Film Reviews - "300"

**SCROLL DOWN TO READ AN INTERVIEW WITH MR. TIERNAN ABOUT HIS ROLE AS EPHIALTES IN 300**

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Stills and production shots:

RECENT MAGAZINE INTERVIEW WITH ANDREW TIERNAN:

1. This has been a pretty exhausting production, on top of which you’ve had to go through some intense transformation. As far as I know your face was obscured by mask and prosthetics. I can’t help but think how difficult it would be to convey your emotions when your face was hidden and walk about with a hunchback and loads of prosthetics on a movie set. How did you cope with this?

ANDREW TIERNAN - I was called many hours before the rest of the cast as the process of applying the moulds took about ten hours each time, sometimes eight. The face of Ephialtes consisted of about 12 prosthetic pieces alone; the body piece was about 5 large pieces.  It was certainly a new experience for me and over the time I was on the movie, I learned the procedure of application to help speed up the process. Lennie MacDonald, Leon Laderach and Shaun Smith were the team applying my make up.  It was long.  But I got through it by telling jokes and listening to music on my ipod dock, with a remote control in my hand.

The longest I worked in the suit was for 30 hours on the day of shooting the action in the Persian tent when Xerxes tempts Ephialtes with women and wealth.  I preferred working longer hours though, as it was such a drag to have the suit taken off and then all glued on again.

It was a learning experience as an actor.  The make up guys; who have a lot of experience, told me to over express my facial movements so that I could get more movement and life out of the prosthetic.  I suppose the mask became like a second skin, so I made it a part of me.

2. The traitor Ephialtes is deformed in body as he is in character. Ephialtes in Greek means nightmare. Did you pull on any specific characters from film or history for the role?

A.T - I read the Hunchback of Notre Dame also I watched David Lynch’s “The Elephant Man.” I felt that Ephialtes was a very sympathetic character in the Frank Miller book. A rejected soul.  Who wanted to be accepted into the Spartan Army.  So I wanted to convey the pain of that with his physical pain.

I also had the luck of seeing a documentary on a boy who suffered from Proteus syndrome; it was heart breaking to see this one little boy have to deal with society in real life, having the kind of deformities that are portrayed in the look of Ephialtes.  One moment in the documentary the boy described going to the shops and being ridiculed by adults and children alike. 

It’s easy for us to think that these kind of deformities are something we can mock because they are just in films, or society generally likes to think they don’t exist in reality, but there are people living this nightmare for real, and I wanted to show this through the character of Ephialtes, to show the pain, the anger, the fear and the struggle for acceptance in a world where he was misunderstood.
 

3. What do you feel about real life traitors? Have you ever acted like this in your personal life?

A.T. - I think we are all guilty of some traitorous action at some point in our lives. Voting for the wrong politicians, buying petrol for our SUV’s or not caring for our loved ones or family.  It’s human nature.  Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.  The device of the traitor in the story is a necessary one.  It’s a lesson to us all. And Ephialtes suffers more in his life for what he does.  It shows that traitors do not benefit from their actions.

4. Your previous work, such as your role as “Szalas” in Roman Polanski’s “The Pianist” or your appearance as “Dean” in Antonia’s Bird production “Rehab” was completely different from your current work. When they approached you about the part, what did you think of it?

A.T.  - I love the work of Frank Miller and have been into his comics since I was young.  When I got the part there was no going back.  It was different from what I’ve done before, as although I have worn prosthetics in the past, it was never to the extent of this job, and that was a little frightening.

5. It is apparent that Ephialtes has a key role in the story. The Greeks are finally betrayed by Ephialtes forcing Leonidas to dismiss his allies and leaving his own 300 to the fate of dying under a sea of arrows. I believe that without Ephialtes we wouldn’t be here talking about the “300”. What’s your opinion?

A.T. - I would tend to agree, if it hadn’t been for Ephialtes’ actions, then the Spartans might have survived, and the rest of their men might have made it down to battle to increase their chances.  But the Spartans were outnumbered massively and the fact that they had gone to battle without the backing of the Greek senate; it’s hard to say whether or not they would have won.  But the sacrifice that Leonidas and his 300 made, brought the beginning of democracy.  They lost the battle but they won the war.

6. Which were the most exciting moments you’ve had in filming “300” and which were the most precarious scenes?

A.T. - Having 60 naked women dancing around me in the Persian tent, would be the most exciting and most precarious.  It was funny how much attention I received from all these beautiful girls, whilst being in the character of Ephialtes.  After that days shoot when I’d removed all the make up, I saw a group of the girls still waiting for their cabs home, I waved and said goodnight, but not one of them recognized me.  I tended to forget that people didn’t see me out of the suit that often.  Other times when I visited the set out of character, I was constantly approached by crew and security staff who were ready to throw me off the set as they were suspicious of who I was.

7. What’s your relationship with Gerard Butler and the rest of the cast?

A.T. - He’s my wife (laughs)…No, only joking.  I enjoyed working with Gerard, Vincent and Rodrigo.  I didn’t spend that much time with the rest of the Spartans as most of my time was with the make-up guys, I was a walking painting, constantly being touched up and checked.  I loved working with Zack Snyder, he was an absolute gent.  I think he has great vision and passion for his work and has created a work of art.  And has truly brought Frank’s work to life in the movie.

8. The film does certainly seem to be an extension of the Miller’s novel however it is based on historical facts. In other words Miller took an actual event and turned it into mythology.  Did you know the Greek story prior to taking part to the film?

A.T. - Well Frank Miller did base his story on The 300 Spartans movie, though I’m sure he did read, as we all did, The Gates of Fire and the other books detailing what happened.  He was struck by the original movie, because the heroes all die in the end, which is very un-Hollywood I suppose.  I’d seen the original film years ago and knew of the expression; Go tell the Spartans.  I had a copy of the DVD while I was filming and I used to watch chapters during my breaks.  Ralph Richardson’s great in that movie.

9. Is there any there any other meaning of the film apart from reviving one of the biggest battles in history?

A.T. - I think the main narrative of the film is that of the story of the Spartans.  Other than that I think it is a story of morals and war.  Any relation to modern day conflicts and events is purely coincidental.

10. Tell me about your future plans.

A.T.  - I tend not to make plans; I tend to go with the flow.  I hope that fate brings me something exciting and fulfilling to do.

Thank you for taking the time and interest in my character in the movie, I appreciate your interest.

ANDREW TIERNAN 2007

Storyline

The story centres on the Battle Of Thermopylae in 480 BC when Leonidas the King of Sparta and his Royal Guard of 300 were overwhelmingly outnumbered by their enemies the Persians. This battle inspired all of Greece to band together thus forming the first democracy.

Additional storyline at http://300themovie.warnerbros.com/

On March 9th this film went onto general release in the US. In only the first week it's registered the highest ticket sales for the period of March EVER for an R-rated film. It IS an absolute block-buster!!

Andrew Tiernan plays the very crucial character of Ephialtes for which he had to spend hours every day during filming wearing a very heavy prosthetic suit and make-up.

The waiting has been worth it......300 is making cinematic history. Go see it.

JUJU'S REVIEW:
I have been lucky enough to view the film now and I loved it. Although it is heavy in its content I think it has been crafted with a deft, almost light, touch. Its artistry can best be summed up by 300's Visual Effects Supervisor Chris Watts and Visual Effects Art Director Grant Freckelton themselves when they say..."the overall aesthetic of mixing painterly and photographic imagery remains constant throughout the film".* It is as beautiful as it is gruesome; a grand example of modern-day epic theatre at it's best. It boasts such a taut production that nothing in it is wasted at all, certainly not time, and yet it doesn't make the mistake of falling into the overly-frenetic 'give 'em lots of bang for their buck' pace either that some action films of lesser merit might. The emotional scenes are not too heavy-handed and serve to move the strong current of the film along well. You may say that 300 glorifies violence and it very definately does this but it doesn't make as much of a meal out of it as it could have reeeeally, and I feel that it manages to achieve it's aim of being inspirational at the same time. I was grateful for the fact that the violence towards animals was respectfully kept to a minimum and most of the creatures featured were surreal ones anyway (for those of us who are "thenthitive" about such things.)

I found the casting to be perfectly spot on. Andrew Tiernan did a sterling job with the very difficult role of Ephialtes. In my opinion he managed to hit exactly the right emotional note through his portrayal of this character - AND through the extensive body prosthetics required for the role - which, indeed, is no mean feat at all. He gave a VERY gratifying performance in a very important and affecting film. Congratulations are definately in order here Mr. Tiernan! Take a bow! Andyfans will be well pleased with this one I think.

I also thought that David Wenham was good as Dilios and Gerard Butler - who's slight Scottish accent lent clarity and import to his words - was strong in the role of Leonidas. (And I swear I noticed a few Irish accents here and there!) His solo slo-mo fight sequence was beautifully choerographed and executed (no pun intended.)

In answer to the question: "What legacy does the film "300" leave the viewer with?" Well... I think at best it will get your 'gung-ho' glands pumping into overdrive with every repeated viewing and at the very least it will get you to remember that PHALANX MANOEUVRE next time you're in a tight spot that's f'sure! WELL DONE ALL!l! I can't wait to see it on Imax.

I'd like to thank the people at Village Roadshow, Melbourne for the invitation to attend the advance screening. Thanks Kate, Georgina and Mandy!

*Quote from: "300 - The Art Of The Film" by Tara DiLullo
Footnote: Having seen it on Imax now I can wholeheartedly recommend viewing it on this format. It's impressive!

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Here is a snippet of a review of Andrew Tiernan as Ephialtes taken from the Comic Book Resources site and written by Andy Khouri:

" Every actor is made to resemble exactly their illustrated counterparts, including the grotesque Ephialtes, the obligatory "Frank Miller story freak mutant character," who suffers from just about every kind of physical deformation one can imagine. Played by "The Pianist's" Andrew Tiernan, Ephialtes is, despite his insane appearance, just as believable as all the other characters in "300." Tiernan portrays Ephialtes as a man whose every moment of existence is, without a single exception, totally wretched. The smallest movement seems to cause him pain, including breathing. The sight of this man being caressed and molested by dozens of the Persian Empire's most desirable women is among one of the more disturbing and paradoxical images moviegoers are likely to see for a while."

Read the review in it's entirety at:

www.comicbookresources.com

POWERFUL STUFF!!

Go to http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/300 for more reviews of the film.
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Andy's Character

Andy's Content Rating

OK I HAVE seen it now and I'm giving it FIVE STARS because it's such a cool film and Andrew Tiernan is EXCELLENT IN IT!!! He ROCKS!!!!