Luke Hemsworth, relative newcomer to the big screen (but thanks to brothers Liam and Chris, his last name isn’t) along with Alice Braga, best known for her role as ‘Anna’ in I am Legend, sat down to speak with Ryan Denman at a round table interview at the Four Seasons Hotel Beverly Hills. With their respective Australian and Brazilian accents, it’s easy to see why the new film they star in, the Simon Pegg-led Kill Me Three Times, succeeds as a multicultural blend of action thrills set against a beautiful West Coast Australian backdrop. There’s no lack of humor and pride from the charismatic and charming Hemsworth and Braga, whose genuineness is fully apparent from the first question asked. We begin:

 

Shooting in Australia must have been a great treat.

Luke Hemsworth: I heard it described once like, “Sex without a condom is the same, but just a little bit better.” Acting in your own country, in your own accent is like that.

Laughter 

Alice Braga: It was a fun type of film to make because it is a comedy, but not just a comedy; action, but not just action. It’s always fun to participate in films that go down that type of road and being in Australia for me was a blessing. Brazilians are a lot like Australians, very alive and warm and kind and happy and I felt at home there. Everyone including the cast and crew brought that image to the film and it was fun!

Did you experience any culture shock?

Alice Braga: Oh my God, the way that they drink! Do not go with Australians to a bar– and I know how to drink, I’m Brazilian. When they get drunk with the accent is like, “What?”

Luke Hemsworth: I’m not going to say anything…

For our review of Kill Me Three Times, click here. 

Luke, what are you the most proud of about your country?

Luke Hemsworth: Going to the place where it was filmed was pretty special for me because I had been to the West coast, but had never been down South of the West coast where we shot, which is one of the most amazingly pristine, wildly rugged parts of the world. There is no one there for starters, and you’ve got huge waves, huge sharks, amazing surf.

Is this near Perth?

Luke Hemsworth: It’s about three hours south of Perth. The Margaret River region, which is an incredible wine making region, is a huge added bonus to shooting the film [where we did]. We actually got to surf in the film too. It never made it into the final film, but we got paid for two days to go surfing.

Do not go with Australians to a bar– and I know how to drink, I’m Brazilian. When they get drunk with the accent is like, “What?”

In the film your characters look like they got beaten up a lot, what was it like filming those brutal scenes?

Alice Braga: Well my character is beaten up a lot so yeah, I got some scratches. Not that bad though. My stunt girl was amazing, she was the one that rolled down the hill. I did try a lot [with the stunts] but it’s hard, there’s so much that happens with that character. I remember when I met the stunt girl and I said, “Good luck because everyone is trying to kill you.”

Luke Hemsworth: As a performer you want to do as much as you can, but there is a point you reach where everyone’s like, “Nah, we’re going to have the stunt guy do this.” Then there’s this point you reach when it’s actually starting to hurt so yeah, the stunt guy can do it.

You look very athletic, how did you prepare physically for the role?

Luke Hemsworth: Sports has always been a huge part of my life, it kind of always went hand in hand with acting. I’ve played Australian football, water polo, and have been kickboxing for a long time.

Are there any disciplines in athetics that you transfer to acting?

Luke Hemsworth: You know what it is, I think it’s failure. So many athletes overcome or are faced with failure over and over again and there is such a marriage with acting in terms of that. There is so much failure that goes along with your journey as an actor before things get a little bit easier. You learn to deal with failure one way or another… In acting you are challenged both professionally and creatively, and in sports you’re definitely challenged professionally, and you fail so much more than you ever succeed.

How did these characters resonate with you when you first read the script?

Alice Braga: It’s funny because I got offered the part much earlier than everybody else because the producer is my agent’s brother. So he sent me the script and I liked it, then after a change in directors they hired Kriv Stenders. I was always curious how they were going to make this film with the mix of being witty, having comedy, drama, violence and action. I thought it was an interesting challenge to play this girl.

Luke Hemsworth: Also the fact that you get to work, there are things that you have to do to grow as a person and a performer. You look for things [in characters] that relate to you that is a bonus, and there are things that aren’t attractive as well, but the bonuses always outweigh the negatives. You never want one note in a performance, so it was an easy film to say yes to.

How responsible do you feel as actors to create the tone of the film?

Alice Braga: I feel like the best answer for that question is Simon Pegg. Simon is such a brilliant actor and such a smart, intelligent and generous person, and I think he brought that tone. I think a lot of what the film became is because of Simon. As soon as he got cast I was really excited. I think it was a challenge for Kriv as well, playing with all of those sides without being too much one thing or another. Finding the right editor to put together all the stories and find the pace the film as well.

Luke Hemsworth: Right at the start, he set the tone of the film for everyone else. No one is playing with him, but there’s an element of, “Ok, this is the meat of the film and this is where everyone else needs to sit.” It makes it just a little bit easier.

For our interview with Simon Pegg and director Kriv Stenders, click here. 

Is this type of film the direction you see yourselves going in for future projects?

Luke Hemsworth: Yeah part of the attraction of acting to me is that you get to do different things. There are elements of that genre and story that are great and attractive but in a lot of ways, that’s done. What challenges me in another aspect is the core of acting. You don’t have to do the same thing over and over again and it’s always a strange battle because everyone wants to put you in a box, whereas good actors try to fight that. They want to do stuff that is challenging and different.