Movies
84 AMERICANWAY
NOVEMBER 15 2009
MICHAEL SHEEN
is known for his chameleonlike abilities,
which have had himmorphing from Tony Blair, the former
British primeminister, in
The Deal
and
The Queen
to David
Frost in
Frost/Nixon
to the werewolf Lucian in the
Under-
world
cult trilogy. But in this month’s
Twilight
follow-up,
TheTwilight Saga: NewMoon
, theWelsh actor takes on his
most stressful role to date. “You realizewhat a big respon-
sibility it is,” says Sheen, who plays Aro, the vicious Volturi
vampire in charge, with an understated, “grandfatherly” pa-
nache. “All these people devour everyword of these books,
and theyhaveaveryparticular image in theirheadsof these
characters,” he says.
Case inpoint: hisowndaughter, Lily, 10,who’sahuge fan
of the series. “She picturedAro as a bald vampire, for some
reason, and I have hair in the film,” he says. “So clearly, I’m
already disappointingpeople.”
You’re known for critically lauded turns in serious fare
like
Frost/Nixon
. So
NewMoon
is a bit of a departure for
you, isn’t it?
I supposemostpeople inAmericaknowme for
things like
The Queen
and
Frost/Nixon
. But then, there’s a
wholeother audience that’s only seenme in the
Underworld
films. So it’s quite a mixture, I think. But really, I first got
familiar with the
Twilight
series through Lily [whose mom
is actressKateBeckinsale]. She loves the books, so I’dbeen
hearing about
Twilight
nonstop long before the role of Aro
ever came up.
Is Lily the reasonyou took thepart?
Well, when Iwas ap-
proached todo thefilm, I immediately knew itwas away to
earnmajorpointswithLily. Shedidn’tget tocome to theset,
because shewas in school, though shedefinitely linedupher
spot at the premiere [early on]. Butwhen I actually started
reading the books, Iwas really drawn into thatworld.
“Twi-hards,” as fansof the seriesareknown, canbequite
enthusiastic. Has that been your experience?
I didn’t re-
ally know until I got to the set how much of a phenom-
enon this is. Rob [Pattinson, who plays EdwardCullen,] and
Kristen [Stewart, who plays Bella Swan,] and a few others
and I would go out around town, and the fans would be
everywhere, following everyone around. But theywere very
respectful. I think when the cast goes to Comic-Con and
premieres, that’swhen the fans really gomad.
Speakingof cultural icons, you’veplayedTonyBlair in
The
Deal
and in
The Queen
.
And I’m playing him again, for the
third time! I’m doing a film for HBO called
The Special Re-
lationship
, which is about TonyBlair andBill Clinton. Dennis
Quaid is playingBill Clinton, andHopeDavis playsHillary, so
it shouldbe a funfilm.
Youplayavillain in theupcoming
Unthinkable
, andyou’re
rumored to play another in the next Bond film. Are you
all about the badguys now?
Villains are great fun. They’re
complex; they’re damaged. Just the research itself is so in-
triguing, especially if you’re playing a real person. TheBond
thing was just a joke that someone took too seriously. Pe-
terMorgan, whowrote
The Queen
and
Frost/Nixon
and all
these other things I’ve done, iswriting [the next Bond film,
called]
Bond 23
, which is where the rumor started. But a
Bond villainmight be fun. You never know.
Bringing hismore grown-up sensibilities to the
Twilight
sequel
NewMoon
, Michael Sheen talks “Twi-hards,” Tony Blair, and that
pesky Bond rumor. By Sona Charaipotra
NewBlood
Boneta
1West Cordova
Whenever the cast members
are hungry for a great steak,
they hit up Boneta. “The ribs
and the 32-ounce steak are
amazing,” says Jackson Rath-
bone, who plays Jasper Hale in
the series. “Oh my God, they’re
so good!”
Purdy’sChocolates
Multiple locations
Nikki Reed, who plays Rosalie
Hale, prefers this Canadian
chain when she’s looking to sa-
tiate her sweet tooth. “[Purdy’s
has] all these amazing little
chocolate shops with the best
chocolate-covered macadamia
nuts,” she says.
Cupcakes
1168DenmanStreet
“This is a really amazing cup-
cake place,” says Christian Ser-
ratos, who plays school chum
Angela Weber. “They have the
absolute best vanilla cupcake
with rainbow sprinkles.”
LaBretagne theOriginal
Creperie
795Jervis Street
(604) 688-5989
“There’s this cute family-run
creperie across from thePacific
Palisades Hotel,” says Michael
Welch, whoplaysMikeNewton.
“I had this awesome crepewith
fish and asparagus in a white-
wine sauce.”
Granville IslandPublic
Market
1689JohnstonStreet
Kellan Lutz, who plays Emmett
Cullen, is partial to theGranville
Island Public Market, which is
teemingwithepicureanvendors.
“It [has] all these little market
stalls,” he says. “A lot of them
don’t evenhave store names.”
Care for a nibble? The cast of
TheTwilight Saga: NewMoon
clue us in on their
favorite places to eatwhile they shoot thefilm inVancouver, Canada.
VancouverBites
TheTwilight
Saga: NewMoon
TheQueen
Frost/Nixon
Underworld
