Our ‘I, Frankenstein’ Interview with the great Aaron Eckhart

Aaron Eckhart was born to play a superhero. Not only because of his physicality (that jaw!) and acting skills (“Thank you for smoking”!) but also the nobility he naturally projects.

After being a complex villain in “The Dark Knight”, Eckhart finally got the opportunity of portraying a powerful force of good in the upcoming “I, Frankenstein” (in theaters and 3D on January 24).

I had the pleasure of talking with the talented Californian actor about this new movie from the creators of the “Underworld” saga.

Nestor Bentancor: Many times superheroes are just too powerful, too good or too handsome for us to empathize with them. What is it in this character and what did you bring to him to help building a strong connection with the viewer?

Aaron Eckhart: This is a big action-fantasy-adventure movie. It’s all about what drives the character inside to do what he does. How he makes choices and what are the consequences. Who Adam is as a man. He is a creature searching for his soul looking for his purpose in life. We all are.

Nestor: Sometimes action movies are dismissed but you have had the chance to witnessing from inside the amount of effort it takes to put the puzzle together. Can you talk about that?

Eckhart: Yeah. The artistry, the creativity, the hours and hours that people put into every frame is mind-boggling. You are right, it is everybody’s right to say “That sucks!” but let me tell you, the amount of people that is working behind the scenes to get everything right and create things out of their imagination, drawing them and then putting them on clay, the sets and the costumes… There is a lot of work, passion and love going into every movie, and sometimes it is not appreciated. But I guess that’s the audience’s prerogative.

Nestor: We see you doing very cool things with this character. Is there a particular kind of sequence that you would like to do in the future?

Eckhart: In this movie the hardest part was the [Filipino] Kali Sticks fighting. The director wanted to show my face and the sticks at the same time so I had to do my own stunts during the fights. That was really great. I would like to do a classic Western to ride horses and shoot guns at the same time. That would be fun for me.

Nestor: What excites you about the idea of doing a sequel and building a franchise?

Eckhart: The thing about franchises is that they allow the character to grow. You get to know your character better and you can be much better in the next one. It is a new adventure and I like that. Let’s see what happens this week, who knows. But I do believe that Frankenstein is a beloved figure throughout the world and hopefully it will finds its audience.

“200 years after his shocking creation, Dr. Frankenstein’s creature, Adam, still walks the earth. But when he finds himself in the middle of a war over the fate of humanity, Adam discovers he holds the key that could destroy humankind. From the co-writer of the hit supernatural saga, UNDERWORLD, comes the action thriller I, FRANKENSTEIN, written for the screen and directed by Stuart Beattie, screen story by Kevin Grevioux and Stuart Beattie, based on the Darkstorm Studios graphic novel “I, Frankenstein” created by Kevin Grevioux. The story is brought to life by a cast that includes Aaron Eckhart, Bill Nighy, Yvonne Strahovski, Miranda Otto, Jai Courtney, and Aden Young as Victor Frankenstein.”