If you're a regular reader you are awesome and know that we brought you an exclusive interview with Brianna 'Negasonic Teenage Warhead' Hildebrand this morning. Not ones to split up a team we're back with Stefan Kapičić, who played Colossus in epic hit Deadpool. We recommend listening to this one, because it's like I'm talking to Colossus! If you can't, the transcript follows:
https://houseofgeekery.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/stefan-kapiccc8ciccc81-interview.mp3
G-Funk: We're at Supanova in Perth, 2016, and I'm just going to say that we're speaking to Stefan because if I try and pronounce your last name it's going to be really embarrassing.
Stefan Kapičić: You should try. It's 'Kapičić'.
GF: Kapičić? Kapa...
SK: Kapičić.
GF: Kapičić (yeah, this but doesn't work well in transcript).
SK: See, that was easy!
GF: Stefan Kapičić!
SK: If you want to go originally it'll be 'Kapičić' (pronounced differently), but that's harder.
GF: Kapičić?
SK: That's easier than! Ok! You did it!
GF: Cool! I do have a European background.
SK: Makes sense.
GF: So, hello! Welcome to Perth!
SK: Thank you so much for having me here.
GF: Oh no, it's great! So what most people know you for here is the Deadpool film, and you play Colossus, and I'm really excited because I'm a HUGE X-Men fan!
SK: Oh wow! It's a pleasure to know that now.
GF: You don't look like you did in the film...
SK: Er, yeah. I don't look like it because it was a CGI moment and Tim Miller (director) wanted to make Colossus as close to the comic book version, and we did it so I could be 7'4″ tall guy and metal...
GF: You're not far off.
SK: I'm not! But I can resemble as...I can look like Piotr Nikolaievitch Rasputin, which is the human form of Colossus.
GF: What was the process of going from as you to what we saw on the screen?
SK: Well, Tim and me were like trying to find a specific way of making Colossus...it wasn't easy in the beginning because we tried to find the voice range, plus I did all the facial expressions, all the acting...all the things you see there, that is me. I was working for, like, five months up until we stopped shooting. My last day was the 5th of December, and the movie stopped shooting in July. I couldn't tell anyone I was working on Deadpool because there was a NDA so we cannot talk about it. I couldn't believe it, I was working on Deadpool and I couldn't tell anyone anywhere.
GF: What did you tell them?
SK: That I'm just doing a movie in the States, that was about it. They'd ask which one, and they knew I was going to Fox studios, and I was working on two movies in Europe so that was crazy. I lot of people thought that maybe I'm lying or something. In the end it was worth it.
GF: Then did you have to convince people that you're the guy on the screen? "Nah, nah, that's me - that big metal guy!"
SK: We had really great marketing campaigns so people knew I was going to be Colossus. Especially in places like Eastern Europe and places where I'm coming from. In the States people know that because it had a huge impact, Deadpool was the highest grossing R-Rated movie of all time. That's something happened that is a dream come true for me. That's a dream come true for me: being a superhero, being in a Deadpool movie, having that success, being here in Australia thanks to Supanova, everything is so beautiful for me and I'm so grateful to God...it's an unbelievable feeling.
GF: Deadpool, as you said, the biggest R-Rated movie in history. At what point did you guys realise what you had on your hands?
SK: Well, we still don't realise that because we got into that as a smaller comic book movie. It's not a small budget at $50million but it's small for a superhero movie. Because it's R Rated we figure it's not going more than $200million. $250million would be awesome. But when it came to $800million worldwide it was an impossible feeling, it was incredible. People loved the movie, watched it 10 times in the row...c'mon! Nowadays, that's so cool!
GF: The movie's great!
SK: Thank you so much.
GF: I love the way you play Colossus because, I like the previous actor, but he just stood there and was metal. You had the character's personality down.
SK: That's a tough thing to do because we have all those amazing actors doing voices and facial expressions, like James Spader for Ultron and Vin Diesel as Groot and Bradley Cooper as Rocket Raccoon or, for example, legendary James Earl Jones as Darth Vader. When you're going to do something as iconic as Colossus, one of the most powerful Marvel characters of all time, you have to put yourself into that. In the end everyone loves the way we did Colossus, especially the voice because lots of people were thinking about the voice and how he would talk. For them that was my voice, which is the biggest compliment that I can get.
GF: I'm hearing Colossus now, which is just fantastic!
SK: (As Colossus) Four or five moments, that's all it takes.
GF: This is one of your first big films in America?
SK: I did lots of TV shows like, I did 24, Numbers, The Unit, The Event...lots of TV shows...I did a really cool movie called Big Miracle with Drew Barrymore, John Krasinski and Kristen Bell. But this is one of the biggest movies of all time! It's a really big breakthrough for me, and as I said I'm going to be locked as Colossus. Whoever wants Colossus in their movies, like X-Men, they'll have to call me for that, which is perfect, it's beautiful.
GF: There is a Deadpool sequel coming, do you know anything yet?
SK: Script is still in the works, I know that will be over soon so I know it's going to start shooting in January. They're still working on the script so except Tim Miller and Ryan Reynold's no-one is official yet, so we'll see soon.
GF: I want to see more of these characters.
SK: The only thing I know is definately is that Cable is going to be in the sequel, and maybe some of the X-Force characters.
GF: This is getting cooler and cooler. You're really well known for Colossus at this convention, because everyone here is a huge nerd, do you have other roles that you want people to know about?
SK: I have lots of movies there was a movie produced by Luc Besson called Tears for Sale and I love that movie. I was playing the lead role, and it's something really interesting and funny so people should watch that if they have the time. That, or Big Miracle, which I really like. Or you can just go to IMDb and see the things I did.
GF: I tried that, and I couldn't read any of them.
GF: Accents on everything. Luc Besson though, what was that one called?
GF: I think I know the one, but haven't seen it.
SK: It was huge in France and it's one of the movies I'm really proud of, and the movie that brought me to the States.
GF: So that was your link into Deadpool?
SK: That was a long time ago though.
GF: I'll try to find it.
SK: Yeah, you should!
GF: Thanks for coming down, this has been fantastic!
SK: It was my pleasure.
GF: I got to talk to an X-Men, that's really exciting! If I could tell 10 year old me...
SK: Oh, yeah! Alright man.