While actor Alexander Skarsgård says that he was nervous as he has never done anything extreme like this before, for Margot Robbie it was fun shooting The Legend of Tarzan as the stunts in the film are her absolute favourite. By Team Viva

How was it working with Margot Robbie?

Alexander Skarsgård: Margot is such a warm, engaging and open personality. It really didn’t take long to gel with her. Shooting was a lot of fun.

What makes this adaptation of The Legend of Tarzan unique?

Alexander: The very first question I asked when the idea of this film came to me was why are we making another version of it. Undoubtedly, it’s an amazing story but why has it been told so many times? What was the new element this time? Then I got the script and the first page read that ‘John was in London drinking tea with the Prime Minister’. He is in a suit with a proper hairdo. I thought it was such an interesting take on a very famous story. Instead of following the original story of him growing up in the jungle, which is obviously shown in the flashback, the main story line is him in London. He’s already been back. He has left the jungle behind and has been a sophisticated man for almost a decade now with Jane as his wife. The novel and most of the adaptations are about taming the beast, this is more about releasing the beast.

Tell us about the physicality of the roles?

Alexander: In terms of physicality, it was very important for the character to put on some weight but not become too big. It was important for him to not to look like a bodybuilder. I’ve never done anything like this before, this extreme. I was just really nervous. It was a big challenge and I didn’t know how my body would respond to the training and diet. We worked a lot on being agile and flexible which was very difficult. My trainer had to work really hard because I’m incredibly stiff. It was important that every single fibre and every muscle was there for a reason.

Margot Robbie: Jane’s role is a very physical role. Every role is emotionally and mentally draining but this one was physically draining as well. I had trained everyday during those times. Mastered a couple of stunts which I never thought I’ll ever do. I got to beat up a couple of stunt guys, they obviously let me beat them up. It was really fun, and I learnt a lot of things. The stunts in the movie are my absolute favourite.

How was it working with filmmaker David Yates?

Alexander: David knows exactly what he wants but he is also an incredible collaborator. He is curious, he knows the movie and is prepared for it. He wants you as an actor to indulge into the film. He gets very excited if we have an idea or want to play around with something which is why it feels so great to work with him. He has that trust for his actors which is great because it makes us feel brave.

Margot: David is incredibly sensitive and visionary. It was an incredible experience. For me it was nice to be on the set with him. The atmosphere at the set is dictated by the person who is running it and if your director is yelling and screaming, it’s going to make a really tense working environment. But at this set, it was very calm, no one was yelling, and it really comes from David. He’s got this lovely and gentle demeanour. It was a pleasure to be around.

Tell us more about your character Jane?

Margot: I didn’t want to end up playing Janes’ which were already established before. So I was just trying to create a character that worked with the story line. In this case technically, Jane was abducted and there was a chase kind of thing. But I was determined not to play the damsel in distress. She is really feisty, incredibly capable and a very fiery character, that’s what I was excited about. We had a lot of fun doing stunts, throwing punches and fighting backwards. Jane had a really great dynamic with Christoph Waltz character, who is the villain here.

How was your chemistry with Alexander?

Margot: When David first showed me the script and I asked what are the next steps, he told me to meet Alex and see if you guys have chemistry because that is going to be of utmost importance for the whole film. So we met up and instantly got along. He is such an amazing personality and he is so tall. He has an inherent presence because of his height, which is very believable for Tarzan. Beyond that he is a great guy. He was so committed to his role. It was like a dream to work with him. I felt so lucky.

(Watch the film on June 22 at 9 pm on Sony PIX.)