Ray Stevenson is a stage-trained British actor who burst into international acclaim with his nuanced portrayal of Roman soldier Titus Pullo in HBO’s series Rome.  Ray now tackles the formidable role of Frank Castle, the violent ‘Punisher’ character of film and comic book fame. Buzzine sits down with Ray Stevenson and gets the inside story on his newest film, Punisher: War Zone.

Interview by Izumi Hasegawa

Izumi Hasegawa: You played a really complicated character; he has a lot of facets as a father, as a soldier, and then as a vigilante. Was there anything that really resonated with you about playing Frank, either from comic books, or the script?

Ray Stevenson: I suppose you just feel on an instinctive level if something is honest. I think one of the initial motivators for me was the fact that he chose a path with no redemption for him; there’s no light at the end of the tunnel. But he’s chosen a path. There’s a mythical, tragic sort of warrior about him, and he’s not looking for any redemption. He’s honest enough to say he’s not there to protect the innocent or save the weak; he’s made his choices. And also there was a price to pay for that. I like the fact that his commitment had an honesty to it, and I suppose the thing about being an actor is that you basically hit your mark, look the other guy in the eye, and tell the truth. And yes, it’s a pretend world, but you’ve got to step up and be honest with it. And the more you can dig, the more you can get out, I think.

IH: Your role was extremely physical.  What preparation did that require?

RS: Oh sure, we did an extensive sort of pre-film period, worked out about three or four months, and thankfully we did an awful lot of endurance training ’cause that has actually paid the biggest dividend.  We got through a very punishing schedule, excuse the pun, but it was two and a half months of night-shoots, and the endurance really had paid off. But we did do very concise work with the weapons. It wasn’t about having the biggest gun; it was about having the right gun and knowing how to use it, and we had some great military guys from the Marines and also special forces. The thing about Frank is that he’s not a superhero. He hasn’t got super powers or anything. He’s got his training, his discipline, and his weapon-handling, and he doesn’t have magic guns with magic magazines that never run out. So we wanted to show those quick magazine changes, so yeah, we really worked at that, and we also know that he’s a very popular character with the military. They’re going to watch it and we all felt that maybe some young G.I. in the Gulf is going to watch it and say, “Look, that’s why they beached us 16 hours a day with the training,” because you just use it like a second nature. It didn’t want to feel like it was Gung Ho. In essence, Frank Castle is the weapon, and these are the tools — that was an extension of him. I was asked a question like Did I have a favorite gun? And I said, “Yeah, the one that was loaded and pointed at the enemy.” [Laughs] But we had to do an awful lot of work like that, and luckily we had some great people working with us.

IH: When you approached your character, did you look at the previous Thomas Jane Punisher?

RS: No. I was aware of it, and I was aware of the Dolph Lundgren one, which I haven’t seen. I watched the Thomas Jane one afterwards, actually, because I made it clear that we were starting grass-roots and we it wasn’t like a follow one. It wasn’t to build up from. There was no way they were connected to each other whatsoever. It was like saying, okay, this is going to be a commitment to the Max series, to the Garth Ennis writing, to the Tim Bradstreet style of illustration. It’s going to be that, this is the character we’re doing, start there. There wasn’t any need, actually, to go in there and see those films. ‘Cause from my point of view, if I was going to play a role on stage, I wouldn’t necessarily watch another actor go play that role that’s been directed by somebody else and acting with other cast members. So you take yourself to it and give it your shot.

IH: When you grew up in Ireland, did you ever think you’d be playing a comic book character?

RS: No, we actually left Northern Ireland when I was about five or six ’cause the IRA kicked off — the whole troubles — and then I grew up in the North East of England. We used to go off to the Saturday morning picture show, myself and my brothers, and there was always like an A-film and a B-movie – Casey Jones and Champion The Wonder Horse — and it was all these great big epics and cowboys and ships, and so I was enchanted at an early age. I immerse myself in that, and something sparked off and I didn’t tell anybody I wanted to be an actor. I knew from a very early age, but it just didn’t seem possible. It was just like, yeah, okay, that’s a bit of a dream really, you know, just ignore it and get on with your life. But I kept it for a long time until I finally admitted to myself that you got to do something about this. But yeah, it’s been an interesting journey. It took a while before it came out.

IH: This role is so unusual. Were you surprised when it came to you?

RS: Well, it’s weird. I mean, unexpected, I don’t know. It’s like, I suppose I wasn’t aware of the character beforehand, and I got this phone call out of the blue saying “Are you interested in this Punisher thing?” and I said, “Well, is there a script?” “No, you’re not allowed to read the script.” Well, how can you commit to something like that? [Laughs] And then, I was in England at the time, I got this phone call from Lexi [Alexander] and she went, “Now Ray, you are Frank Castle. You are going to be Frank Castle. You’re going to do this movie, and if you have any doubt about doing this movie, I will put your doubts at rest. If you still think that you’re not going to do this movie, I won’t let you. Because then you’re still not understanding what this movie is and I will explain it to you.” [Laughs] And it’s just like, “Oh, right.” [Laughs] Who’s going to argue with that?

IH: Could you talk about your comic book experience, as you grew up in England, and this is an American comic book.

RS: Yeah, and I wasn’t aware of this particular comic book and I wasn’t really a comic reader, so the whole world of it sort of came crashing in. I mean, first it was sort of bleeding in through Frank Castle and then reading it, and it was Garth Ennis’s writing that pulled me right in. You can see straight away so far in the thing, but then you think he doesn’t hide — the writing in these comic books is phenomenal. And such a previously untapped source, and the fans got it — they knew. That’s why they’ve invested years and years buying the books. They keep going back. And that’s an investment over a period of time. They really do have ownership on it. And then, of course [laughs], Comic-Con — I’d seen Galaxy Quest, that was like this is crazy…Who on earth, I thought…and then I went there, and it was just, wow! All right, and they’re committed, they’re invested, they’re involved, and as a source material for actors, you not only got the written words, you’ve also got some of the most incredible drawings and illustrations, not just in this one, but other comic books now, so I start to get it. I wouldn’t ever presume to say that now I’m a comic book fan. You know, I’m a child in that world, but it really has opened up. And it deserved to be, ’cause there are some very committed minds and artists involved in it. It’s a great thrill to be part of the lexicon of this culture, and I think it’s got a global appeal and I think it always will have. It’s been great to do.