THERE GOES THE SWEETIE MAN
Sharlto Copley has moved a long, long way from District 9
IT’S a Thursday night in New York City and Sharlto Copley is on his haunches, deep in conversation with Emily Blunt. Next to him, Blunt’s husband John Krasinski is being asked to pose for a photograph. At the table across from them sit cast members from Orange is the New Black and The Good Wife. It’s the after-party for the premiere of The Hollars, which Krasinski — famous for his role in The Office — directed and stars in. He looks up from his conversation over at his wife and Copley gives him a broad smile.
It’s a scene the 42-year-old Johannesburg-born actor is becoming accustomed to, with each new movie role he takes on. Shoot film, attend premiere, rinse, repeat. The Hollars, in which Copley plays Krasinski’s estranged brother, falls more on the indie spectrum than the bigger blockbuster fare of The A-Team or Elysium that he’s done since his acting career took off seven years ago, when the world met Wikus van der Merwe in District 9.
But it gives him the chance, he says, to return to the genre he loves most. “Comedy is actually my first love as an actor, and I don’t get a lot of chances to do it,” says Copley, his hair a shaggy length and blonder than usual. “I thought Wikus was funny, so did South Africa, but the rest of the world didn’t really think so. Murdoch from The A-Team was fun, but this whole genre was different for me, so I jumped at the chance to do it.”
In the comedy drama, Copley’s character is a divorced father of two who lives in his parents’ basement. It’s a far cry from the maniacal warlord he played in Hardcore Henry, the video gamelike feature from Russian director Illya Naishuller, or the robot he became in Chappie, the scrappy post-apocalyptic flick from Neill Blomkamp. It’s an even further cry from his days as a commercials director in Cape Town.
As far as selecting parts to play goes, Copley says it depends on what he’s offered and what catches his interest. While he’s been happy playing characters created by other people, he says he’s now taking some time off to create his own. “I’ve been travelling the world, shooting movies all over the place, so I’m concentrating on writing now. I’m busy writing a film I want to direct and act in.” He’s not giving away any details about the story, but he says he’s almost ready to get going on production.
On Thursday, two weeks after the release of The Hollars in New York, another film in which Copley appears — Free Fire, directed by Ben Wheatley — premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. Copley plays a gun dealer in the movie, which stars Oscarwinning actress Brie Larson, Armie Hammer and Cillian Murphy.
Then there’s an as-yet-untitled film by the Australian director/actor Nash Edgerton, starring Charlize Theron, that is due out in the next couple of months. And he still gets asked about a District 9 sequel, but he refers those questions to Blomkamp.
“I want people to like my characters but I know I can’t always get everyone’s blessing on everything I do,” he says. “Those that like them, I want them to really like them. I don’t want to be a down-the-middle kind of guy. I want to do different projects that are more risky and that’s what I enjoy artistically.”
The uncertainties of Hollywood are part of his life. The day before The Hollars premiere, it’s announced his PlayStation TV show Powers has been cancelled after two seasons, and the films he’s taken on, like Chappie and Elysium, have divided audiences in their reception.
“You can’t be overly sensitive,” he says. “It crushes a lot of people if you listen to the negative things that people say. You have to protect your creative space.” He admits he’s recently stopped reading reviews, after reading everything in the beginning.
“I don’t mind reading everything, and I thought maybe I’ll get useful info from what people have to say. And then I started to realise at a certain point, I’m not getting anything useful. A lot of people in the business told me in the beginning that it’s not worth it; you shouldn’t allow the negativity to affect you. Just go in and do the best you can with each project.”
For Copley, that’s the plan. Earlier this year, he married Tanit Phoenix, an actress, model and makeup artist, and when they’re not working on the same set they’re travelling together. “I live for what I do. Tanit and I get to go to some amazing places, and I connect regularly with my family, which is important. In my spare time, I’m writing like mad on a lot of different projects.” And in between, he goes to a premiere or two. LS