Interview with Stuart Martin and Luke Roberts: Dampyr beyond simple case definitions

Interview with Stuart Martin and Luke Roberts

The arrival in the halls of Dampyr, scheduled for October 28th, was accompanied by a series of revelations which, as we told you in our preview, have found full concreteness. This film, in fact, will be the opening to a much broader project at the center of which we find Sergio Bonelli Editore. Starting from the success and attractiveness that his comics have generated over the years, it was decided to invest in their creative potential, also landing in the world of cinema and television entertainment, with a gaze projected beyond national borders. “UCB” Universo Cinematografico Bonelli (or Bonelli Cinematic Universe) sees in Dampyr, following in the footsteps of Marvel and DC and focusing all its potential on the characters who have always animated his creative stable of the publisher and make their readers dream.

During the preview of Dampyr we had the opportunity to learn more details about this gigantic project that now expands even more with the involvement of Sony for the distribution of the film internationally. Following the screening of the film we had the opportunity to chat with those who worked on it, deepening some dynamics related to the story and their work on the set.

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Interview with Stuart Martin and Luke Roberts: Dampyr beyond simple case definitions

There are no specific factions or parts taken, there is only the survival of the individual and the will to continue along a path that continually tests any moral rationality. Here the war in the setting becomes a metaphor for an inner conflict. A characterization that becomes our first question to Stuart Martin and Luke Roberts. | ); } During the film I noticed that the narrative is defined by these discussions about good and evil, light and shadow. In your opinion, can the film simply boil down to these two definitions? Or is it a much more complex situation?

Stuart Martin replied:

I think the interesting side of the film, by Dampyr, is the fact that you have the concepts of good and evil on stage, but at the same time you move in a a context as real as that of war can be, in this case European. So yes, we must not only deal with the evil represented by the vampires, but also with a kind of previous and lateral baggage that constantly mixes the situation.

Continuing Luke Roberts said:

We definitely had to deal with both moral issues and the ambiguities of the case, which reflected both his characters, the context, and ourselves. So within the story there is both an extremely classic version that could be linked to the concept of evil, but also a whole series of dynamics that mix the situation making it unique.

We asked Martin the last question in the interview phase, focusing specifically on his character within Dampyr. Kurjak is one of the main protagonists. He initially introduces himself as the classic cynical and foul-mouthed soldier, addicted to smoking and a grim look. From the very first scenes in which he appears his dark eyes suggest something, anticipating some personal events and sufferings strictly connected with his past. It was precisely the war that made it what it is, that shaped it into the straightforward human being we have known since the beginning of the film, ready to be deepened gradually.


I was very lucky, we were all very lucky to work with the scenario in question and with the choices that led to shooting on location instead of in the soundstages. So we worked on these incredible sets and with these perfectly constructed costumes, and we entered this world, in this context that is so far away from the locations where we were acting and working, and it was so cold, and it was wet and wet and tangible. . We were also very lucky to have the opportunity to perform our own stunts, and so you find yourself throwing yourself on the ground and touching the dirt and dust with your hand not only with your character, so all the sensations of the case are also projected. yes of you. You don't just fake fatigue or pain, you carry them directly with you, you feel them on you, and as you try to make the most of your performance you also have to deal with your life off the set, you have to see your family, so take the plane dragging you a prolonged fatigue that in a certain way is also linked to that of Kurjak himself.



Dampyr Joking about his character, Luke Roberts also joined the question and the discussion, saying that: “I also worked on the spot, in the forests of Romania, and above all under the car that generates the rain ”, and then underlines the fact that his character, although he doesn't have too much time on stage, still manages to convey everything he has to. Both actors highlighted how shooting live is always the best solution, because “the less you have to imagine, the better the acting will be”. In this wake, Roberts continued joking: "If you are not forced to imagine the context that surrounds you, the work is even more credible, while constantly crossing the eyes of the crew". Subsequently, the Dampyr actor hinted at some details about his character without going into too much detail. Draka is undoubtedly one of the most fascinating elements of the whole story, we know very little about him yet we perceive his presence hovering in every single central development.

A few details about the plot

The story by Dampyr focuses on the character of Harlan (Wade Briggs), a boy with a mysterious past, addicted to alcohol and haunted by a series of nightmares that even he cannot fully decipher. His past is shrouded in mystery, as is his present. He works as a Dampyr, or at least pretends to be one of them, and with his manager Yuri (Sebastian Croft) they go from village to village avoiding war zones, and cheating all the gullible of the place, pretending to fight forces. dark that do not exist in the most absolute way. This staging continues until a group of soldiers led by Kurjak (Stuart Martin) do not really run into some beings of the night who, in the village of Yorvolak, begin to decimate them one by one, feeding on their blood. When the reality of vampires shatters on the pain of war, these men lose all reason, appealing to their sense of survival, even individual.

The most logical reaction becomes only one: to call an expert in the sector , the so-called Dampyr. Thus Harlan is taken away by force, brought to the place and forced to confront a reality that until then he had openly and continuously made fun of. The evil everyone talks about exists in earnest and has walked the earth quietly alongside human beings for millennia. Will the trickster monster be able to keep up with the situation? The violence of all this will therefore trigger a journey of the origins that involves not only the viewer but also the protagonist himself of Dampyr, who will finally try to give the right answers to the ghosts that continue to haunt him from his past.