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Kate Beckinsale: The Joys and Pain of Selene in the ‘Underworld’ Saga

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VAMPIRES & SLAYERS: Was there any concern on your part about returning?

KATE: When Len thought up the concept for these films, he always saw them as a trilogy. The third film that was made was a prequel, so my character hadn’t arrived yet. Because this one was going to be very different, I wasn’t really sure if I wanted to continue exactly where we left off with the second one. It seems like there had to be a bit more of an incentive to explore new areas for me and the audience as well, and that’s what we’ve done. There’s a lot of twists and turns and very different characters, so it seemed like a good idea.

UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING, Kate Beckinsale, 2012. ©Screen Gems/Courtesy Everett Collection

VAMPIRES & SLAYERS: With changing technology, even in these few years, I wonder if the making of the films has changed on a physical level.

KATE: The vast difference in this one is in terms of it being 3D. This is my first experience with that. I thought that was going to be a nightmare, but it wasn’t — it was just these very big, glamorous, expensive cameras that can be a bit temperamental occasionally, and everybody watching dailies with the white [3D] glasses on, everyone looking very 80s — that was wild. The first movie was made for a very little amount of money; what people didn’t necessarily get is that the first film cost, I think, $19 million to make, but one of the things that was great is they made it look more expensive than that. So a lot of the stunts in that film was us being dragged on bits of carpet, things held together with paper clips, and a bit more rough and ready. With this, there’s a lot more ambitious action, lots of things that hurt more — there were more bruises on this one than the first one — but the main difference was the 3D and the cameras.

UNDERWORLD: BLOOD WARS, Kate Beckinsale, 2016. ph: Larry Horricks. ©Screen Gems/courtesy Everett Collection

VAMPIRES & SLAYERS: You’re also doing the remake of Total Recall?

KATE: We’re shooting that at the moment — again, it’s more bruises. This has been the year of bruises for me. Me getting hurt everyday,  but it’s a nice opportunity for me to get to work with my husband, which I haven’t gotten to do since the second Underworld, and it’s a great cast. Total Recall is a massive movie, a whole different world, and very large scale. I play a funny, horrible, evil character — I’ve never really played a villain before.

VAMPIRES & SLAYERS: Is there a difference kicking ass when you’re evil?

KATE: Than when you’re earnest and pursuing justice? Yes, definitely [laughs]. It was really fun. That’s exactly why I was into it, because I never had a kind of mustache twirling villain to play before. And it’s such a great cast; we’ve got Jessica Biel and Colin Farrell and Brian Cranston. It looks really cool.

TOTAL RECALL, Kate Beckinsale, 2012. ph: Michael Gibson/©Columbia Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection

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