Christoph Waltz Discusses Luc Besson’s Dracula: A Love Story and Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein

how are you doing today sir good this is you know this is about lunch uh shooting in Fr France is about lunch the thing that I found um I've done a lot of set visits and this is the first time I went over to like the craft service Table and there was a bag filled of baguettes next to the table and I'm like oh this is what it's like to film in France well the the craft table is much better in you know much better in in America but but the the lunch is is a French thing Everybody Eats together um you know sitting down in tables and being civilized I I appreciate that I will agree with exactly what you said the craft crafty in America is why everyone is obese yeah no you sit down you know you say well could you pass the water thank you very much would you take with bubbles or without bubbles I think you know it it's nice it's very yes I completely agree um definitely want to jump into why I get to talk to you which is we're on set right now with Luke Bon's Dracula it is very rare for me to get to talk to um actors on set in an amazing set like this have you seen this Crypt set or are you seeing it for the first yeah yeah I've seen it no no I I I like to get an idea of what I'm getting into so so and you know some people like to be surprised and um you know maybe it works for them and it works for me to think about stuff so I like to see it and then I have an impression and then I can form you know sort of my fantasy can riff from that what was it about this script and story that said oh I need to be in this well I don't need to you know at all that I think that's a important prerequisite you know you you you can always it's a free country still and and you can you can always say no you know basically basically the the actor's choice is a binary one yes or no but um but um I wanted to work with Luke and um this angle on the Dracula I read the the novel I I really think the novel is uh a drag and and you know it's boring it's uh flat it's kind of okay it's popular because it was popular in the late 19th century um and we're kind of reverting to that you know we're kind of we've abandoned modernity and went back into the Victorian age and some of us back into the Dark Ages but anyway that's a different discussion so so um um there have been Dracula movies before you know it needs to be um um seen clearly but but I wanted to work with Li and looks um it's more than an angle it's more than an approach L's idea of of and vision of the story is that Dracula is a love story so so that's wonderful you're playing the priest in this and I'm curious um what can you tease I normally don't ask a question like this but we're on set and I'm curious what can you tease about your version of the priest and or your character and how he interacts with uh Dracula look here here's the thing that I sorry that's it's a little bit of a diversion but um that's that's the thing that always puts me in a tight Corner because I don't like to talk about the characters um I'm playing you know I I still I'm still in the process of merging my my um ideas and my fantasy with an action that can be filmed so so it it's in a way talking about it is is such an exterior such an exterior perspective that it kind of throws me I'm I'm not there to have an opinion about something I'm I'm just an actor I'm I'm I'm there to do it so so the the author needs to report on that well one of the things I've said this to you off camera and many times I'm a really big fan of your work and I'm curious for a project like this what are you doing actually before stepping on set day one to get yourself in the mindset of the character you want to play and to be able to collaborate with Luke well actually um I try to get into my own mindset a little bit you know it needs to be specific um it needs to be precise it needs to be um you know thought of and the whole the whole idea of um it's very I it's very popular to talk about improvisation and you know feeling the vibe and all that um it's not my Cy I like to know what it is I I like to know what the intentions are I like to know where it's supposed to go I like to I uh I adore working mechanics and dramatically I I I I get excited about that you know how how does one uh result in the next uh and and and how does U the end uh refer to the beginning stuff like that excites me so um well for example you read the novel and then you say well well maybe I shouldn't have read the novel um in the end it's the script in the end it's a script that needs to work um on paper before it can work on film well my thing is how early before you're stepping on set are you actually memorizing lines and getting all that stuff ready and how much do you like to sort of um save a little bit for like right before you're getting ready to film I like to know the lines because it's uh it's a lot of stress not to know the lines you know and if it's only for that that's enough reasons but you know the the writer thinks about this stuff the the I find it extremely I mean apart from the fact that I find it disruptive to not know the lines but I find it um fairly disrespectful to to the writer because it's not my job to to better uh the writer or correct the writer or have other ideas and when I say the actor's choice is binary yes or no I get the script if I say yes it the script is a reason why I say yes and not maybe I can you know as I said Riff on that a little bit and and and come up with something better well write a script what's wrong with that one of the things about this year for you when I find this so amazing is you are involved D in two iconic uh book franch you know what I mean you're doing Frankenstein with Del Toro and Dracula with Luke ban which is incredible what is it like to be in both of these to to these are iconic works of literature and you're in it you know same year yeah same year um to be perfectly Frank and don't give me away it's a little ridiculous but it's fun um I it wasn't engineered it wasn't planned there was no scheme behind it you know no strategy it it just happened that way and um I I find it amusing it's really incredible yeah and listen you've worked with such gifted directors and what I'm fascinated by is how there's no right way to make a movie everyone everyone works a different way I agree and they still come up with masterpieces so can you sort of talk about what you what is it about Luke on that makes him unique as a filmmaker that you found as say compared to a Del Toro or Quinton or name a filmm you I always I always think um um comparing directors or comparing actors or comparing people really is a little unfair because of course they are all individuals you know every single pedestrian every every single actor every single director and and they have their their method and um their um Vibe if you want but they there specific energy that makes them unique and um um so so you know it's a little bit like the the the the old Apple and oranges compar comparison but but there's one unifying thing of course that they all make movies and and so Luke Luke has a very specific I mean it's very specifically French which I which I admire and and enjoy a lot he is not um in any way forgive me for calling such calling it such corrupted by Hollywood mainstream or or you know he's he's a commercial filmmaker is not an art housee you know uh uh uh o kind of thing even though he writes a script he produces the movie he directs it he he operates the camera um it's it's his push and his energy is the first two weeks of my first two weeks of this shoot was something that well that I've never experienced that before you know the the drive and the energy behind it and the temp and there so you don't you don't have time in between takes to contemplate um um further esoteric um um um levels of your existence you know get on with it do it so that's absolutely up my alley well I was going to say that's one thing about Luke that I've heard is that he works very fast very fast sometimes you know it's h hang on one second I may need a a moment to just readjust something well you either do it or not U um and you have to do it on the spot and but but he's not pushing you he's not driving you you know it's just his Tempo and um if if you want another take you do another take if you want a second um you get the second uh until you complain it's going his way but he's very open to your complaint so so you know I'm happy I'm always curious when you look when you saw the shooting schedule did you have any days circled in terms of I cannot wait to film this or are there any days that you ever have circled that like how am I going to film this no um I would have as a director but as an actor you you assume there are reasons for the way the schedule is so I don't Circle schedules you know because they change anyway I was walking by the set and I saw your chair priest Vlad and it was just like four little chairs all together right outside and I love that because it just shows the camaraderie of the cast can you sort of talk about what it's been like collaborating with the rest of the cast actors immediately fall into this um Modas operandi because it's a necessity you know of course you can play that you're exclusive and and an exception and you withdraw to your trailer you know yeah you can do that sometimes it's necessary you know you you don't want to hear other people's thoughts and stories um but for short for short set changes scene changes light changes whatever you have um um it's it's okay we sit together and and I am one of these um people who adapt to the necessity because you could also um contradict and and um oppose it'll cost you a lot of energy and uh it'll throw you more than listening to to silly stories from other movies you know I you learn how to switch off your ears and uh and um it doesn't interfere with what you call camaraderie I don't think camaraderie is necessary you know collaboration um um constructive collaboration is really sufficient my last thing for you if you don't mind what are you actually most looking forward to and I know this is generic but we're on set and um but what are you actually looking what are you most looking forward to audiences seeing uh with this film that I I actually I I not only do I not know I haven't thought about it either I can tell you what I am most looking forward to apart from the the the the cut and how it all fits together and I want to hear Danny elfman's music uh Luke was talking about Billy ish and how in he's been influenced by her and phineas's music and the mood so it's interesting to a degree on that note sir I really want to say thank you for talking with me and I hope you a fantastic shoot [Music]