Kevin Durand Talks Dark Was the Night and The Strain!
Matt Boiselle
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With a 6-foot 6-inch frame, Kevin Durand has managed to intimidate many a soul on screen, whether it be as the angel Gabriel in Legion or on FX’s The Strain as Vasiliy Fet, the former rat exterminator turned savior of mankind. However, in his latest film, Dark Was The Night, he turns a very large corner and plays a man who is broken on the inside, and it could be his downfall, along with the collective of the town he’s sworn to protect.
Kevin was gracious enough to take a little time with us after the crush of San Diego Comic-Con, and he talked a bit about his different roles.
DC: Could you give us a little description of the film as well as your character, Sheriff Paul Shields?
KD: At the start of the movie, 8 months prior, Paul lost his son, and he really blames himself for what happened and how his child died, and he can’t get over it – it’s completely shattered him to the point where he questions everything throughout the day, and he doesn’t trust himself anymore. All of a sudden, these people in town start disappearing, along with the livestock, and everyone is looking to him to save the day, and he doesn’t really believe that he can. That’s the journey: Does he save the day? And I think it makes for a really compelling film.
DC: Your character displayed some intense feelings of grief in this film – how did you manage to tap into such a raw emotion?
KD: You know, a lot of actors have all these methods that work for them, and I think that’s great, but for me, I just play the words and the idea that your son died because of you, and that’s enough to set me off on an emotional spiral. All I had to do was make myself believe that I was Paul and that I’d done that, and the rest just kind of happened. Jack Heller, the director, was always there to remind me how I genuinely fucked up, and this was all my fault! (laughs) He would lean in every once in a while and go,” You are such an idiot, you asshole – how could you let your son die? No one here believes in you!” He would just help me down that spiral, and I was living it. It was really tough, and I didn’t know if I was going to overcome my own personal demons as well as the ones living in the woods.
DC: Tell us a little about the filming – it looked pretty consuming.
KD: Yeah, we were kind of a smaller crew of really creative and hungry artists that banded together and made it happen. I was in awe on a daily basis of how everyone came together to put it all together, and it just makes me all the more proud of the end product, being as bare bones as it was. I’m so happy to be involved with such a great production, and I look forward to be able to carry the weight of such a great narrative with the story.
DC: Now I’m not one to prod for information, but with Season Two of The Strain recently kicking off, what can we see from Vasiliy Fet this season?
KD: Well, we already know that he’s a badass, and due to his meticulous nature, he’s got so many bits of information that arm him in the Vampocalypse as I like to call it, but now living in such close quarters with these folk, it kind of throws him off a little bit, and he has some really intense connections with a few of them, and that’s something he’s not quite used to. So for the first time, he kind of cares for other people other than himself, and with the world going to shit the way it is, that just raises the stakes, and now he’s got to protect other people as well. Also, there is SO much action, the tension is palpable, and we all felt it on set. All of the people have been able to take care of themselves somewhat, but Vasiliy is the true warrior, and there is a lot of action to come.
DC: Lastly, aside from these two projects that I’m sure have taken up quite a bit of your time, what else have you been working on?
KD: We’ve been doing a lot of press for both projects, and it’s been a real pleasure. I flew back in from Ireland to do Comic-Con and this week of press – I’ve been wreaking havoc over there filming the TV series “Vikings” – it’s been such a pleasure and a complete opposite to either of these two characters, but it’s fun and it’s keeping me sharp and happy.
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