Dishing that he won't play a 'scary' Aro in the final 'Twilight Saga' film, Sheen says, 'I like the idea of someone who, instead of just being the big bad guy, has something a bit more fun about him.'
- Nov 12, 2012
AceShowbiz - As it gets closer to the nationwide screening of "The Twilight Saga's Breaking Dawn Part II", Michael Sheen took some time to discuss his role as Aro, who plays a major part in the final "Twilight Saga" movie. In a lengthy interview with Collider, Sheen dished on his take on the antagonist, which he claimed to be more comedic than what was described in Stephenie Meyer's book.
Explaining why he decided not to portray a "scary" Aro, Sheen said, "Well, one of the things I always liked about the character, that Stephenie [Meyer] had written, or hinted at in the book, was the idea that he thinks of himself as being this sentimental old fool." He added, "He just enjoys watching the young people having fun, and then likes to kill them. So, I like the idea of someone who, instead of just being the big bad guy, has something a bit more fun about him."
"He's been around for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years," Sheen said of the fearsome Volturi leader. "I would imagine the biggest problem is that you just get bored. Who wants to live forever? So, he has to come up with things that are new and interesting, as well as being quite threatening. That's quite interesting because it's something different."
The actor, who is best known for portraying Tony Blair in several British TV series, went on comparing playing Aro to the former British Prime Minister. "Well, one is a slightly self-delusional psychopath, and the other one is Aro. Funnily enough, there was one moment when I realized Aro is trying to convince all the other vampires about what they should do about this child, and he's trying to persuade them while he's being so disingenuous and laying it on quite thick and sounding reasonable when, in fact, he wants to cause havoc and mayhem."
"I noticed that I instinctively started using some of Blair's hand gestures, which is quite funny," he said. "They were both in positions of power. But, I think Aro has an insanity, the depth of which goes way beyond Tony Blair."
During the chat, Sheen also opened up about his daughter's reaction on his casting as Aro. "When I first told her that I was going to be playing Aro, she said, 'But, Aro's bald. Completely bald.' And I said, 'Oh, I see.' Everyone gets their own idea of a character. I thought she was going to be really excited, when I said that I was going to be [Aro], but in fact, she was really annoyed. It was her thing," he recalled.
He said, "She was eight, at the time, and if someone had come along when you were eight years old and said, 'I'm going to take this thing that is really special to you and that you think is yours, and it's going to be mine,' you would be upset, too. I slightly underestimated the effect on her. But, she got very excited. For the really big fans of the books, nothing can be what you imagine in your head. So, even though I wasn't a bald Aro, hopefully, she still liked it."
"Breaking Dawn II" will bring Edward and Bella to a troublesome situation after they welcomed their child Renesmee. The arrival of their daughter sets in motion a perilous chain of events that pits the Cullens and their allies against the Volturi, the council of vampire leaders. The movie will open in theaters across the U.S. on November 16.
