Perdita
25-11-2008, 14:19
As his Robin Hood-like alter-ego Green Arrow, Oliver Queen really has stirred things up in the 'Ville. He's kidnapped Lex, dated Lois and assembled a team of superheroes to help take on the evils of the world. Now he's back on the scene for the cult show's landmark eighth season, which has just started on E4. We caught up with actor Justin Hartley - newly promoted to series regular status - to find out just how big a part he'll be playing this year.
How much are you going to be on the show this season?
"I’m a series regular now, so I’ll be working on a little more than half at least. I did the premiere and I’m doing episode three, five and seven… I’m around for the whole year, so it should be fun."
Is it difficult to work on a show where you’re not in every episode?
"There’s really not a lot of time off. My scenes are so big – especially with the Green Arrow stuff – that there’s always a lot to be done. Just a simple shot with the Arrow can take hours, literally, so there’s not a lot of time off. It’s good to be there for the whole year because I think there’s a lot of deeper storylines that they maybe couldn’t have gotten into before. But now that I’m going to be around all year, maybe they can get into them, you know?"
Do you enjoy the stunt work on the show?
"I love the stunt work. I’ve got a great stunt guy and I know I’m not supposed to say that, but I don’t care. It’s true. He’s really good, but here is the cool thing about him: he doesn’t seem to have a big ego. He would prefer to show me how to do it safely rather than do the stunt for me and be the hero. He’s really smart. At the same time, I know they’re not going to let me get pulled across the room into a wall and slide down because if I get hurt, they can’t shoot. Most of the stuff I do myself. My stunt guy just tells me how to do it and I do it."
What’s the scariest thing you’ve done?
"Gosh. You know what? The squibs are kind of scary. A squib is something that blows up when you get shot – and that’s a real load in there. I had the benefit of having a hood and glasses on the first time I got squibbed on Smallville, so you couldn’t see the absolute horror in my eyes. It was the first time in my life I’d ever been squibbed and I was in pain."
Do they bruise you?
"Some of them do. It depends on how big they are. The ones they used on Smallville don’t bruise, though. You can feel them, but they don’t really hurt. Thank God I had on glasses and a hood the first time I felt them, though. I was so worried. The terror was in my eyes! The crew kept telling me not to look down because it might blow up in my face, but I couldn’t help but look down! Eventually, I started to look to the sky, but that was wrong, too. The director couldn’t believe it!"
Are you a fan of comics?
"I started to get into them more ever since I did the Aquaman pilot, because I did most of my research through the comics. I think that’s the best way to do it because they’ll tell you everything – they explain the whole mythology. Ever since I did that pilot, people have given me comics. People mail me comics and then you can’t stop. Once you start looking at them, you don’t have a choice. You find yourself buying them and collecting them and you can’t stop."
Why do you think Aquaman wasn’t picked up?
"Well, I think there a lot of issues with that show. It was a really expensive show because you can’t have an Aquaman without water – and water costs a lot of money. I mean, they’ve got a lot of money – but it seemed like it was a logistical thing. I’m proud of the pilot, though."
Isn’t there a big water tank somewhere dying to be used?
"You’d think so, but there’s a lot more to it, too. Let me tell you something… When you’re doing one of those water shows there’s a crew of 30 or 40 or 50 people in the tank of water with you. You’re not in the ocean – and Justin Hartley is the only one getting up to go to the bathroom. It’s six hours before the others get out of the water – and that’s only because it’s lunch time. I’m thinking, ‘Really? How many times did you pee in there? I had my face down there, man. I had my eyes open. I’m swimming around in your pee!’ It was ridiculous."
Smallville airs Tuesdays at 10pm on E4.
How much are you going to be on the show this season?
"I’m a series regular now, so I’ll be working on a little more than half at least. I did the premiere and I’m doing episode three, five and seven… I’m around for the whole year, so it should be fun."
Is it difficult to work on a show where you’re not in every episode?
"There’s really not a lot of time off. My scenes are so big – especially with the Green Arrow stuff – that there’s always a lot to be done. Just a simple shot with the Arrow can take hours, literally, so there’s not a lot of time off. It’s good to be there for the whole year because I think there’s a lot of deeper storylines that they maybe couldn’t have gotten into before. But now that I’m going to be around all year, maybe they can get into them, you know?"
Do you enjoy the stunt work on the show?
"I love the stunt work. I’ve got a great stunt guy and I know I’m not supposed to say that, but I don’t care. It’s true. He’s really good, but here is the cool thing about him: he doesn’t seem to have a big ego. He would prefer to show me how to do it safely rather than do the stunt for me and be the hero. He’s really smart. At the same time, I know they’re not going to let me get pulled across the room into a wall and slide down because if I get hurt, they can’t shoot. Most of the stuff I do myself. My stunt guy just tells me how to do it and I do it."
What’s the scariest thing you’ve done?
"Gosh. You know what? The squibs are kind of scary. A squib is something that blows up when you get shot – and that’s a real load in there. I had the benefit of having a hood and glasses on the first time I got squibbed on Smallville, so you couldn’t see the absolute horror in my eyes. It was the first time in my life I’d ever been squibbed and I was in pain."
Do they bruise you?
"Some of them do. It depends on how big they are. The ones they used on Smallville don’t bruise, though. You can feel them, but they don’t really hurt. Thank God I had on glasses and a hood the first time I felt them, though. I was so worried. The terror was in my eyes! The crew kept telling me not to look down because it might blow up in my face, but I couldn’t help but look down! Eventually, I started to look to the sky, but that was wrong, too. The director couldn’t believe it!"
Are you a fan of comics?
"I started to get into them more ever since I did the Aquaman pilot, because I did most of my research through the comics. I think that’s the best way to do it because they’ll tell you everything – they explain the whole mythology. Ever since I did that pilot, people have given me comics. People mail me comics and then you can’t stop. Once you start looking at them, you don’t have a choice. You find yourself buying them and collecting them and you can’t stop."
Why do you think Aquaman wasn’t picked up?
"Well, I think there a lot of issues with that show. It was a really expensive show because you can’t have an Aquaman without water – and water costs a lot of money. I mean, they’ve got a lot of money – but it seemed like it was a logistical thing. I’m proud of the pilot, though."
Isn’t there a big water tank somewhere dying to be used?
"You’d think so, but there’s a lot more to it, too. Let me tell you something… When you’re doing one of those water shows there’s a crew of 30 or 40 or 50 people in the tank of water with you. You’re not in the ocean – and Justin Hartley is the only one getting up to go to the bathroom. It’s six hours before the others get out of the water – and that’s only because it’s lunch time. I’m thinking, ‘Really? How many times did you pee in there? I had my face down there, man. I had my eyes open. I’m swimming around in your pee!’ It was ridiculous."
Smallville airs Tuesdays at 10pm on E4.