Rhona Mitra Talks Underworld 3

At comic con we had a chance to catchup with Rhona Mitra to talk Underworld 3. Look for our complete interview early in the week. For now here is a small taste. I am a huge fan of Rhona Mitra and have been since I saw Doomsday. That isnt that long but her portrayal of the lead character a rugged but also stunning female character was a pretty big turn on. It was also a very 'bad ass' role something she confessed comes up alot during interviews. She has managed to play a lot of Bad Ass Roles.

Rhona Mitra is an actress that isnt a house hold name by any means but she has alot of talent which unfortunately is often over shadowed by her good looks. Fanboys know her best as the body of Laura Croft. When she was 19 she was scanned and her body used for the video game and she also did a stint dressing up as the iconic character and attending events. When asked during our interview if she ever had an interest in playing the role in a film she was quite clear and adamant that she was not. Underworld 3 will be Rhona's second role as an ass kicking beauty and she says its not so much that she is attracted to the roles or seeks them out but that they come to her.

I wish I could say that I would be out there fishing for these roles and I go and find it but it seems to come to me. So maybe you might ask the people why come to me. I get presented with the opportunity and for the most part theres alot of play involved. Its alot of really fun amazing play which I dont think anyone would get the opportunity to do otherwise. I have a huge sense of that and who I am and its why I got involved in this job to begin with.

To get the opportunity to do reverse 180 hand brake turns in a bentley and learn how to wrestle and head butt and sword fight. To horse ride with fangs and eyes in and get paid for it. Its either your cup or tea or its not. Its a big cup of tea for me. I love it. I love all of it. I dont pick these bad ass characters they pick me.

For Doomsday I did intensive training for that and I am already very athletic as it is. Thank goodness I am already very athletic and do horse riding and rock climbing. Doomsday really prepared me for this role in Underworld 3. I could pretty much put on my corset and my fangs and my eyes and slip into this one pretty easily and the only thing I had to think about was how I move with the corset and the fangs since it impares your visibility and movement. I had two months in Africa with stuntmen for Doomsday so I can kick some ass.

Underworld 3 Rise of the Lycans her new project has some issues that even she admits were concerns for her. Mainly the fact that fans wanted a sequel and that is not what they are getting. Instead we get a prequel. Myself I think its a good thing that last Underworld was very weak and carrying that story forward would be a disaster. It seems the filmmakers agree since they have gone the prequel route and despite Rhona's initial doubts on the project she obviously got over them. She told us;

Its the oddest thing. Automatically I was thinking what alot of the fans were thinking. People were not expecting it to be a prequel. They were thinking it would be a continuation which is like 'oh god really' and somebody is going to be taking on the role of Kate Beckinsale. Thats Suicide. I went in and spoke with the creators and Patrick who is our director. They explained to me that it was going back into the 12th century.

We have these two amazing actors being Bill Nighy and Michael Sheen who are at the helm of it who are phenomenal at what they do. The meld of taking this vampire world and this werewolf world and putting it in the 12th century and just seeing how thats going to play out with a man like Patrick at the helm who is such a visual genius, its just all quite exciting. It was all really exciting from the very beginning when inititally I was like 'ugh this sounds really scary and wierd and awful. ( laughs ).

The fact that Rhona Mitra knew enough about the films to know a prequel was a possible nightmare shows how much she brings into the character. The fact she is brave enough to step in and replace Kate Beckinsale, not in character but as the new strong female character shows that she really believes in the role and thinks she can pull it off. Kate Beckinsale is a beauty who also played a very strong character but if anyone can pull it off its Rhona Mitra.

One of the biggest things about the first films was the costumes and the outfit that Kate specifically wore. Sexy and domineering in nature the outfit screamed HOTTIE but it also screamed "Do not f*ck with me or I will kill you". Part of this movie was coming up with a new outfit for Rhona which fit that theme and the tim frame of the film which is the 12th century.

It was a big heavy conversation and one I got really involved in it. The first film was so iconic and it presented so much without even having to say anything and when you saw Kate in that costume you were like thats just iconic. So we ended up getting the same woman who designed the first costume Wendy Patrtridge who can work her way around rubber, corsets and leather like nobody else.

It's not futuristic we couldnt use any latex we took it back and used all natural materials. But you can definitely see the common thread and where the Selene character and Sonja character are connected.

I will never again wear such a radically sexy outfit in my life. I was adamant about not showing any flesh in the costume. Everything is covered, its chainmail, a corset, leather. Its Joan of Ark meets the Selene character. Its really cool.

On top of all of that there is an armor that is built because Sonja is a swordsman so when she goes out as a Death Diva she has to wear this armor on top of the corsets. Its made by a real armorer so there is nothing pretend and we deal with all of the problems that would be involved with real armor. Which is good since it gives you a sense of what it would be really like.

As for the action in Underworld 3 as you might expect it takes a much more medieval and raw look. Since the movie is now based in the 12th century and there are no guns for the Vampires to use to contend with the Werewolves they rely on the weapons of the time.

It's a bit more raw. The wolves fight as wolves would fight but its incredibly physical and amplified. Instead of guns we have swords. Its quite beautiful really because there is horses as well and you have this real live organic matter. So its still very slick but it makes it alot more raw. It has so many different elements and the quality of it and the way it looks it all melds and it works. At no point does anything not work together.

Look for more with Rhona and on Underworld 3 early in the week. More Comic Con madness to come!