Interview with Robert Maillet

Written by Carey

Tuesday, 22 December 2009 19:00

Unless you are a fan of professional wrestling you might not recognize the name or the face of actor Robert Maillet, which is quite surprising since he is 7'0" tall and over 300 pounds, but after starring in and making impressions in films like "300" and the soon-to-be-released "Sherlock Holmes" he will be someone who you will not forget.

A Canadian who is from and still lives in New Brunswick, Maillet speaks fluently in English and French and with his imposing size has come on to casting agent's radars as the perfect henchman, boxer or imposing character to cast in their films.

Recently Orcasound had the pleasure of speaking to this 'gentle giant' (and well-spoken) about his recent turn in Guy Ritchie's "Sherlock Holmes" and his previous role as Über Mortal in "300".

Orcasound: How did you get the role in "Sherlock Holmes"?

Robert: They just gave me a call to see if I would be available for a couple of months. I had to go to London for the filming.

Orcasound: Had they seen you in "300"?

Robert: They had. It is made by the same studio (Warner Brothers). My name was in the database. The casting agent from London looked me up and I got the call.

Orcasound: And you said, "A Guy Ritchie film, why not?"

Robert: Oh, absolutely! I was aware of "Sherlock Holmes" the film. It was going to shoot throughout the summer. I knew Robert Downey Jr. was cast in it. I was curious. All of a sudden I get the call and I said, "Alright, sure!"

Orcasound: So tell us about you character Dredger.

Robert: He's one of the henchmen in the movie, of course. He's the biggest henchman in the movie. This character made me think of the Jaws character from James Bond. He's kind of the wall that separates people from his boss, Lord Blackwood. If anyone tries to get through he stops them. I'm kind of invincible. I always come back. They think they have killed me...

Orcasound: And then you're in the next scene.

Robert: Exactly. Kind of a Terminator thing going on. So they have a hard time with me. They always double team on me. It's interesting because they changed me into a Frenchman.

Orcasound: You do speak a little French in the film.

Robert: French is my first language. I speak it at home. Originally I was supposed to speak with an English accent - a Cockney accent. During filming Guy Ritchie asked me to say the lines in French to him. I thought he just wanted to hear the sound of it or for fun. After I said them to him he said, "Alright, say the exact same thing in front of the camera." I wasn't sure why then I figured out it added to the mystery of the character. They never explain where he's from. It's kind of cool that I'm the only one who speaks French in the film. Other than Robert Downey Jr., of course. They even added more lines for me to say.

Orcasound: So your role became bigger?

Robert: A little bigger. When I start talking to Sherlock Holmes he's talking French to me too.

Orcasound: How did Robert Downey Jr. do in French?

Robert: He did well. He had somebody to help him, of course. But he pulled it off very well. He had the accent going. He's brilliant.

Orcasound: I read an interview with the costume designer from the film and she was talking about how hard it was for her to get costumes for the film being that it is a period piece and I was thinking getting period appropriate clothes for you must have been quite challenging due to your size.

Robert: Of course, she had to make them for me. I sent all my measurements to them weeks before. The costume wasn't so bad. They made it all by hand, custom made. They were worried about the hat. I wore a bowler hat. They had a hard time finding a hat big enough for me. It actually fit perfectly. The shoes too. They had to get a pair of shoes from Italy. They were hand made in Italy.

Orcasound: Because you are size...?

Robert: 20. I have very large feet, so they had to get them from Italy.

Orcasound: Another thing she said was that Guy Ritchie really likes a nice working environment and a happy set. I want to ask you what it was like working with him.

Robert: I noticed that. In the middle of chaos he was quite calm. Considering it was his first big budget movie and imagine all the pressure on him to succeed. Plus he was going through his divorce at the time. It's strange because I was in London for two months and was hearing about it on the television, newspaper and radio. And on the set it was totally opposite. You wouldn't have known. He was very calm. Very cool on set. He loves to play acoustic guitar. He has this little acoustic guitar, a beat up old guitar, and between takes we usually get long breaks - sometimes hours between takes - and he kept playing this guitar. It was a relaxed atmosphere. He knew how to play guitar; he was pretty good.

Orcasound: I'm sure you've told this story a million times, but can you tell the Orcasound readers about you accidentally hitting Robert Downey Jr. on set?

Robert: He was close to being knocked out.

Orcasound: He took a punch well?

Robert: He took it well. Tough guy.

Orcasound: I'm sure those kinds of things happen more than we know while filming.

Robert: They do. He had even got hit before during the production of the movie. Robert had a black eye. Not from me, but another stunt man. Why it became so big with me was maybe because I was bigger than him. I'm kind of a giant compared to him, so it became an interesting story. Of course, it was an accident. It happens and it was unfortunate. He zigged and he forgot to zag. I felt bad when I hit him. I knew I hurt him. I hit him on his chin. He was supposed to block, but I'm not blaming him at all it just happens. It could have happened to me too. He forgot to block and I was aiming towards his face. He dropped and there was blood coming out of his mouth. Didn't feel too good. It would have been worse if I'd really, really hurt him. It wasn't that bad. We finished filming. They stopped the bleeding and they were more worried about the swelling. It would look terrible for the continuity of the film. We finished our scene then they took him to the hospital and he had to get 4 or 5 stitches inside of his mouth. So the next day he was cool and a very nice man. He brought me a nice bottle of champagne and a nice card that said, "From Holmes to Dredger". It lifted my spirits up.

Orcasound: You previously worked on the film "300". I'm sure that was tons of makeup for you.

Robert: Some people actually knew it was me.

Orcasound: Because of the size?

Robert: Because of the size and the weight, but a lot of people who recognized me were former wrestlers. They knew my body type. They knew it was me before they even saw the credits. It was heavy, heavy make up. Seven hours of make up. For me it was fascinating to hide inside the character.

Orcasound: Because as a wrestler you're basically wearing nothing.

Robert: Yeah, basically. It was easier for me to get transformed for "300".

Orcasound: Does that help you with your character?

Robert: Absolutely. I was fascinated how I was transforming myself into this thing, this monster. Contact lenses and big teeth.

Orcasound: What did your kids think?

Robert: They thought it was pretty cool. Ugly, of course. They were pretty proud of me.

Orcasound: It's a pretty cool movie to have your dad in.

Robert: Yeah, I didn't know how it was going to turn out. It's hard to judge. On the set it was weird. All half naked men running around. But the film turned out great. I was proud of it and to be part of it. From there it got me more roles.

Orcasound: Now you have another film...

Robert: I just finished it.

Orcasound: With Antonio Banderas. What is this one about?

Robert: "The Big Bang". It's from the theory and the evolution of the universe. This one happens in New Mexico. Funny enough it wasn't filmed in New Mexico. We were in Spokane, Washington. The desert part was outside the city which looked very much like the desert, but colder. Like the Badlands, I called it. Very cold. For L.A. people they were freezing to death. For me it wasn't too bad. My character is a Russian boxer who is in prison. He does something and he's accused of murder. So he is in prison and he starts exchanging letters with pen pals. One of them is a girl, a dancer. He falls in love with the girl. He's kind of a naïve character and doesn't know exactly what is right and wrong. Suddenly they release him from prison for no reason whatsoever, so he starts looking for the girl and she's disappeared. No where to be found. So I look for help from a private eye which is played by Antonio. I hire him to look for the girl and at the same time he falls in love with the girl.

Orcasound: So you don't work with small actors? Antonio Banderas, Gerard Butler, Robert Downey Jr.

Robert: They are all small to me (laughing). It's weird usually when you start acting you've got to start from the bottom. They just threw me right in there with the mainstream big actors. I was really lucky. Really fortunate.

Orcasound: Because you are a professional wrestler, how did you make the transition from wrestler to actor?

Robert: I approached them in a way. It all started with "300". I was working with Jacques Rougeau (internationally known Quebec wrestler) and I do shows with him.

Orcasound: You have one coming up this Christmas at the Verdun Auditorium.

Robert: Yeah, I still do shows with him. For "300" they went to see him and were looking for someone to play the Über Mortal role. They went to see him because he has a wrestling school and wrestlers are big guys who can do their own stunts. That is what they wanted. He mentioned me and that how I got started. It started with Jacques. For me the transition from being a pro wrestler to an actor wasn't that difficult because they are very similar. You're a character. You act. You portray emotions, too. Angry. Happy. Sad. Very theatre-like. You tell a story in the ring. It's entertainment. Working with a big production like WWF back then it was very showbiz. Big production. Lights. Cameras. Make Up. They follow a storyline. It's very Hollywood. While doing "300" I felt comfortable, actually. But more fun to be on a movie set than wrestling, I find.