Sir Patrick Stewart said he “embraced the contrast” of playing a neo-Nazi gang leader after his heroic roles in X-Men and Star Trek: The Next Generation.
The veteran British actor, who stars as white-supremacist Darcy Banker in new horror film Green Room, said he had no reservations taking on the role and he was attracted by a script that “scared the s*** out of me”.
Patrick Stewart at the Golden Globe Awards (Jordan Straus/AP)
Sir Patrick stars as the leader of a group of skinheads holding hostage a punk band after they witness a murder in Oregon – a far contrast from portraying Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men superhero movies.
Speaking at the Viper Room in Los Angeles, Sir Patrick told the Press Association: “The quality of the script attracted me first of all. It intrigued me, fascinated me and scared the s*** out of me the first time I read it.
“I researched quite a lot about the supremacist movement and to my surprise found it was focused on the Pacific North West. That gave me quite a lot of insight into the front that Darcy Banker creates.”
Johnathan Frakes and Patrick Stewart in Star Trek: First Contact (PA)
Asked whether he had any reservations about playing a villainous role, Sir Patrick replied: “On the contrary. I embraced the contrast as fully as possible.”
The 75-year-old also revealed he listened to “quite a lot of punk” in preparation for the film after admitting he was not a fan of the genre during the height of its popularity in the 1970s.
The #GreenRoomMovie script was so unsettling that I poured myself a scotch before I could finish it. pic.twitter.com/oqieLy1TSy
— Patrick Stewart (@SirPatStew) April 22, 2016
His latest role in Green Room comes after the thespian, who began his career with the Royal Shakespeare Company, dressed as a glamorous woman as he promoted his US sitcom Blunt Talk.
Sir Patrick, who plays a cable news reporter on the show, shared the results of his make-over with his 2.2 million Twitter followers and wrote: “Something is happening in Hollywood tonight.”
Something is happening in Hollywood tonight. pic.twitter.com/hhDTqOtBx5
— Patrick Stewart (@SirPatStew) April 19, 2016
Green Room is released in UK cinemas on May 13.
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