by rick grant rickgrant01@comcast.net
Most young aspiring actors start their film careers in forgettable low budget movies and work their way up to bigger projects. Eighteen year old Ed Speleers started his film acting career in a big budget fantasy movie with high expectations. If Eragon is a hit, Ed will gain invaluable exposure that will lead to other projects Which means that he will be moving laterally, instead of up or down. All indicators are positive. Fantasy is a large established market with books, games, and popular films like the Lord off The Rings franchise.
So, to get the skinny on Ed Speleers’ incredible stroke of luck being cast in this film, we chatted via telephone about his experiences making this film. Ed is British and he was able to act in his natural dialect. He can affect a credible American accent.
“This was an amazing opportunity for me. I’m dedicated to learning all I can about acting and perfecting my craft. I had taken drama in school and acted in school plays. One day I went into an open audition for this film, and walked away thinking, ‘I will never hear from them again.’ Later, they called me back for a final audition and I got the role. The chance to act with Jeremy Irons and the rest of the cast was exciting– a once and a lifetime experience. At first it was intimidating, but the director put me at ease the first day. I bonded with Jeremy [Irons] and he taught me so much valuable knowledge and gave me tips about my characterization. He’s a natural teacher. In the film, I’m the farm boy Eragon, who finds a dragon egg. This leads to Eragon becoming a dragon rider to save the empire from an evil king.”
“Making the film was physically challenging since I had to ride a mechanical bull-like device against blue screen. They swung me through the air, around, and upside down. I felt like a fighter pilot without a plane. It was mostly fun, but there were many technical problems to work out. I tried to learn as much as I could about the process of making this type of film as I could. In the blue-screen work, I had to use my imagination to react to situations that were symbolized by tennis balls. So that was hard but a necessary learning experience.”
“Before I got the role, I had read Christopher Paolini’s novel which gave me the character’s background. I read a lot of books on all subjects. This helps me develop as an actor by understanding characters and motivations. I also read a lot of scripts. I was thrilled to get this opportunity at such a young age. Now it’s up to me to capitilize on it by working hard and taking many other roles. Right now, I’m concentrating on helping to promote this film before I worry about taking on a new project. I’m going to take roles based on interesting characters. I just want to keep acting steadily.”
“Working on this film gave me a greater appreciation of all the technicians and other actors working on the project. Film making is a group effort involving the talents of many people. We shot in various locations in Vancouver, Canada, Hungry, and Hollywood on Fox 2000 Pictures’ sound stages. No one treated me like this was my first film. I had to pull my weight every day. I did get advice from director Stefen Fangmeier and Jeremy. At first, I was overwhelmed by the scope of this film, but I got into the rhythm of the set very rapidly. I’m doing these interviews from the Shore Club at one of South Beach’s art-deco hotels. So far, it’s been a memorable experience,” Ed said.
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