We catch up with the cast of The Old Guard, a superhero film to be released on July 10, on Netflix.

THE CAST OF “THE OLD GUARD” TALKS ABOUT THEIR CHARACTERS, SHAKESPEARE AND EXISTENTIAL QUESTIONS

The prospect of being immortal may seem like a good idea at first, but the immortals of Netflix’s new film, The Old Guard, are dealing with hundreds — some even thousands — of years’ worth of baggage while being hunted down. Based on the graphic novel of the same name, the film follows Andromache of Scythia aka Andy and her group of immortal mercenaries, who have been doing assignments all throughout history but managing to keep their existence unknown. That is, until Copley and Merrick show up, an ex-CIA agent and a pharma company CEO who wants to capture them because they may have the genetic key that will provide a solution to the world’s sicknesses. Guru spoke to Chiwetel Ejiofor, who plays Copley; Harry Melling, who plays Merrick; and the three immortal mercenaries: Marwan Kenzari, Matthias Schoenaerts and Luca Marinelli.

What drew you to this movie?

Ejiofor: I was intrigued by Gina Prince-Blythwood, the director, and I loved a film that she made called Beyond The Lights. I was very excited about the idea of her making a film of this size with these characters, this cast and this kind of narrative in this really exciting, interesting story, which had a lot of action but a lot of stuff to think about with the sort of existential angst that runs through the centre of the film.

Melling: It was a combination of so many things. When I first read the script, I thought it was exciting. It was a very philosophical script, as well as being action-packed. I thought it could be quite a unique film in terms of balancing all these different things. And then in terms of Merrick, I thought it’s always exciting to play those slightly eccentric characters. When you see the cast, when you see the script and when you have source material like the original graphic novel, for me it was just a no-brainer.

Ejiofor, your character is struggling with his morality in the movie. What was the challenge of portraying that? Ejiofor:

What was really attractive is that he is this very complicated person and our experience of him is complex, as well. When I was reading this character and as we were continuing to develop it over the course of script changes, I found that I had a lot of empathy for Copley and why he behaved the way he did. He’s a character that crosses all of these moral and ethical lines but you understand why he’s crossing them. He’s not necessarily an evil person but has to understand what his boundaries are and what lines he wouldn’t ultimately cross. That to me seemed like an interesting character arc.

Merrick is after profit but Copley’s intentions could perhaps be described as a little nobler. What is the line you don’t cross, where you finally say the ends don’t justify the means?

Melling: With Merrick, I would argue that when we meet him, his quest is a noble one. He does want to help humanity, but along the way it goes wrong. In terms of pinpointing the exact moment at which it goes wrong would be nearly impossible to do so. Like all of these things that start off with good intentions, power, greed and all those things trickle in. Suddenly, what you started out doing is not the thing you end up doing. Hopefully, I would be able to recognise at what point it becomes too extreme. I’m pretty sure I would. But for some people who are blinded by this need for power, I think it’s a much trickier game for them.

Ejiofor: I think if you’re ever in a situation where you have to say to yourself that the ends justify the means, don’t do it.

You’ve both been part of a number of productions of Shakespeare’s plays. Can you draw any parallels to your characters and The Old Guard and Shakespeare? Ejiofor:

I think that the evolution of thought and comeuppance is something that plays a lot in Shakespeare, especially the tragedies. Avarice and ambition are a big thing in Shakespeare. Those very strong themes and very strong character arcs always feel very epic and classic in a way to me. There is something about these two characters in particular, Copley and Merrick have those sorts of classic arcs that are slightly Shakespearean. The other thing that Shakespeare liked, of course, was lots of fighting, so I think that Shakespeare would have really got a kick out of The Old Guard.

Melling: I agree. Merrick quotes King Lear at one point, which I thought was quite funny. I agree the arcs are quite Shakespearean. Like Macbeth, for example, and you think about how ambition takes hold of him in maybe a similar way that the getting the genetic code takes hold of Merrick. I think there are similarities in terms of those epic arcs.

The fight sequences are choreographed beautifully that they seem like a dance. How did you prepare for these scenes?

Schoenaerts:

There are big choreographies going on. There’s a lot of team fights going on so that requires an enormous amount of preparation and commitment. There’s also very specific training that went into all the specific qualities that each of us had. That also required training by professionals.

Was it nerve-racking acting beside Charlize Theron? Kenzari:

She’s really funny and cool to be around and really easy to work with so we quickly broke the ice. She makes you feel comfortable and appreciated. She’s not only the actress that leads this group. She’s also a producer and was really involved in the entire process so it was easy actually.

Marinelli, if you were immortal and could eat only one dish for the rest of eternity, what would it be? Marinelli:

One dish? No, it’s impossible! As an Italian, I can’t eat just one thing!

Kenzari, you delivered one of the most beautiful monologues in the film. Was it originally in the script or was it improvised?

Kenzari:

It was in the script and it was in the graphic novel. It was also the most important moment for the character to express those feelings and thoughts. It’s just the heart of the character so I was determined to not mess that up. It’s a special moment for the character.

What is something that you see in your characters that you also see in yourself?

Schoenaerts:

I think it’s always hard to put yourself into perspective. There’s a saying that says mathematics can explain everything except itself. I think for human beings, it’s the same because you’re in the middle you can’t have an outer perspective of yourself without losing objectivity.

Kenzari: Matthias is so good at explaining things that have an existential factor to it. I agree, I think it’s complicated to look at yourself without sounding too pretentious.

Marinelli: They are wonderful and special characters. Putting yourself in there is like complimenting yourself. J

Watch The Old Guard on Netflix on July 10.