Volume 3, Issue 13 |
| Daniel Cudmore |
At 6’6”, it’s safe to say that Daniel Cudmore is literally a cut above the rest. And although he’s a
major sports fan, his stature doesn’t mean he’s only cut out for sports, as he has proven in his
work on the big screen.
Here, the actor shares his passion for the craft of acting and gives his fellow thespians some great
advice on how to remain focused when the going gets tough.
IAE: Please tell us where you’re from and what influenced you to pursue a career in actor?
DC: I grew up in a small town outside of Vancouver, and as a kid, I had tons of energy and was somewhat
of a class clown. Someone told me that I should take an acting class and so I did. When I got there I found out
that you can goof off all class long and not get in trouble for it, and instead you’d be rewarded for it. [laughs] I
also played sports, which was the route I took out of high school and into college. Like many people, when I
entered college I was a bit lost when it came to knowing what I wanted to do with my life and what I should
major in. Then I found out that Vancouver had this huge film industry, so I thought I should give it a try.
Fortunately, I started getting work right away; I got the X-MEN role and it just went from there.
IAE: What was your first professional acting gig and how did that opportunity come about?
DC: My first gig was a commercial I did for Oxy-Clean laundry detergent, but the really big role was in X-
MEN 2, which happenedalmost right out of the gate in my career. There was a big open casting call in
Vancouver and my agent, at the time, told me to go out for the cattle call. I guess I really looked the part and
did the right thing in the room each time because they (casting) called me back to 7 auditions before I finally
got the role of “Piotr Rasputin/Colossus”. That was huge for me.
IAE: Speaking of huge, you’re pretty huge. Being 6’6 do you get any flak about that?
DC: Yes. Sometimes I get responses like, “You’re too tall for the role.” But that actually happened to me
more often earlier in my career when I didn’t have much on my resume. But lately I’m finding that the actors
that are quite tall are doing a lot better and booking more roles.
IAE: Tell me about your role “Felix” in the TWILIGHT saga. How did that come about?
DC: It’s quite funny how it happened! A few years ago, I went out for an audition for a day player role in
Twilight’s NEW MOON. I thought it was going to be another situation where my size was going to be a
hindrance. The audition was for a guy who was trying to pick up Bella (Kristin Stewart) on the outside of a bar. I
guess I did a decent job (auditioning), because a week later I got a call back. I was thinking it was for the same
role, but 5 minutes before my auditions I get told I was auditioning for a different character, one of the
vampires. So, I basically had to do a quick cold read, but I felt kind of bad about my audition, so I recorded the
audition and sent it in. Fortunately, I got the role, and ever since I’ve been having a blast!
IAE: You also do stunt acting. How different is stunt acting from speaking roles?
DC: I played a ton of sports in my life, so it almost a natural progression (for me) to get into stunts. I don’t
really consider myself a stunt man because there are a lot of things that I can’t do, and a lot of the things
professional stunt actors do are amazing. I just knew that I had the physicality and thought, “why not?” I’ve had
a lot of great stunt coordinators and directors who have been really receptive to me doing some of my own
stunts, and I really enjoy it. Stunts involve a lot more physical acting, as opposed to a character role that has
little to no action in it and is mostly dialogue driven.
IAE: You also have a couple of independent film projects coming out in 2012. Tell us about
those projects and what your roles are like in those movies?
DC: THE BAYTOWN DISCO, which stars Billy Bob Thornton, was something that came to me while I was
filming the Twilight movie in Louisiana. My character in Baytown is, Lincoln Oodie, who is one of three brothers
in the film. Basically, we are these delinquent red-neck brothers who take these odd jobs that are not totally
legal. We finally decide to take a gig from this woman who asked us to kidnap her godson back from her ex-
boyfriend (Billy Bob Thornton). We look at it as a chance to make some money and do a simple job, but we
quickly find out that it’s not as simple as we thought it would be. We have this crazy adventure trying to get this
boy back from Billy Bob’s character so the kid can reunite with his godmother. It was a great experience
shooting the film because everyone who was involved in the project was so passionate and that’s what you find
on a lot of independent films. There’s not a huge amount of money, but the scripts and the characters are so
cool and so well written that the money isn’t the focus. You’re doing it because you know this project is going
to do well when it’s released.
IAE: What advice can you give to other young actors who are struggling to break into the
business?
DC: I was at that point around 2005/2006. I came to the realization that it is a business and you have to
be professional about it. You have to be willing to give yourself a certain number of years of just hard work and
belief in yourself. When you don’t hear back from auditions, don’t view it as a negative. Instead, think of them
as small steps toward success. I think what happens most of the time is, you’re at the bottom of this massive hill
and you think to yourself, “How in the world am I going to get to where I want to be?” But all you have to do is
take one step at a time and things will happen for you. At the same time, there is some luck involved, and you
just have to come in and do your job and book that gig that will get the ball rolling. An acting career requires
that you have a lot of confidence in yourself, and a lot of training. You have to always be working your actor’s
muscle through great training.
IAE: What area of the film and television industry would you like to see the most improvement
as it relates to actors?
DC: More work! [laughs] It would be a great day if everyone was working, but the reality is that every
business experiences low points where the work is slim. Also, there’s always competition, no matter what you
go into. It’s hard for me to say it, but I really don’t like reality TV, although some of it I enjoy. I’m also not into all
of these remakes. I would like to see people taking chances on new projects and not just playing it safe by
doing a remake. I hope to one day be in the position to produce or help fund certain projects that I believe in.
IAE: What has been one of the toughest things about being an up-and-coming actor?
DC: A lot of it is confidence. At the end of the day, you’re in an industry where you’re constantly being told
no, and many times you’re not told anything. So your work ethic plays a big part in it; making sure you’re not
getting lazy. Also, as you move up, you’re getting scrutinized even more in your auditions. You have to bring it
every single time, and when you do get the gig, you have to work your butt off. It’s all about keeping focused
and having that end goal in mind.
IAE: Is there anything that you’d like the fans of the Twilight series to know about you,
personally?
DC: It’s always funny with these characters that you play and it’s a compliment when people would say you
know you’re really actually a nice guy and you’re a little bit funny. That’s always a positive because people
assume that I walk around constantly angry and wanting to rip people’s heads off. Every character I bring a
little bit of myself. My character, Felix, and I are pretty opposite because I don’t go around killing people.
[laughs] But at the same time I believe everyone in this world has an aggressive side and some suppress it
while others don’t.
major sports fan, his stature doesn’t mean he’s only cut out for sports, as he has proven in his
work on the big screen.
Here, the actor shares his passion for the craft of acting and gives his fellow thespians some great
advice on how to remain focused when the going gets tough.
IAE: Please tell us where you’re from and what influenced you to pursue a career in actor?
DC: I grew up in a small town outside of Vancouver, and as a kid, I had tons of energy and was somewhat
of a class clown. Someone told me that I should take an acting class and so I did. When I got there I found out
that you can goof off all class long and not get in trouble for it, and instead you’d be rewarded for it. [laughs] I
also played sports, which was the route I took out of high school and into college. Like many people, when I
entered college I was a bit lost when it came to knowing what I wanted to do with my life and what I should
major in. Then I found out that Vancouver had this huge film industry, so I thought I should give it a try.
Fortunately, I started getting work right away; I got the X-MEN role and it just went from there.
IAE: What was your first professional acting gig and how did that opportunity come about?
DC: My first gig was a commercial I did for Oxy-Clean laundry detergent, but the really big role was in X-
MEN 2, which happenedalmost right out of the gate in my career. There was a big open casting call in
Vancouver and my agent, at the time, told me to go out for the cattle call. I guess I really looked the part and
did the right thing in the room each time because they (casting) called me back to 7 auditions before I finally
got the role of “Piotr Rasputin/Colossus”. That was huge for me.
IAE: Speaking of huge, you’re pretty huge. Being 6’6 do you get any flak about that?
DC: Yes. Sometimes I get responses like, “You’re too tall for the role.” But that actually happened to me
more often earlier in my career when I didn’t have much on my resume. But lately I’m finding that the actors
that are quite tall are doing a lot better and booking more roles.
IAE: Tell me about your role “Felix” in the TWILIGHT saga. How did that come about?
DC: It’s quite funny how it happened! A few years ago, I went out for an audition for a day player role in
Twilight’s NEW MOON. I thought it was going to be another situation where my size was going to be a
hindrance. The audition was for a guy who was trying to pick up Bella (Kristin Stewart) on the outside of a bar. I
guess I did a decent job (auditioning), because a week later I got a call back. I was thinking it was for the same
role, but 5 minutes before my auditions I get told I was auditioning for a different character, one of the
vampires. So, I basically had to do a quick cold read, but I felt kind of bad about my audition, so I recorded the
audition and sent it in. Fortunately, I got the role, and ever since I’ve been having a blast!
IAE: You also do stunt acting. How different is stunt acting from speaking roles?
DC: I played a ton of sports in my life, so it almost a natural progression (for me) to get into stunts. I don’t
really consider myself a stunt man because there are a lot of things that I can’t do, and a lot of the things
professional stunt actors do are amazing. I just knew that I had the physicality and thought, “why not?” I’ve had
a lot of great stunt coordinators and directors who have been really receptive to me doing some of my own
stunts, and I really enjoy it. Stunts involve a lot more physical acting, as opposed to a character role that has
little to no action in it and is mostly dialogue driven.
IAE: You also have a couple of independent film projects coming out in 2012. Tell us about
those projects and what your roles are like in those movies?
DC: THE BAYTOWN DISCO, which stars Billy Bob Thornton, was something that came to me while I was
filming the Twilight movie in Louisiana. My character in Baytown is, Lincoln Oodie, who is one of three brothers
in the film. Basically, we are these delinquent red-neck brothers who take these odd jobs that are not totally
legal. We finally decide to take a gig from this woman who asked us to kidnap her godson back from her ex-
boyfriend (Billy Bob Thornton). We look at it as a chance to make some money and do a simple job, but we
quickly find out that it’s not as simple as we thought it would be. We have this crazy adventure trying to get this
boy back from Billy Bob’s character so the kid can reunite with his godmother. It was a great experience
shooting the film because everyone who was involved in the project was so passionate and that’s what you find
on a lot of independent films. There’s not a huge amount of money, but the scripts and the characters are so
cool and so well written that the money isn’t the focus. You’re doing it because you know this project is going
to do well when it’s released.
IAE: What advice can you give to other young actors who are struggling to break into the
business?
DC: I was at that point around 2005/2006. I came to the realization that it is a business and you have to
be professional about it. You have to be willing to give yourself a certain number of years of just hard work and
belief in yourself. When you don’t hear back from auditions, don’t view it as a negative. Instead, think of them
as small steps toward success. I think what happens most of the time is, you’re at the bottom of this massive hill
and you think to yourself, “How in the world am I going to get to where I want to be?” But all you have to do is
take one step at a time and things will happen for you. At the same time, there is some luck involved, and you
just have to come in and do your job and book that gig that will get the ball rolling. An acting career requires
that you have a lot of confidence in yourself, and a lot of training. You have to always be working your actor’s
muscle through great training.
IAE: What area of the film and television industry would you like to see the most improvement
as it relates to actors?
DC: More work! [laughs] It would be a great day if everyone was working, but the reality is that every
business experiences low points where the work is slim. Also, there’s always competition, no matter what you
go into. It’s hard for me to say it, but I really don’t like reality TV, although some of it I enjoy. I’m also not into all
of these remakes. I would like to see people taking chances on new projects and not just playing it safe by
doing a remake. I hope to one day be in the position to produce or help fund certain projects that I believe in.
IAE: What has been one of the toughest things about being an up-and-coming actor?
DC: A lot of it is confidence. At the end of the day, you’re in an industry where you’re constantly being told
no, and many times you’re not told anything. So your work ethic plays a big part in it; making sure you’re not
getting lazy. Also, as you move up, you’re getting scrutinized even more in your auditions. You have to bring it
every single time, and when you do get the gig, you have to work your butt off. It’s all about keeping focused
and having that end goal in mind.
IAE: Is there anything that you’d like the fans of the Twilight series to know about you,
personally?
DC: It’s always funny with these characters that you play and it’s a compliment when people would say you
know you’re really actually a nice guy and you’re a little bit funny. That’s always a positive because people
assume that I walk around constantly angry and wanting to rip people’s heads off. Every character I bring a
little bit of myself. My character, Felix, and I are pretty opposite because I don’t go around killing people.
[laughs] But at the same time I believe everyone in this world has an aggressive side and some suppress it
while others don’t.
| Daniel Cudmore Actor from The Twilight Saga |
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