JAMES WILKINSON TALKS MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE
"Just made it part of my character"
Daniel John
The story of a young man on Earth discovering his legacy as the prince of an alien planet, called back home to protect his kingdom, 'Masters of the Universe' is such an iconic thing, carrying a great deal of nostalgia for many but also now reaching a new generation. What cartoons filled that role for you as a kid?
As a nineties kid I was so spoilt for choice with the cartoons and movies. From the Disney renaissance films to all the Saturday morning cartoons we had on offer, 'Spider-Man' and 'Batman' being my preference, it really did shape my tastes in cinema as I grew up.
Beyond the action battling Skeletor’s army, bringing Mekaneck into live-action for the very first time, how did you go about getting to know the character?
I loved doing the research for this role. Being nerdy, and deep-diving into these things is my favourite part of building characters. If you strip back all of the fantastical things about Mekaneck, his abilities, his bright armoured costume, his home of Eternia, who is he underneath all that and why? Finding answers to that became relatively straight forward when I came at it from the angle of, this world is his normality, have fun with that.
Obviously working with some renowned people on the action side of things, was there any particular piece of choreography that really highlighted the level of expertise on set for you?
The entire stunt team was incredible. I remember seeing Liang Yang piecing together an action sequence for Mekaneck and just seeing what he had in his head being translated into existence, communicating with stunt performers, actors, and camera–operators until it was exactly as he imagined it was inspiring to see unfold.
What was it like moving around, actually wearing the costume?
There are three people I’d like to highlight for making the costumes both visually incredible and also making it functional to wear for twelve hours of filming per day. Richard Sale, who designed all of the costumes including mine, FBFX STUDIOS who put the costume together and allowed my input of what would make life easier for me whilst still making it look battle- ready. And Davey Ball, who day in and day out was tasked with helping me into the damn thing, which was no mean feat as there were so many intricate steps to suiting up. So, for those three reasons I can say that wearing the costume was surprisingly easy, a lot better than it potentially could have been. If there were some restriction to the suit I just allowed it to inform my movements. And I just made it part of my character, which was my decision in being a glass half full actor.
You actually come from an early musical theatre background, and even if a lot of action-work would later come, acting at large does not sound like something you just fell into starting out that young?
It is something that has always been a part of my life, I did what most children who have too much energy do, go into amateur dramatics. I come from a small island called Jersey, where big time acting opportunities just don’t happen, so you move away and train in big performing arts colleges in the UK, and for me my route to the big screen was a winding one. But looking back it had to be, otherwise without the experiences and lessons I picked up along the way, I would never have been ready for when this moment fell into my lap, I’d have most likely blown it.
The toughest falls in the industry aren’t necessarily happening on set but between work. What do you find important for keeping your chin up and necking-it-out throughout the lows?
You absolutely must concentrate on the things that are within your power. My health, my friendships, being outdoors, riding motorbikes. That way your cup is filled, so when you come across opportunities in filmmaking you can engage in it from a place of passion, not desperation. For an example, I’m going to Mongolia in July for a few weeks, my close friends and production-partners are documenting our journey in the Mongolian-wilderness, traversing across open plains, dirt roads and unknown terrain on Husqvarna 450-motorcycles. So when I next chat with a director and they ask what have I been up to, I can say a lot more than, "Well, I’ve been by my phone waiting for someone to call”.
Continuing on, are there any upcoming projects you can talk about at this point that we can look forward to seeing you in next?
Other than Mongolia? Yes, actually. You’ll see me in a film called 'Bedlam' starring Scott Adkins very soon, it’s about an insane asylum where all the inmates are forced to face each other in an illegal fight ring. I’m also producing and playing a character in a film with Sully & Cully Productions, directed by Paddy Cartwright, we’ve teamed up with the Jersey government to encourage more films to utilise Jersey’s beauty and unique landscapes. It’s a highly charged action epic with incredible fights, stunts and a storyline that is sure to ignite the passions of nerds like me across the world. We begin shooting in September.
