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Michaelsrare blood bang out makes him capable of absorbing both vampire and Lycan (a.k.a.
When turned, Speedmans character transforms into a unique hybrid with oily blue skin.
The movie positions the pair as a sort of Romeo and Juliet, but in Budapest.
one-third ofTVs greatest love triangle.
It spawned four sequels, though Speedman didnt return after the franchises second installment, 2006sUnderworld: Evolution.
Here, he told us why.
I hadnt read the script yet, and attached to the script were Len Wisemans drawings.
I could see how his visual style was just off the charts.
It went well, and then I took off for a week to Big Sur, just camping.
No cell phones, no nothing, something that would never happen right now in my life.
I knew I had a good chance of getting it.
Then I got home and there was a voicemail saying that I was gonna go do that movie.
So it was cool.
Len was super cool.
I was a little bit shy or scared about what I was getting myself into.
What were his drawings of?It was of the Lycan.
You saw that and some of the things with Selene, the angles, the rain.
Its actually kind of amazing when you go back and watch these movies now.
That era, you sort of miss that visual style.
What scared you about getting into a project like this?Len has this story about it.
I called him, I was kind of nervous.
He still tells that story today.
That terrified me, that I was gonna have to do all this basically animal work on set.
Like Andy Serkis pop in of stuff.
It was kind of silly.
Obviously, Im super happy to have done it.
Did you have to do a chemistry test with Kate?No, I dont think so.
I think if she had already been cast, I got approved.
She probably approved of me, and that was that.
I was coming off the TV show and thats kind of how that works sometimes.
Sometimes on the much bigger stuff, theres gonna be screen tests and all that, chemistry reads.
But we didnt do one, I believe.
I got that job out of Toronto and had never been to L.A. before that.
I sent a video tape down to J.J. Abrams and Matt Reeves, and they cast me.
Then I was kind of thrust into this world.
You still see it happening all the time now to young actors and actresses.
So thats where I was.
So that took me into the second part of my career.
And it was great to be doing something different.
You had been hoping for a role in a film likeUnderworld?I mean, yeah.
Theres so many movies and genres and things you want to do, especially at that age.
But being a young man at that time, definitely something action-oriented.
It still is super interesting to me.
Super fun to do.
Especially if you have a director like Len.
A lot of people get these jobs, but really cant meet the moment that way.
How did you prepare to take on this role?Honestly, just training with the stunt team.
I understood the role, thats kind of why I got the part.
Whatever I was bringing to the table at 26 years old or whatever served them that way.
So that lended itself to being able to somewhat take on the physical aspects of that role.
Im pretty coordinated, so I was able to jump in.
I jumped into that full on and loved that.
Hopefully Im giving them what they need.
Was there a moment when you realized you had nailed the role?Thats a tough question.
Because it was 20 years ago, well, 21 years ago this summer or fall since we filmed.
We were doing six day weeks, like 14 hour days with Sundays off.
I just dont have that gear.
Thats such a great city.
But we had a blast, got along great.
We were at a very cool hotel.
To be young and to be in Budapest shooting a movie was super fun.
Did you and Kate get along while shooting?Oh, shes the best.
For someone that has such a huge career, shes one of the more underrated actors.
Shes effortless onscreen, and one of the smarter people Ive ever worked with.
We had a blast working together.
Shes super funny, too.
In the first film, Michael is often a kind of damsel in distress.
It was great in that way.
If youre lucky, how many hits do you have?
So whatever element of that was there, totally cool with me.
You would know better than me, clearly.
I remember scenes in the second movie that were pretty intense.
All of that was pretty easy.
Sometimes there are nerves to get through, but that was always pretty effortless.
The second movie does feature a more erotic scene, set in an abandoned semi-truck.
What do you remember about approaching that scene?That was interesting to me.
I was like,Wow, thats a sex scene.
To not have it would be wrong.
And we just dont do that anymore.
Its a real rarity.
Thats what stands out to me, I think.
Its like,Wow, we really did a sex scene in an action movie.
Another scene I need to mention is the finale, where Michael fights Bill Nighys Viktor.
What was the biggest challenge of filming that?The challenge was the choreography, which was extensive.
It was towards the end of the shoot.
We were in water, right?
I think my nails kept falling off.
Its like day 80 of the shoot.
Bill is incredible, by the way.
He was so helpful on that movie and an amazing actor and sort of grounded everything for me.
I remember taking home dailies from that scene just to watch it, and it was super challenging.
We were short on time, but it really worked out.
That really hit a nerve with me and definitely influenced me.
That was in Budapest too, I think.
You get so close to these guys, and he barely spoke English.
Obviously, I didnt speak the language.
We got in a car accident one day that nobody knows about.
It was all good, not a bad one, just the craziness of making a movie.
Thats why so many movies are made about making movies.
Its just this funny, weird circus.
We werent on the side street in Budapest.
So, it was funny.
Ive seen other people go through these things and jump in, ready for that moment.
Its a timing thing.
I was still working, but I was in a different head space for sure.
I had some life stuff going on that took me off this path.
Thats where I am now.
It has been for the last decade or so.
You didnt come back to the franchise afterEvolution was this the reason why?Yeah, probably.
I loved working with Len, and I loved working with Kate.
So I was figuring it all out.
Thats probably why, more than anything else.
Did you have hopes for Michaels character development?
Or were you done with the franchise?I wouldnt say I was done with anything.
I dont even remember how that happened.
I just know that I wasnt in the head space to be doing more of those at that time.
Much different head space now and that character I always think that character has his own story to tell.
But I mean, that really wasnt that.
Was it difficult leaving, then re-entering the acting space?Well, it was all of it.
But a lot of people have moments we still see it today where its a struggle.
Getting out of it and coming back in, its challenging.
To your point, your question, its all of it.
I think it was just being confused as a younger dude and trying to figure it all out.
Other people do it in different ways and theyre more extroverted.
That was confusing to me being known and identified and walking around was a challenge for my personality.
I wanted to ask you aboutUnderworld: Awakening, the fourth movie in the franchise.
I have not seen it.
I remember them wanting to use my likeness and that was cool with me:Yeah.
Go for it.Thats above my pay grade in terms of what they want to do with all that.
I love everybody in that whole franchise, and was totally willing to do whatever they needed.
Michael leaving Selene didnt feel out of character to you?Well, I didnt know what they did.
I really had no idea.
Honestly, you telling me that, I didnt really know exactly what that was, so.
Did you see the films that came afterEvolution?No, I missed those.
Im not good at watching my own stuff or stuff Im remotely involved in.
When I watch television, I always watch stuff that I have no chance of being in.
I watch a lot of comedies that no one asks me to do.
Thats my version of watching shows.
What about the first twoUnderworldmovies?Yeah, I did see those.
I believe so, yes.
Once they go in a different direction, theyre totally going there.
Thats what they have to do to continue to make that world work.
And they had different stories they wanted to tell and, God bless, go do it.
Theres many different tangents and storylines, many different worlds you could play around within all of that.
I love that genre, so itd be fun for me.
Would you revisitUnderworld?Thats, again, above my pay grade.
But I mean, of course, you know.
Super fun idea to think about that character.
Not necessarily like a standalone thing or whatever, but something would be interesting for sure.
Who was wrong: the vampires or the Lycans?They both have got their flaws.
Everybodys making mistakes there.
That is a deep question.
I also dont know because Im split.
I see both sides, literally.
Youre asking the wrong guy.
Im neutral on this one.
Have you seenTwilight?I have never seenTwilight, no.
Oh my God.I know, I know.
I remember seeing the trailer forTwilightand going,That is going to be a monster of a movie.
Are you interested in doing more?Thats crazy to me, thats amazing to me.
Underworldis now streaming on Netflix.
