Oliver Martinez: It’s not my idea, but it’s the first time I´ve done interviews in a church!

Emmanuel Itier: Were you familiar with the story?

OM: No.

EI: Did you like the theme of the supernatural?

OM: When you choose to do a movie, you don´t know the result, but it´s more about a package of things, like the people who are involved in it. The story was very interesting for me – for an actor, that´s quite rare, so I said, “I´d like to play a wolf!”

EI: How did you like yourself as a wolf?

OM: Well, I liked the wolf in the movie. They are very beautiful and graceful creatures–very smart.

EI: Is it true you went to wolf camp?

OM: Yes, I guess when you play a biker, you need to learn how to ride a bike, and so when you play a wolf, you need to learn how a wolf acts. I learned the behavior of the wolves and how they stay together. It´s a group and they are hunters. They hunt by pack. So you have a big organization–it´s a bit like an army. I was very impressed at how organized they are. I love animals.

EI: You were with a young cast – how does that feel to be one of the veterans?

OM: Well, age has nothing to do with talent. I work with all young actors as long as they´re good. In this case, this was the case.

EI: Did you get to explore the location–Romania ?

OM: No, I saw most of the city from the window in my car. When I work, I´m more like a monk. I don´t hang around bars or clubs. I stay in my room. I try to get a good night’s sleep.

EI: You once said that you don´t really want to do the sex symbol thing – is that still the case?

OM: No, it´s not that I don´t want to do the sex symbol thing–it´s just that I don´t even know what it is to be a sex symbol. I´m an actor and I play roles, and sometimes I play a character, like in “Unfaithful”, which is more focused on the desire and the attraction to people. But then I did “Othello” and now I play a wolf, so I´m not sticking to one kind of role. They are all a little bit part of myself. I am not what I´m representing on screen. It´s a story on screen–it´s not me.

EI: How does Hollywood see you? What kinds of offers do you get?

OM: People forget very quickly what you can do, so it´s what was your last role. You’re always typecast; it´s better to not go anywhere if you can´t do what you want. I try to avoid villain roles. I like to play good guys, but in America, I am more pitched for playing baddies. It´s all about perception. One country varies from the other – good and bad.

EI: Are you a religious person?

OM: No, I have faith, but my faith doesn´t belong to any church.

EI: Does the media attention bother you?

OM: It all depends because, as a celebrity, I don´t like it too much. Today, the media has a tendency to forget what you do and to forget if you´re good or bad as a talent. They tend to put you in a box – you´re a party guy, you´re dating her, you´re not–and finally, nobody knows about anybody anymore. I´m not cared for by journalists! (Laughs)

EI: Are you saying it all comes with the job?

OM: Well, I accept that a part of my life has to be public, but I think now it has to be based on respect. I can tell you now, in the next ten years, we´re going to have a lot of dramas in this area. Look at Princess Di and how she died and how the paparazzi tried to sell pictures of her laying there to the newspapers. That´s what it´s become. I´m just seeing it from outside and I´m scared. To go on the Internet, it´s very scary.

EI: There are people who just want to be famous for the sake of being famous.

OM: Not a lot, but some.

EI: There are a lot more Paris Hiltons in the world now.

OM: Yes, opportunity – because journalists talk about them because it sells. If she´s not wearing any panties, that´s more interesting to know that than if somebody has done something interesting.

EI: So what is important for you to say?

OM: As an actor, I don´t have anything important to say, except that I like to be an actor.

EI: What´s a perfect day for you?

OM: Wake up with the sun, see the people you love, eat well… just do what you want–that´s a perfect day. Just to be free. I love nature. It brings me a lot of energy. I love working in the forest. I love to sail on the ocean, to be in the mountains and to be in the desert. You have to escape the city once in a while. The first time I saw a car, I was ten years old. I grew up in the suburbs.