Christopher Heyerdahl might be a familiar figure to those who've seen more than their fair share of sci-fi shows--Sanctuary and Stargate Atlantis, for one--but for most, especially for Twilight-loving folks, you'll know him as Volturi member Marcus on New Moon.  Or, in his words, "a little independent film I'm helping out with."  Nothing so little about the Twilight saga, eh?

"This guy, poor old Marcus, is a 3,000-odd-years-old vampire who has spent at least the last 2,000 of it with a broken heart," he explained.  "Really, one of the main reasons to play that character and have anything to do with that series is my niece, who is absolutely obsessed with this series of books.  To see how it has had such an effect on the teenage female community throughout the world is amazing."


With that idea of how big Twilight is to women across the world, admittedly, he's actually having fun on the set.  "He's one of the oldest vampires on the planet, and who doesn't want to play a 3,000-year-old vampire?" he said.  "The cast that I get to work with, like Michael Sheen ... We had so much fun goofing off together.  It was an absolute hoot.  Director Chris Weitz's version for this piece is like a Renaissance painting.  The images were absolutely beautiful, and the character is such a tragic old fellow."

Tragic odd fellow, huh?  Guide me on this one, folks.  And they say spoilers are ahead, so might as well throw you the notice, although I very much think you all know this.

"Here's how I approach him," Heyerdahl explained.  "When Marcus is brought in, he's there against his will.  He and his love tried to leave an awfully long time ago.  Through a series of tragic circumstances, the love of his life was killed, and he's now being forced to stay and use his powers for the betterment of the Volturi.  He's not exactly there, waking up and looking forward to eternity."

"When Edward and Bella come walking in, his ability to sense the power of their connection is something that wakes him up, brings him back from the boredom of that eternal life and sparks something in him that brings Marcus as close to excitement as he can get," he added.  "That idea has to be contained and expressed as little as possible to his rather power-hungry captain-in-arms, Aro, which makes for a rather interesting conflict.  You might not know it, but Marcus is pretty darn excited by this love that he witnesses.  At the same time, it causes him great pain with the memory of what he had and lost.  It was very complex to play, especially when you are doing it with so few lines.  It will be interesting to see how it is cut together."

Hey, that sounds like eternally-loveless me!  But anyway.

Marcus, as you very well know, is a big part of Breaking Dawn, but Heyerdahl hasn't taken a glance that far... yet.  "I have left that book alone," he said.  "I want to leave it until we get closer to the movie ... I do know generally what happens, since it is impossible not to find out.  And, yes, I've been contracted for the final chapter."

That means, yes, Breaking Dawn the flick is getting more and more suited up by the day.  Breakneck speed, everyone...




- Henrik Batallones, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: Sci Fi Wire
(Image courtesy of SyFy)