The Transporter Refuelled

ED SKREIN

“I love this craft – I’m here to stay.”

“I don’t dress like I am something special and I don’t walk like I am something special,” says Ed Skrein as he begins to pick apart the perspective-shattering experience he has had in recent months with his latest big movie roles. 

He says it with great sincerity in his eyes and I genuinely believe him as he reveals his down-to-earth, humble attitude to life. He is the new action hero in town who is going to be lighting up the screen in the coming weeks as the star of the action flick THE TRANSPORTER: REFUELLED, a fresh take on the franchise previously led by Jason Statham. Three years ago, Ed broke through with roles in Brit flicks PIGGY and ILL MANORS. Some may also recognise Ed from one of the biggest TV shows in history –  GAME OF THRONES.

Despite starring in one of the biggest blockbuster franchises, it was interesting and refreshing to see an honest man who is confident in his abilities and still completely unfazed or unchanged by his newfound success. The 32-year-old actor came into the interview with a big grin on his face, looking smart but casual in a black top, jeans and trainers and took the time to greet each journalist individually and introduce himself. That’s not always a regular courtesy which us journalists are used to, but as Ed began to speak, it became clear it’s not totally unexpected as we discovered this new action star is genuinely a nice man.

“Looking at the proposition in front of me in terms of taking on this role, I thought there was a lot that can help me in terms of my growth and development as an actor. I have never been a lead actor before, number one on the call sheet, so to go there and test myself in terms of leading a film and having the pressure, then subsequently realising I felt no pressure was all good. I looked at the script and saw there was all this stunt stuff involved that I have never done before and I’m sports crazy and have a background in endurance sports, so that was great in terms of upping my skill set and learning.” He’s reconciling the moment when he first considered taking on the role, which he totally embodied during the months of filming in France. Sat calmly in a chair in a suite at the Soho Hotel, the actor is very matter of fact about the challenges he faced when considering taking on the role.

Ed Skrein

“I had to work hard on the action scenes. What you seen in the film is my first ever foray into this type of thing. I have done some small action sequences before, but they were very small sequences, but for this film, there was a higher volume of it and they were more detailed, harder and more demanding. I had to work hard and be a good student building up to it. I am a person who works really hard with preparation and behind the scenes work, so that when I arrive I can relax, enjoy it and make the most of it.”

Elaborating on his venture into acting, Ed revealed that his new occupation wasn’t always the path he had intended to take. He has a BA in Fine Art at Central Saint Martins, he has worked as a swimming coach with children and is a well-known hip-pop artist in London: “I didn’t think about acting until the age of 26, it was something that wasn’t even a prospect for me and I have had many lifetimes before this; I studied at Art college, it was my passion in school and I was involved in the underground hip-hop scene in London from 1999 to 2008 and I was a sports coach, which is a passion of mine and I have done lots of charity sports events. They are a strange amalgamation of things, but to me they are all transferable skills and things which I felt passionate about and needed to do. I enjoy what I have done, but I love this craft that I am in now and I’m here to stay. I have been jumping around with things for quite a long time, so it is time I stuck with something and explored it to its full potential. This feels like the right fit and the place I am so suppose to be in.  I definitely think my best work is ahead of me and I feel like I am getting to day zero now and really start to create things that I am proud of.”

One of his projects that has been a huge talking point surrounding his career is his involvement with GAME OF THRONES, which he starred in as Daario Naharis, but contrary to rumours, he did not give up his role for movie stardom, THE TRANSPORTER: REFUELLED was something he looked at entirely independently from the hit HBO show: “I fulfilled my contract and did everything I could with them. I actually wanted to carry on and to continue developing the character further, it was a fun character I enjoyed playing, but when it wasn’t possible, it was a question of not looking back, but keep looking forwards and being thankful for the experience. I am thankful for all of the experiences I have had along the way which have contributed to me being here today. The journey has been an unorthodox one and it will probably continue to be that way, but it doesn’t scare me.”

Ed Skrein

The three-part audition process was a challenging, hilarious learning curve and a surprise for the blossoming actor. “For the first audition I arrived with a white shirt, jeans and Air Max Nike trainers. I had a huge, ginger beard and my head was shaved – I had lumps that I had shaved out of my head and I had even shaved my eyebrows ginger because I was working on another movie. I did not look like someone for THE TRANSPORTER! Then when I came out there were four people all sitting there waiting in the Frank Martin style suits! I was like “I have messed up and didn’t prepare properly.” I kind of kicked myself and thought I needed to learn, so when I got a call for the second audition I was very surprised.”

Whilst travelling over to Paris on the Eurostar for his second audition, the actor confessed he felt no pressure and wasn’t nervous despite heading to Paris to meet renowned writer and director Luc Besson. “I was like, no I have prepared, I am going to concentrate on being there with an open mind and feeling relaxed, there was nothing more I could have done to prepare for it. I was wearing my blue Louis Vuitton overcoat, my scarf, dressed smart and slick. The first thing Luc said to me was “Do you have something else to change into?” and I was like, “No.'” Little did Ed know that he was about to do some stunt tests and the smart attire certainly would not be appropriate for that. His relaxed demeanour once more saved the day as he enjoyed learning the required exploits and put no pressure on himself as he memorised a scene in ten minutes. Upon his return to the UK, the actor discovered that the change of clothes was not confirmed prior to his departure; it was all part of a test on Besson’s part: “He wanted to see me at my worst and I think that is a great way of testing people. To work with someone like Luc Besson and the vision he has and his talent is clearly an exciting prospect.”

Despite having to participate in the second audition of stunts with no shoes on and a camera department t-shirt, he certainly had done enough to impress them and was invited back for a third audition and the rest, as they say, is history. Whilst working with Besson on the high-octane thriller, it was very clear to see that Ed has great respect for his mentor and has enjoyed the whole learning experience of working with him, which has helped him to grow professionally: “Luc is almost like a football manager, he could make you feel like you are 100 feet tall and make you want to run through brick walls for him. He has that kind of gravitas, aura and a great way with words.”

Despite the seriousness of discussing the newfound skills Ed learnt whilst working on THE TRANSPORTER: REFUELLED, the actor’s natural charisma and endearing humour raises laughs as he recalls a visit to his local cinema where he watched FANTASTIC FOUR, and his success suddenly dawned on him in a rather humorous way: “I popped to the toilet and asked my mate to get me a popcorn and coffee and when he came back, he was holding the popcorn and my face was on it! It was a surreal moment, but I don’t think about that side of things too much, it’s just paper. The most important thing for me is the well-being of my friends and family and those people around me. I don’t lose sleep over things like that.”

Ed Skrein

Ed is not afraid to plunge himself into the stark realities of life regardless of his recent achievements and is quick to reiterate that he has a heightened understanding of the continuous hardships that others face around him. Charity work remains of the upmost importance to him; he swam the Channel in a relay in 2009 at a fundraising event and continues to be mindful of how he can still help others. “We raised a lot of money for a children’s charity and that was so important and it meant a lot to me. There are so many kids in real life who don’t have a solid upbringing like me and my son, so it means a lot to me to see if I can help them in any small way I can. By no means am I Mother Teresa, but if I can do little things along the way, then I would like to do everything I can.”

Beyond his portrayal of Frank Martin in THE TRANSPORTER: REFUELLED, Skrein will be heading into Fox’s Marvel Universe to play assassin Ajax in DEADPOOL starring Ryan Reynolds, and comedy KILL YOUR FRIENDS with Nicholas Hoult.

“It was a dream job, shooting DEADPOOL in Vancouver which is a beautiful place and working with Tim Miller, the director, who has now become my good friend and he managed to get so much good stuff out of me and I would love to work with him again. He pushed me hard, but really steered me in the right direction to get a good performance out of me. Ryan [Reynolds] is a gentleman. Such a lovely man. He’s even better than you think. He has got the emotional side and the comedic side – he’s such a good human being. Then there’s T.J Miller who is probably one of the funniest people I have met in my life and I was crying my eyes out everyday with him. We became really close friends and would hang out together.”

Seeking to keep his passion and delivery of his performance at its peak, Skrein cannot hide his enthusiasm for his role and the script is what helped to motivate him. “We have seen so many superhero movies. Maybe they have become saturated, maybe formulaic, but I can tell you that we did nothing that they have done before. It was very important for us to stay faithful to DEADPOOL and it is irreverent, brutal and violent and it’s stupid. The amount of immature, terrible things we say… The movie is brilliant. They could just never say that stuff in the other movies because it would take you out of the Marvel universe, whereas DEADPOOL exists in this place halfway between reality and the Marvel Universe. It was incredible to work on, a real dream come true.”

These dreams may continue to flourish for Hollywood’s next big action star; depending on the success of THE TRANSPORTER: REFUELLED, the film is being tipped as the first of a possible trilogy and for his DEADPOOL character Ajax, is there a chance we will see him cross over into other X-MEN films? “Everything is possible in the wonderful world of Marvel…” Oooh, Ed, you big tease!

THE TRANSPORTER: REFUELLED arrives in cinemas September 4th, 2015.

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