STACK #136 Feb 2016

CINEMA NEWS

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W hile most actors might turn to the Bible for a movie about the resurrection of Christ, Joseph Fiennes instead checked in at the nearest police station and signed up for gladiator bootcamp. Cast as Clavius, a Roman military tribune tasked with locating the post-crucifixion body of Jesus Christ, Fiennes views Risen as a missing corpse mystery as much as a biblical epic. “My real way into Clavius came from sitting down with a detective and talking about what it’s like to question suspects,” says Fiennes. “Although this is a biblical story, I wanted to be pragmatic about what Clavius needs to do, because I really see this as a noir detective story.” On the flip side of the coin is Kiwi actor Cliff Curtis, cast as Jesus. “I’m usually asked to play terrorists so I thought it was a prank when I was offered this role,” laughs Curtis, currently starring in TV’s Walking Dead spin-off, Fear the Walking Dead . “I was a devout Catholic and an altar boy as a child. I served mass and had a little crucifix next to my bed. I used to joke about playing Jesus because I never thought I was fair-complexioned enough and didn’t have blue eyes,” says Curtis, referring to the traditional archetypes of Christ, an image since dismissed by historians. “I’m also in my late 40s and Jesus was apparently crucified when he was 33, so it was a miracle I was even cast!” Taking a self-imposed vow of silence while filming Risen in Malta and Spain, Curtis finally broke it when he volunteered to wash the feet of his Apostle cast-mates. “I had to set my ego aside in order to be of service to a very significant divine being on this planet. I talk a lot, a lot of unnecessary nonsense – and certainly not divine – so the only way I felt I could cleanse myself was through silence,” explains the actor, who also prepared by living alone for a month, making his own humble meals. “I lived monastically, allowing just an hour each day to talk to my wife and kids. Some may say it was unnecessary but I compare it to doing Hamlet on stage and then pulling out your phone and Facebooking. That would be all wrong, so I did what I thought was respectful for the role.” Gill Pringle FINDING JESUS

FROM THE HART Kevin Hart talks Ride Along 2 , cops, emojis, and why his wild days are now behind him. By Gill Pringle

A s a high school basketball player in Philadelphia, Kevin Hart’s diminutive height kept him from reaching his lofty goals. But instead of hanging up his dreams along with his jersey, he discovered his lack of inches to be his greatest asset. Transforming his short stature into comedy gold, he found punchlines in his underdog persona, first on the stand-up circuit and later in Hollywood, where his films Think Like a Man, Grudge Match and Get Hard have made him a household name. He may play the pushover on screen, but in real life he’s nobody’s fool, building a multi- million dollar empire from his comedy brand portraying himself as the “anti-manly man“. He found his first audience in his mum, Nancy, raising him alone while

buddy movie sequel, Ride Along 2 , we see Hart graduate from security guard to rookie cop, although he shudders when STACK asks if he researched with any real cops. “No. I know some, but I don’t go out of my way to spend time with cops,“ he laughs, at the end of a three-year probation after being arrested on DUI charges in 2013. “I don’t want to be in the back seat of a cop car ever again in my life. I’ve had moments where I had to be because of mistakes I made, and that’s not a place of fun for me.” In Ride Along 2 , his character Ben sends emoji-filled texts, something the real Hart also enjoys. “I think the purpose of emojis is to be creative and give examples of your excitement or your depression or what you don’t like. It's a way to guarantee a smile on the end.” His personal favourite emoji? “The black fist!”

CINEMA

his cocaine-addicted father spent most of his childhood in and out of jail. “My mom was able to see a glimpse of greatness before she passed away. She was very religious, so she didn’t like to go places where there was alcohol, smoking or swearing, but she totally supported me on every level. She was my rock and the reason why I am who I am today. She raised me with a strong will to succeed,” reflects the 5-foot-2 former shoe salesman. Reuniting with Ice Cube for

Divorced with two children from his first marriage, Hart will walk down the aisle with model Eniko Parrish on August 8, although he has no wild bachelor party plans. “I’m 36 now. My wild days are kind of behind me. Right now it's more about getting married, taking advantage of this day and looking forward to life after.”

Ride Along 2 is in cinemas on Feb 18

Risen is in cinemas on Feb 18

FEBRUARY 2016

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