DAN STEVENS

Biography  Actor   DAN   STEVENS   (The   Beast)   will   next   be   seen   in   Noah   Hawley’s   Marvel   series   “Legion”   for   FX  premiering  in  2017.        Upcoming  projects  include  the  role  of  Charles  Dickens  in  “The  Man  Who  Invented  Christmas”  and  Gareth  Evans’  “Apostle,”  in  which  Stevens  plays  a  man  who  goes  in  search  of  his  missing  sister.  Stevens  will  also  be  seen  opposite  Anne  Hathaway  and  Jason  Sudeikis  in  the  sci-­‐fi  drama  “Colossal”;  the  romantic  comedy  “Permission,”  opposite  Rebecca  Hall;  and  with  Malin  Ackerman  in  “The  Ticket.”    Previously,  Stevens  starred  in  the  cult  hit  “The  Guest,”  “Night  at  the  Museum  III,”  “A  Walk  Amongst  the  Tombstones”  and  “Criminal  Activities.”    He   is  known  for  his  performance  as  Matthew  Crawley   in  the  Golden  Globe®-­‐winning  drama  “Downton  Abbey.”  His  other  television  credits  include  HBO’s  “High  Maintenance,”  “Sense  &  Sensibility,”  “The  Line  of  Beauty”  and  “Frankenstein,”  as  well  as  roles  in  the  TV  movies  “Maxwell”  and  “Dracula.”      Stevens’  theatre  credits  include  “The  Heiress”  on  Broadway,  “Arcadia,”  “The  Vortex”  and  “Hay  Fever”  in  the   West   End   and   “Every   Good   Boy   Deserves   Favor”   at   The   National   Theatre   in   London.   He   is  represented  by  WME,  Julian  Belfrage  Associates  and  Peikoff/Mahan.    

#  #  #    Q&A:    1.   What  was  it  that  appealed  to  you  about  this  role?    A.   It’s  a  huge  challenge  turning  a  beloved  2D  animated  film  into  a  more  human  3D  story,  but  it’s  a  great  story  with  great  characters  so  I  was  very  excited  (and  my  wife  and  kids  were  very  excited,  too).  I  also  like  that  the  film  is  a  blend  of  the  real  and  the  virtual.  We’ve  obviously  got  some  green  screen  and  some  CGI,  but  there’s  also  a  great  deal  of  real  going  on,  too.  I  was  in  my  early  teens  when  the  animated  film  came  out  and  I  remember  seeing  it  at  the  cinema  and  it  being  hugely  popular,  so  it  was  fun  for  me  to  think  about  all  the  different  aspects  of  the  character  that  I  could  play  with.    2.   How  was  it  working  with  director  Bill  Condon  again?    A.   Well,   Bill   is   obviously   a  master   of   the   big  musical   extravaganza,   so   he’s   been   just   great.   I   had  worked  with  him  before  so  I  knew  his  style  and  we  were  able  to  spend  a  couple  of  months  going  over  the  script  and  seeing  how  we  could  bring  some  nuances  to  the  Beast  and  make  him  a  little  more  two-­‐  

2    dimensional  and  a  bit  more  human.  We  wanted  to  make  him  appear  like  a  human  trapped  inside  this    creature.    3.   Tell  us  about  your  character.  How  does  he  differ  from  the  Beast  in  the  animated  film?    A.   One  of  the  biggest  differences  is  that  in  the  animated  film  you  don’t  see  the  Beast  before  he  was  transformed.  You  see  a  stained  glass  window  version  of  him  but   there’s  no  real  sense  of  what  he  was  really   like.   In   this   film  we  see  him  at   the  debutantes’  ball,  and  something   that  Bill   and   I  were  keen   to  bring   out   was   this   sense   of   a   petulant,   spoiled   child   and   the   sense   of   entitlement   which   led   to   his  downfall.   It  was  quite  fun  to  do  the  prologue  at  the  beginning  of  the  film,  which  was  conveyed  almost  entirely  through  the  medium  of  dance,  which  is  not  something  I’d  done  much  of  before,  but  it  allows  the  audience  to  see  why  he  was  cursed  in  the  first  place,  which  was  not  just  for  having  refused  a  rose  but  for  all  his  other   traits  as  well.  There’s   this  psychological   rationale  about  what  makes  a  beast  a  beast,   so   I  watched  everything  from  “Wreck  It  Ralph”  to  “Citizen  Kane”  to  help  get  me  inspired.    4.   Tell  us  about  the  film’s  visual  effects.    A.   Then  we’re  also  doing  something  which  has  not  really  been  done  before  –  and  certainly  not  to  this  extent  –  which  is  facial  capture  technology  and  is  entirely  separate  from  the  physical  body  capture  where   you  have   to   think   yourself   back   into   the   scenes   that   you’ve   already   shot  without  moving   your  body  so  that  you’re   just  moving  your  face  to  the  scenes  whether  you  have  any  dialogue  or  not.   It  was  especially  challenging,  as  you  have  to  think  back  to  scenes  already  filmed  and  move  just  your  face,  not  your  body,  whether  you  had  any  dialogue  or  not.  There  was  one  instance  where  I  had  to  do  the  entire  ballroom  waltz  with   just  my  face,  which  was  quite   interesting.   I  would  walk  on  the  set   to   film  a  scene  where   I   am  speaking   to   Lumière  but   I  would  be   looking  at  an  LED   light  on  a   stick  and  hearing  Ewan’s  voice.  It  was  like  an  extra  level  of  weird  that  we  had  to  deal  with.  I  did  get  to  meet  all  the  actors  quite  early  on  as  their  human  incarnations,  which  helped  before  I  had  to  go  in  and  shoot  with  them  as  objects.  The  puppeteering  of  the  suit  for  the  performance  capture  aspect  was  an  ordeal  for  my  calf  muscles,  let  alone  my  whole  body,  and  working  with  the  technical  teams  to  figure  out  how  the  stilts  worked  left  my  toes   numb   for   about   a  week.   A   lot   of   it   is   not   really   stunt  work,   it’s   just   general  movement.   But   the  physical  management  and  training  just  to  get  myself  in  shape  and  build  up  my  strength  took  a  lot  of  time  and  effort.    5.   How  was  it  working  with  Emma  Watson  (Belle)?    A.   She’s  great.  There’s   such  a   close   relationship   there,  and   I  was  very  keen   to   calibrate   the  Beast  according   to   the   Belle   that   Emma  wanted   to   be   and   to   play,   so  we   spent   a   lot   of   time   together   just  talking  about  beauty  and  beastliness,  men  and  women  and  masculinity  and  femininity,  good  and  evil  and  all  sorts  of  polar  opposite  things.  We  tried  to  work  in  some  of  those  things  and  ultimately  realized  that  the  tale  is  not  so  much  about  an  ugly  thing  and  a  beautiful  girl  but  about  the  beauty  and  the  beast  that’s  in   all   of   us   and   the   two   sides   each   person   has   and   learning   to   live   with   that   balance.   She’s   a   very  interesting  girl  and  is  very  intellectually  engaged  with  the  fairy  tale,  and  that  just  makes  for  a  much  richer  working  experience.  I  hope  that  helps  fuse  all  of  our  scenes.    6.   Can  you  talk  about  Alan  Menken  and  the  film’s  incredible  music?    A.   Working  with  Alan  has  been  quite  an  experience.   It’s   funny,  because  “Beauty  and  the  Beast”   is  one  of   those   songs   that   just   pop   into  my  head   at   the  oddest   times,   so   it’s   been   incredible   getting   to  spend  a  lot  of  time  with  that  song.  He’s  quite  an  amazing  man  and  is  hilarious  on  top  of  everything.  Every    

3    musical  idea  that  comes  out  of  his  mouth  sounds  like  a  Broadway  hit.  He  was  in  the  studio  for  our  pre-­‐records  and  he   just  got  right   in  there  because  he  really  knows  what  he  wants.  One  of  the  great  things  about  the  animated  film  was  the  blend  of  romance  and  classic  fairy  tale  with  a  bit  of  humor  and  fun,  and  that’s   something  we’ve   really   tried   to   retain   in   this   film:   the   romantic   side  with   a   bit   of   the   silliness.  “Days  in  the  Sun”  is  my  favorite  song…it’s  just  beautiful.  It  is  as  heartwarming  and  beautiful  as  any  of  the  songs   from   the   animated   film.   It’s   got   a   sort   of   classic   feel   to   it.   And   Alan  wrote   a   new   song   for  my  character,  “Evermore,”  which  I  hope  people  will  enjoy,  too.        7.   Was  there  a  lengthy  rehearsal  process?    A.   We  had  a  couple  of  months  of  what  I   like  to  call,  musical  theater  camp  where  we  were  singing,  dancing  and  training  every  day.  Just  trying  to  get  my  body  in  shape  for  the  scenes  where  I  was  a  Prince  were  exhausting.  Bill  was  certain  that  the  Prince  was  a  good  dancer  so  I  had  to  become  a  good  dancer  as  well,  and  we  had  a   lot  of  dance  rehearsals.  Anthony  Van  Laast,  the  choreographer,  and  his  team  were  extraordinary  when  training  me.  They  worked  with  me  on  the  proper  way  to  hold  myself  and  move   in  the  right  way,  which  was  very  helpful.    8.   Can  you  talk  about  the  scope  and  the  scale  of  the  production?    A.   Sarah  Greenwood  and  her  department  have  done  an  amazing   job,  as  all   the  sets  are   incredibly  lavish,  and  Jacqueline  Durran’s  costumes  are  unbelievable.  I  had  a  lot  of  fun  with  the  debutante  ball   in  the  castle  ballroom…it  was  me  and  60  princesses  in  big  meringue  dresses  and  jewel  encrusted  wigs.  The  attention  to  detail  on  this  film  is  absolutely  amazing.  You  can  walk  into  any  department  at  any  time  to  get  a  sense  of  how  enormous  this  production  really  is.  Every  day  you  come  to  set  there  is  something  new  and  epic  and  you  can  immediately  tell  how  much  work  has  gone  into  creating  it…it  is  quite  incredible.    9.   How  was  it  shooting  the  iconic  ballroom  scene?    A.   It  was  quite  strange  actually,  because  it  was  one  of  the  first  things  we  shot  and  people  were  still  getting  used  to  seeing  me  as  the  CGI  Beast,  which  is  essentially  a  muscle  suit  covered  in  gray  Lycra  with  markers   and   a   skull   cap,  which   doesn’t   look   very   beastly.   But   once  we   started   to  waltz,   it   was   quite  magical  actually.  Emma  and  I  had  a  lot  of  fun  learning  that  waltz,  and  it  wasn’t  easy  on  stilts.  But  walking  onto  that  ballroom  set  for  the  first  time  was  amazing.   It’s  one  of  the  most  sensational  rooms  I’ve  ever  seen…and  then  a  couple  of  weeks  later  it  was  gone.        10.   How  was  it  working  with  the  rest  of  the  cast?    A.   Well,  Kevin  Kline  has  this  wonderful  sort  of  eccentricity  about  him  and  he’s  got  so  many  ideas  and  is   always   thinking   about   things   and   wanting   to   talk   about   them,   which   is   kind   of   great.   Josh   Gad   is  hilarious  and  while  I  don’t  have  nearly  enough  to  do  with  him  in  the  film,  it’s  been  great  to  hang  out  and  get  to  know  him.  Luke  Evans  is  just  perfect  as  Gaston,  and  getting  to  hear  Audra  McDonald  sing  live  for  a  couple  of  days  was  pretty  cool.  She  brings  an  amazing  wealth  of  talent  to  the  song  “Days  in  the  Sun”  and  it   was   fun   seeing   her   in   those   really   extravagant   costumes…I   think   her   wig   alone   is   one   of   the  masterpieces  of  this  film.  Her  character  has  this  wonderful  dog  that  accompanies  her  and  Stanley  Tucci,  who  is  also  wearing  an  epic  wig  and  has  some  very  special  teeth  going  on  as  well.  It’s  just  a  really,  really  fun  bunch  of  people,  and  when  everyone  was  together  in  their  human  form  there  was  a  sense  that  we  were  doing  something  really  special.   It  was  really  nice  working  with  Emma  Thompson…we  talked  a   lot  about  the  relationship  the  Beast  has  with  her  character,  Mrs.  Potts,  because  obviously  she  is  the  closest  thing  to  a  mother  figure  he  has.  She’s  like  his  strict  aunt  who  keeps  him  in  line,  so  it  was  nice  to  chat    

4    about  that  between  ourselves.        

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