Interview & Photography { John Russo
Produced { Photohouse Productions for Disney
Grooming { Melissa Walsh
Styling { Joseph Episcopo
Video{ Ken Waller Media
Location { Los Angeles California
JR: What drew you to the role of Colonel Miles Quaritch in “Avatar,” and how did you prepare for the character?
SL: The role of Colonel Miles Quaritch leaped off the page. I immediately felt that I could deliver the role in terms of so many qualities: his aggression; sense of mission and duty; a certain fatalism; loyalty to his troops; leadership from the front. In other words, while I understood his function in the story as “the bad guy”, I accentuated the positive without denying or mitigating his cruelty and brutality. Hopefully, it gave Quaritch depth and soul, however tarnished. I prepared by working out basically every day for months and years.
JR: Can you share some memorable behind-the-scenes moments from filming “Avatar”?
SL: Hmm…I was working first day of shooting on Way of Water. Big day – it was a long time coming. The scene was Quaritch waking up and experiencing his Avatar body for the first time, and he momentarily goes berserk. Tricky and very physical scene. Carefully rehearsed all hell breaks loose. We did it and it was good. Someone noticed I was bleeding from my forehead – a gash, nothing terrible. We watched playback and saw that my head crashed into a metal lamp shade. No big deal. But Jim Cameron smiles and says, “First shot and we drew blood! This is gonna be good”. And it was!
JR: How has portraying Quaritch evolved across the different “Avatar” films?
SL: Quaritch alternately evolves and devolves. He has learned the hard way about this planet and its inhabitants. He had adapts but there is always, so far at least, an essential rigidity in his thinking and approach. On some level he just enjoys the game of it all. War and strife is where he is most comfortable. The reappearance of Spider in his life is interesting if somewhat confusing to him.
JR: How did you approach bringing depth and complexity to a character that could be seen as a traditional villain
SL: Showcasing his vulnerabilities and limitations along with his strengths helps to humanize him. Through his actions and words Quaritch demands a sort of begrudging admiration from those around him, including the audience. He needs to be as fascinating as he is horrifying, and as attractive and charismatic as he is repulsive. Because he is a villain, and a powerful one, you love to hate him, but you also hate loving him. That’s my take anyway.
JR: Has your perspective on acting and the industry changed over the years?
SL: As I get older I try to simplify the acting. Lose some of the baroque flourishes I was fond of in my youth. The film industry has changed – I mean, we don’t even use film anymore. But on a fundamental level things remain eternally the same: people want and need stories – love stories, war stories, fantasies, documentaries, myths and legends, and deeply imagined worlds like Pandora. The craving for stories is part of being human, and the movies have satisfied that craving for more than a century. I see no reason for it to stop now.
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