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Hugo Weaving Talks About the 'Dangerous Adventure' of 'Cloud Atlas'

by Alex Billington
July 3, 2012
Source: THR, Collider

"That was the most extraordinary experience, actually, for everyone." Actor Hugo Weaving is out doing interviews for the US release of his film Last Ride, and a few different sites spoke to him. Both THR and Collider covered topics related to Cloud Atlas, the Wachowskis & Tom Tykwer adaptation that does indeed star Hugo Weaving, who spoke quite a bit about the project, both in regards to plot and experience. We've heard from many different people involved (and not) already, and I'm sure we'll be seeing a trailer soon (since this is out in October), but I love hearing more great buzz for it. One of my most anticipated this year.

As we already know, Cloud Atlas is an adaptation of David Mitchell's novel that intertwines six century-spanning storylines and numerous characters. "[The movie explores] the idea of being reborn and souls being reborn through time," Weaving explains. "What's fascinating about the adaptation of the book was that sense that you get in the book about souls being reborn, a particular soul, and then they thought, 'What if we bring back actors to multiple roles in these stories?' So to take that idea and run with it actually kind of became one of the key propellers for the project." So, various actors will play multiple characters throughout the film, in the six different timelines/storylines. Weaving goes on to talk about that specific experience:

"It was a real treat to work with such an extraordinary cast, and sometimes in any one week you might be working on three or four characters. So it's a slightly dangerous adventure we embarked on, because to be honest you don't know where it's all heading, despite the wonderful preparation. But yeah, it was certainly very exciting."

"Because the film's told in a sort of mosaic way, where all six stories are told at once, at the beginning of the shoot you'd move from one character to another. But as the shoot progressed and it got towards the end, you were seeing more links between the characters. And indeed, there might be a cut from one of your characters to another character, so there's a link between them."

Until we see a trailer, we don't exactly know who is playing who in all these plots, but Weaving says you shouldn't be worried about losing track of any of the characters. "You're fulfilling a particular role, so the six characters I play have a similar thematic arc, similar role to play, and as the film progresses, you get a strong sense of playing one [character] rather than six separate ones." In a different interview, he states, "That was the most extraordinary experience, actually, for everyone. It was a slightly dangerous adventure because it's the sort of film that hasn't really been made before, and I think everyone was mindful of that." That's one of the big reasons I'm particularly anxious for this, I've got a feeling it will be mesmerizing to see.

"It's six stories, six geographies and six time zones, and a number of actors playing up to six roles each. That's a complex thing to try to imagine, even if you've done the most wonderful planning, which they had done. It was something you're not going to quite be able to get a handle on until you see it and until you start putting it together. So, that was the adventure. That was the thing that was dangerous and exciting for everyone involved, I think." For more from Hugo Weaving, including comments on the Wachowskis, Hobbit and Last Ride, visit THR or Collider. We'll keep you updated on more, hopefully a trailer soon, from here.

Cloud Atlas is the ambitious adaptation of David Mitchell's novel, co-directed by Andy & Lana Wachowski and Tom Tykwer, that features six century-spanning storylines, all using the same actors playing characters across time and space. The cast includes Tom Hanks, Hugo Weaving, Susan Sarandon, Halle Berry, Jim Sturgess, Hugh Grant, Keith David, Ben Whishaw, Jim Broadbent, James D'Arcy and Xun Zhou as Yoona-939. Cloud Atlas explores how the actions and consequences of individual lives impact one another throughout the past, the present and the future. Action, mystery and romance weave dramatically through the story as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero and a single act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution in the distant future. Warner Bros set this for a release on October 26th.

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