So just as the battle for Bella’s soul between Edward and Jacob reaches new heights, here comes a new contender for the Twilight overnight-star index. 26-year-old old Australian actor Xavier Samuel plays Riley, a human taken by vampires, the drama of which takes place in the film's opening scene. It's a circumstance he can’t change that fills him with rage. It’s is one of the splashiest, longest entrances in the entire film saga and heralds the arrival of a hot new Twilight star.

Q1: AskMen.com : Congratulations, you got the opening titles sequence, like Mickey Rourke in Iron Man 2; it’s all Xavier, all the time.

Xavier Samuel : It was kind of cool because in the book Riley’s not as present as he is in the film. And it’s a great sequence. All the chase sequences in the film are really quite exhilarating.


Q2: AM : We see a little of human Riley as he walks down the street. He’s attacked and frightened but brave enough to find out what’s happening. From then on, he’s pure evil. It’s a very interesting role.

XS : And here he is a budding young man with the world at his doorstep and boom! He’s a vampire. That’s what you get wandering around by yourself at night. Don’t go to the docks alone.


Q3: AM : You have the books, the script and Stephenie Meyers on the set all the time. But what did you bring to Riley that only you would know about?

XS : I just did the best I could do. It’s difficult to approach the material because there’s no frame of reference. I don’t know any vampires, it’s not as if you can sleep in coffins and get into character like that. It was about tackling the complexity of this guy -- the kind of man he is. If you look at the equation, it’s devastating. This guy has the world at his doorstep and gets his humanity ripped away. I’m sure you can compare it to other experiences somehow but what we touched on is that he now has this intense hatred and jealously for humanity because it is what he has been deprived of.

And then he’s kind of mixed up in this Lady Macbeth/Macbeth relationship where he’s being manipulated by Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard) and he’s not completely aware of it, not to mention his loss of control. He has that crazed bloodlust, that newborn vampire thing. It’s great to have something that has such a large and wide audience and is essentially quiet commercial but also has these complexities in it. It’s a tribute to Stephenie Meyer who has created these really rounded characters who have history and uniqueness.


Q4: AM : You get knocked around quite a bit in the transformation sequence. Were you actually thrown?
XS : Yeah, I really was. We did a lot of training and preparation for the stunts but it’s like you get hooked up to a wire and you fly through the air. It was really intense. You can’t do that stuff half-assed! None of it is CGI.




Q5: AM : You’re classically trained, and have played Hamlet. That makes you the most experienced of the Twilight kids. Did it make a difference?

XS : Not really. Everyone brings their own particular skill set to the job, and acting training can work for a lot of actors, and it can’t. I’ve seen a lot of really good actors go into acting schools and then come out a little bit corrupted. You can see the cogs turning and so it can be a positive, I’m lucky for me that it was, or it can be otherwise. I think actors can draw on their experiences so life is the training ground really. It’s about being less blocked. There is no such thing as a better actor; it’s just less blocked actor. It’s always a joy to work with actors who are really open-minded... and that’s all there is to it.



Q6: AM : You walked in to an established film family. Was it a little intimidating?


XS : I had never done anything of this nature, so stepping in to something of that kind of magnitude was intimidating but I’m grateful that everyone I worked with was really talented and really down-to-earth. I got a very warm reception.


Q7: AM : They seem to love each other and get along well.

XS : And, yes, we said if we were all at high school together we would all naturally gravitate towards each other, so it’s really just a great group. It is already assembled and established and to be accepted is really wonderful.



Q8: AM : Look at you smiling! We don’t see you smiling in the movie at all.

XS : Haha! I could this whole interview scowling for you if you like.
Q9: AM : Too bad you won’t be getting any funny lines in any upcoming Twilight films.

XS : No. That would be a little bit bizarre. But it would release the tension.
Q10: AM : This is the best of the Twilight films -- a lot of the exposition is out of the way and the characters are more developed.

XS : Yes. It’s largely due to David Slade who is a really phenomenal filmmaker. This is a film, not a movie. It’s like, “Wow! We’re in the hands of someone who has a really fierce grip on the darker side of the film." If you watch his other films, particularly Hard Candy, the performances are so well measured. He’s an actor’s director and technically he’s astute and intelligent. And he has a wicked sense of humor. That’s one of the exciting things about the franchise, the Saga, is that every time there is a new director, there’s a new interpretation and a new aesthetic.


Q11: AM : You’re not all that well known here but as of June 30th, look out! Have you been briefed?


XS : I don’t know how you prepare for something like that. I’m just planning to take one step at a time, keep my head down, and work really hard, you know. I’m not interested in phoning it in or resting on my laurels. The support and excitement is wonderful, being in a film like this, there is a level of responsibility to pay tribute to these characters because the story is so close to the fans who love what Stephenie’s created.


Q12: AM : Sensational story about Stephenie Meyer. Here she is bored, sitting by her pool, so she writes Twilight.

XS : I don’t know how you spend your afternoons, but we could try. Maybe afterward we can go down to the pool and soak up some Toronto sunshine with a notepad.