Ryan Kwanten on 'Twilight': 'It's Not My Cup of Tea'

By Zach Dionne Posted Nov 5th 2010 01:55PM

Ryan Kwanten, AKA 'True Blood' hunk Jason Stackhouse, hits the big screen today, starring in 'Red Hill.' NextMovie.com scored a Q&A session with the 33-year-old Aussie.

In the film, Kwanten, a "huge Western fan," plays a prototypical gunslinger, despite the fact the entire cast is Australian. "This is not the typical Western hero, and that was the most appealing quality," he says of the role. "I love playing characters with these tortured back stories and tortured souls. It is far more intriguing to me if they keep standing up after they have been knocked down. I wanted a chance to play the hero of a Western that wasn't the iconic, typical hero, the Clint Eastwood or John Wayne."

Asked about his 'True Blood' co-stars' uber-risque Rolling Stone cover, and whether he'd ever follow suit, Kwanten said, "Ah no, there's no reason to. I do it somewhat willingly for 'True Blood' -- it always come from a story point that is never truly arbitrary. I can't for the life of me see why I would [pose nude], unless it was an unbelievable pitch. I don't see why there would be a need for me to be nude on the cover of a magazine."

Though Kwanten's character on HBO's lava-hot vampire series prompted a movement to get him to join 'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn,' he wasn't swayed by the fans' intensity. "I see why people love it and I see why it has a huge audience," he said of 'Twilight.' "I just don't like that material, it's just not my cup of tea."

On his future in movies: "I'm moving into making choices that challenge me. Nothing can be more uninspiring than choosing films that are very similar to 'True Blood' or characters exactly like Jason. I'm trying to do films that are a total departure.

The most exciting bit of the interview: "I'm Charles Manson in a film next year, producing that too, with the same guy who wrote 'The Machinist' writing and directing it."

Acting without the Aussie accent: "I already spent eight years of my career back in Australia doing Australian characters, and nothing could be more uninspiring than playing more Australian characters. I take great pride in immersing myself in whatever accent I was doing out here. I've done everything from Boston accents, to Mississippi, to Louisiana to West Texas, all sorts."

Read the full interview at NextMovie.com >>

Tags: Red Hill, Ryan Kwanten, True Blood

Comments

(4)

Friday 05 November

By Vanessa

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I respect his opinion...he is entitled to it! That is what drives me nuts about the whole "anti-Twilight" thing. I happen to really like Twilight, and think that True Blood is bunch of sweaty, red-necked, corny Vampire gore, but I don't give those who like it grief. To each their own, right?

By Messa

A lot of people share his opinion. Twilight is for children. It's basically a teen age love story and there's nothing wrong with that, but let's face it, that's what it is. True Blood is for adults who can handle "gore" and more realistic relationships between people. It's not as much of a fairy tale, although both are just stories played by actors.

By Andy

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What amazes me is that they bring in actors from the other side of the world to play Southerners. There are plenty of good Southern actors available.

By Lili

"Stephanie Meyer can't write worth a darn." -Stephen King.

I can't stand the movies, the books, and 90% of the fans. The 10% I can tolerate are the ones that don't verbally abuse me when I criticize the series.

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