Luke Evans is no stranger to trying out different types of films and roles. He is certainly no stranger to action movies with his latest film reminding you of his talent and versatility on the big screen. To give context, Weekend in Taipei is about an undercover mission in Taipei, where DEA agent John Lawlor (Luke Evans) fell in love with his informant, Joey Kwang (Gwei Lun-mei), one of the Asian underworld’s best transport drivers. With his cover blown and love compromising his position, John was forced to flee. Years later, their paths cross again as these 2 former undercover agents revisit their romance during a weekend in Taipei, not realising the danger that lies ahead. Will John reopen old wounds and fight for his love again or is he here to finish the job?
Ahead of the release, I spoke with Luke Evans about the film and how he developed his character. Exploring the expectations of a romance story, stunt work, inspirations and what draws him to these different genres.
Zak Ahmed (THH): How was it like to prepare for the role and could you explain the process?
Luke Evans: I mean when you just an action movie and there’s a lot of fight sequences, you have to turn up much earlier than everybody else to rehearse. We did that with a French stunt co-ordinator and his team and a Taiwanese stunt team and a translator. We spent 3 weeks in a rehearsal room building these fight sequences together and creating a strong character driven fight sequence. I wanted my character John to, I wanted to see him and his choices within the fight sequences. And then you got to meet the cast and then the camera start rolling and we’re in Taipei, and temperatures are boiling, the humidity is extremely high and you embrace it all and just keep going. Try and enjoy the whole experience.
Did you have any particular inspiration for your character?
Luke: No! I felt like I related to him. I think John is an every man. Everybody can relate to John. I think he’s just a good guy who just missed a boat on having a partner and a child. His work is everything. He’s a little jaded but he’s essentially a good guy. I think you can relate to him very easily and I love the fact he has a bit of humour within. He’s quite funny which I quite enjoyed.
We’ve seen you across many different genres from bloody action to fantasies and even sweet musicals, are there any movie genres you’re interested in exploring next?
Luke: Well I love comedy. I haven’t done a huge amount of it so maybe a bit more of that, yeah, who knows. There’s lots of things I want to do. Sometimes the things I want to do are the things I never even thought about doing and they’re presented to me and then I’m like oh wow, yeah, maybe I can do that. So I’m always open to new exciting challenges.
How did you approach the romantic aspects of your character John’s journey.
Luke: Well just try and be real. Just try and live it in the moment. You have to forget who you are when you’re playing a character, that’s part of the job of being an actor. Live within their skin, you think like them, you breathe like them, you talk like them. You are that person so you just fall in love. Of course there’s a backstory to the romance part of the story which is quite painful and he has to process all of that but when I’m in those moments I’m not me. I’m John Lawlor. And Gwei is Joey and Wyatt is Raymond. We leave ourselves at the door and we try live as authentically as we can those peoples lives. That’s your responsibility as an actor.
If you could choose 3 characters you played throughout your career to be an undercover agent, who would you pick?
Luke: Oh it’d have to be Dracula. Yeah. He’d be a great undercover agent. He knows everything. He’s lived forever. He’s been around for centuries haha. He’d be good.
Do you have 2 others?
Luke: 2 others hmm. Possibly Owen Shaw would be good. Although he is a little rebellious. And I don’t know. That’s about it. I think Owen Shaw and Dracula, they’re probably the best 2.
How was it like to see your performance set to score?
Luke: Oh brilliant. Sometimes it’s done really really well. And this one is exceptionally good. The choices they’ve made with the music is brilliant. I mean Johnny Cash Ring of Fire over a kitchen fight sequence. You couldn’t imagine any other song apart from that song so I think they’ve done a brilliant job with this film.
Weekend in Taipei is out now in US theaters
