happening in Burma. It’s a situation that the United Nations describes as a slow but certain genocide. Even if only one person out of millions watching this movie is compelled to check out more about this conflict, well the film will have achieved more than just being entertainment. But primarily it is entertainment. I think a character like Rambo conforms to a mythic archetype of a warrior that goes back to Antiquity. We had these types of heroes since people wrote on the walls in caves. He fulfills a need in a society that is much more complicated than a film like that, like Rambo portrays. For some people, you don’t want UN to keep the peace but you want Rambo. That’s how I feel. In some situations, I would think, “No! Send him over! Don’t talk to them.” This is how the world works. When we’re used to politics which are about impotence, incompetence, delays, doubts, and angst, he possesses a moral certainty about himself. Rambo acts instead of just talking. We wished the world was that simple and we could say: “You’re wrong, I’m right, and I’m going to sort this out!” This is what Rambo does, and it’s appealing. It works for me. I really wanted to see the bad guys suffer. But beyond that, it has a greater context because it’s based on a real conflict. There are really people like this suffering in this region. We asked the guy who portrays the bad colonel what he was thinking by doing this film, and he said: “I feel sick to my stomach, but I feel I have to do it!” When you hear him, you have to respect that this is more than just having fun in the jungle and boys with toys–it’s to point a spotlight, however brief, on something this man’s family and friends have been living in for decades. So it’s complicated. People will try to shoot down certain aspects of the film with violence, but it’s not gratuitous violence like the films Hostel, Saw or Texas Chainsaw Massacre! When you know about what’s going on in Kenya and it’s all over the news, you know this is true, what we are portraying in our movie. Babies are drawn from their mothers’ arms and thrown into the fire, shot in the head. You can’t even conceive this horror as a reality. A film like Rambo very cleverly, and especially with the use of real footage in the beginning, puts it in a true context. You watch this film and you have to believe in it and feel for what these people are going through. And it’s no docu-drama. It’s a Rambo movie, and it pushed the buttons that a Rambo movie does, but Sylvester Stallone has done a great job at making it be as real as possible.

EI: How was it shooting this movie close to the border with Burma? Any threats and close encounters from the secret police?

GM: No, not to me, but I know Sly got some. There were death threats from the Burmese. They were not happy about us filming and portraying what’s going on. I don’t think it’s going to play big in Burma! And I won’t be holidaying over there for a while or in Southeast Asia my whole life with the portrayal of this character I had and how mean he is with Asians. It was very interesting to touch something very “raw” with these people. I never felt any more danger than just being in the jungle with snakes, spiders, bugs and so on. And we had lots of protection, in any case, with the Thaï special forces who were on set and armed. Sly had an enormous army of people guarding him day and night. There are lots of people who would love to say they got Rambo! This would be a coup for some “members of the world community.”

EI: What made Stallone offer you this role?

GM: Well, I did an audition and I knew exactly what I wanted to do with this character and how he sounded. Sometimes you know what to do and how it should be done, and I went in and did an audition on tape and I knew it had gone well. And then they called me later on that day to tell me I got the job. Later on, Sly told me that when he watched my tape, he knew immediately I was like “the real thing, the real deal.” And so this was great for me. And I got this job just a week after settling in Hollywood. This was the very first meeting I had. I was such a lucky bastard, as a saying. I concentrated on the job and I was lucky to get this job. It’s a Hollywood story, in a way, because I had given up on a big long-standing contract in theater in London to come here, so it was sort of a gamble. I followed my dreams. I had paid my dues, I had done lots of theater and TV, but I knew in England there was a glass ceiling–that I could not progress. Also, the type of “genre” of films I could be good in are not made really over there. There aren’t so many of them. So if I was really into dressing up in costumes of the XIX century, this is where (England) I should be. But I think I’m more suited for this kind of film–the Rambo movies. And staying in England, there is no way on Earth I would have had a chance to audition. This is the reality of the business. This is why, to realize my dreams, I had to come here to Los Angeles to pursue my film career.

EI: Is this some type of release, to play such an angry character?

GM: Yes, my character wakes up every morning and get more and more pissed off with the day going forward. My character is a very angry man. He doesn’t like anybody in the film, and the least one is Rambo of course. If there is a spectrum in the movie, I’m at the far end of cynical, where Mathew, who plays “school boy,” is on the optimistic end. And sure, it is therapeutic to play such a role. You just let it out! You tap into that stuff we carry around with us–things that annoy you, things you wish were different–you find a situation where you can give that an outlet. And I’m not a method actor. I remember doing a play in London about Van Gogh, and someone asked me about coping with the level of emotions–does it take a long time to come back to reality. And my colleague was telling how he had to talk me back slowly after the show into the XXth century. Of course, it’s not true. I’m an actor, that’s what I do. I can pretend to be somebody else, and I switch on and off anytime I want. I think, in essence, I always thought it’s really simple because it’s about telling the truth. If you can access the truth in any scene, then you can do the job. If you try to complicate it, it won’t work. So if your thing is to go in the jungle, like my character is, and eat insects and skin wild animals for food, well good, but it’s not me.

EI: You worked with Terry Jones before. How was it working with him? Do you remember the Monty Pythons?

GM: It was an ambition to work with the Python in my youth, and so I was very lucky to work with Terry on Eric the Viking and then onto The Wind in the Willows. They were great. It was such a silly, great and unique experience–so different from doing a Rambo movie. Terry Jones and Sly in a room would be a very interesting combination.

EI: What’s your sense of humor, as an English guy?

GM: Me? Well, I suppose it’s the same as any other English guy. One time a person told me that the way English people show they like you is that they take a piss at you. Well, it’s true! The more you insult somebody in England, the more it shows you like them, in a way! Sometimes this does not travel well, and sometimes you could be in a situation where someone would think there is something wrong with you. This is how I relate to my friends: I’m just rude to them!

EI: You’re almost French…

GM: You’re right! [Laughs]

EI: So any weird encounters in L.A., with that sense of humor?

GM: Not yet. But my name, “Graham,” seems to be very difficult for people to understand, especially in coffee shops. They always ask for your name to be put on the cup, and it always comes out not like my name. After a while, you start feeling like you’re losing your identity. And I have not yet erupted in a coffee shop, but I could feel the shadow of “Lewis,” my Rambo character, on the rise! But somebody asked me what was the main difference between London and L.A., I have to say that, in general here, people are so friendly and so hospitable. In the coffee shop I always go and where they don’t ask my name, they invited me to a Thanksgiving diner. This was so nice, and this would not have happened in London.

EI: What do you miss from England?

GM: Well, for sure a little bit of football. But mainly I miss the pubs and the newspapers. English newspapers are unique. Maybe I didn’t give a fair chance yet to American newspapers, but that’s it. I don’t miss much, and I love being in Los Angeles. And I don’t miss doing theater right now, but I’m sure down the road I’d love to do theater again, like doing Macbeth, for example, or The Crucible and True West. But for now, I’m here and doing films.

EI: What did you learn from working with Sylvester Stallone?

GM: One thing I learned is that making an action movie is hard work. It’s physical for sure! When you’re watching Sly creating Rambo, you realize how clever he is at creating this character. It’s not easy, even though he makes it look simple. But it’s hard. We live in a time where there are very few believable male action heroes, and Rambo is one of them. In my head, I do an exercise where I try to re-cast The Dirty Dozen, and I’m wondering where are the Lee Marvins and Charles Bronsons who would be doing that. And Sly is one of the only ones I could see doing that. You learn how to portray “masculinity,” working with Sly. It’s not a fashionable thing, but it’s not an easy thing. I also learned about commitment and not giving up. This man, Sly, who wrote this script, Rocky, in the most difficult circumstances–I only have respect for this man. He is such a professional and genuine human being, and a so well-prepared actor. You just can’t show up on the set of Rambo not prepared because he is so well-prepared.

EI: Did you keep any souvenir from the shooting?

GM: Well, I could have kept the costume, but it was so dirty and covered in blood and crap, so I didn’t keep it. But I kept this nice necklace they found for my character. It’s like an animal claw with a piece of leather. But no, I didn’t take anything…just memories.

EI: Do you still play football?

GM: No, I’m just watching football these days. I’m too afraid of the injuries. When you’re 20, and if you get hit, you wake up the next day with a light sore. But I can’t do that now. I’m here for a reason and it’s not to play football.

EI: How is your part in the series Lost?

GM: Well, I can’t talk much about it, but let’s say this character is very similar to Lewis. He is a pretty angry guy, and I’m in the military. He has a dealing with one of the guys and in a past life. You don’t get to go to Hawaii very often when you live in London, so this was such a great opportunity.