Interesting interviews with Kevin and Ray Stevenson I found in one of the fan sites whose links Leanne posted in the KMK board.
Vorenus and Pullo: 'Rome's' enduring odd couple
HBO issued a press release over the weekend featuring interviews with Kevin McKidd and Ray Stevenson, who play the ex-soldiers Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo on "Rome," which returns with its second and final season 8 p.m. Sunday.
Fans of the show and of those actors might be interested in checking out the interviews, which I've posted below.
The article below is from an HBO press release:
In the first season of HBO's ROME, actors Kevin McKidd and Ray Stevenson gave viewers a chance to witness the world-changing events of Roman history through the eyes of everyday men. McKidd's character, Lucius Vorenus, was the embodiment of the steadfast Roman soldier, a cool, savvy and determined officer who did his duty no matter what. By contrast, Stevenson's Titus Pullo was a creature of impulse, a fearless, hot-blooded warrior governed by his appetites and prone to get into all sorts of trouble.
But these seeming opposites were united by one thing: a deep, unbreakable friendship that made them true brothers in arms. During the first season of ROME, for example, Pullo found himself facing almost certain death after committing a typically thoughtless (and murderous) act, only to be saved by the heroism of Vorenus.
In season two, however, Vorenus and Pullo may be trading places. With their worlds turned upside down, both men undergo startling changes. At the end of the first season, Vorenus seemed to lose everything he holds dear, while Pullo looked forward to building a more stable, settled life with his new wife, the former slave girl Eirene.
"Vorenus goes into a deep depression because everything that was important to him as a man is gone," explains Kevin McKidd, whose cheerful off-camera demeanor is light years away from the somber bearing of Vorenus. "Where before he was a moral force, now you start to see him unravel. Mark Antony snaps him out of it by giving him the job of cleaning up the marketplace, which was run by gangs. Antony senses a darker, more malevolent side to Vorenus that will enable him to be an effective leader. And in fact, Vorenus terrifies all the gangs because he genuinely doesn't care whether he lives or dies. There are no longer any consequences for him."
McKidd says he relishes the opportunity to take the stern Vorenus in new directions. "I love this character, but it's possible to get frustrated with Vorenus because he's so emotionally constricted - kind of a monosyllabic, John Wayne type - although there's all sorts of stuff going on inside him. So it's fun to explore the flip side of the guy. Shifts of character are not the norm on most episodic TV. Usually you latch onto a character, and that's that. The challenge for me is to keep Vorenus the man we knew, but show how these cataclysmic events have affected him, show where he's coming from.
"I always thought of Vorenus as a man out of step with his time, more of a modern thinker. Even when he's the leader of a gang, he's trying to do the right thing under the circumstances."
McKidd agrees that the reserved Vorenus and the fiery Pullo make an unlikely, if efficient team, noting, "Vorenus represents one part of the Roman psyche and Pullo another. During the first season, I think Vorenus initially saw Pullo as more of an annoyance, but then became attached to him. Later in the season the balance tipped, and they entered into a pure old-fashioned friendship.
"In the second season, Pullo is becoming a more domestic animal, so he faces a new set of challenges," notes McKidd. "He comes to my character looking for advice on how to handle these more complex situations, and my response is: 'Don't ask me. Look at the mess I made!' "
As Lucius Vorenus' fortunes have fallen, his comrade Titus Pullo has glimpsed the prospect of leaving behind the brutal world of the warrior for a more peaceful, traditional existence with the woman he loves, the former slave girl Eirene.
While Kevin McKidd has used his portrayal to explore the dark side of human nature, Ray Stevenson says his character has taught him to live in the moment.
"As much as I've brought of myself to Titus Pullo, in a weird way I feel like I've been learning from him," proclaims the affable Stevenson. Asked to explain, he continues, "As an actor, you can get caught up in thinking, 'Where will I be in three months? In six months? What's my five-year plan?'
"Whereas Pullo says, 'You know what? I'm here, I'm alive, the sun is shining, and there's no other place I can be right now.' So much of our lives is wasted judging ourselves by other people's expectations. We're informed by advertising, media and peer group pressures. But to work on a beautiful film set doing something I love - what could be better than this job?"
Part of Stevenson's job has been to turn what could have been a one-dimensional thug into a distinctive, fully rounded character. "There were times in the first season when Pullo was just this big lump, but he wasn't there to convince people he was intelligent. Eventually you start to realize this guy is more than just a warrior," he notes. "There's a reason why Vorenus, who's defined by a strict morality, keeps this guy around. I think the two of them come to value what's important in each other over the course of the first season."
As Stevenson notes, Vorenus "doesn't have the same decisiveness as Pullo. While he works out what steps to take in a situation, Pullo will have already been there, finished the job, and gone off to have a beer."
That urge to act first and ask questions later led Pullo to commit a horrible act of violence in the first season, when he murdered the fiancé of his beloved Eirene in a fit of jealousy. Says Stevenson, "People were really starting to like Pullo at that point in the story, but I wasn't there to be liked! I was there to play the truth of the moment. If you bring a modern sensibility to the situation, you miss out on the humanity of it. Pullo was just acting according to what was going on. And that was when his life spiraled out of control."
Having been saved from death by his friend Vorenus, Pullo finds himself in dramatically changed circumstances in season two of ROME, allowing Stevenson to explore new shades of his character. "If you try to stand still you'll stagnate. Pullo is experiencing these events, and he's actually growing and changing. It's not 'Tune in next season for the same person.' That's thrilling to me."
featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2007/01/vorenus_and_pul.html