Teen idol Alex Pettyfer chats with Blockbuster.co.uk's Marshall Julius about playing a psychotic school bully in bloody British horror film Tormented.
A Britflick movie idol on the verge of international success, 19-year-old charmer
Alex Pettyfer first caught the attention of movie fans as boy hero Alex Rider in the modestly successful
Stormbreaker (2006). Three years on, via his turn as dreamy Freddie in
Wild Child (2008), Pettyfer returns in a blood-soaked teenage horror thriller that casts him neither as the good guy nor the hunk, but the nastiest screen bully the screen has seen for quite some time. As the viciously, convincingly unpleasant Bradley in
Tormented, now available from Blockbuster.co.uk on
Blu-ray and DVD to add to your list, Pettyfer antagonises a poor, doughy teen to death, later suffering the consequences when said victim returns from the grave to exact bloody vengeance.
"I didn't put myself up for the role to prove that I was versatile or anything," stresses Pettyfer, who couldn't be more unlike Bradley if he tried. "It's just that I like things that challenge me, and scare me a bit, and the thought of playing Bradley was terrifying.
"I remember though, back when I was cast as Alex in Stormbreaker, I was 15 years old at the time, and a bit overwhelmed by the thought of taking the lead in an $80 million action movie. That, and doing all the stunts, but I'm a physical guy, and not afraid to push myself, and that certainly worked out very well for me. It gave me the confidence to put myself in situations that I wasn't entirely, initially comfortable in. In fact, it taught me that it's those kind of situations that tend to bring out the best in you.
"So I was determined to do Bradley, and do it right, though at first I had no idea how I could play such an awful person. It was certainly a risky role to go for as they could have easily turned me down, but I was cast the week after I auditioned, so somebody must have seen something in me that suggested I could do it."
Pettyfer's first major gig came at the age of 15 when he cast as the lead in Tom Brown's Schooldays (2005), a quality telly production that saw the young actor bullied to within an inch of his life. It was an incredible, learning experience, says Alex, to play the flipside of that character in Tormented, a role he dedicated himself to inhabiting.
"I had to reach a certain place," he explains, "because I'd never been there before. I couldn't relate to Bradley at all, so I looked for inspiration in other movies. I watched
Batman, for
Jack Nicholson's Joker character. I watched
Chopper , with
Eric Bana, which is one of my favourite films of all time. I saw a lot of psychological thrillers and found
American Psycho particularly useful.
Christian Bale is amazing in that, self-obsessed and self-possessed, yet he can snap at any moment.
"
Gary Oldman, in particular, inspired me a lot, especially his performance in
True Romance. I love that movie, and even though he wasn't in it for long, he totally stole it. You couldn't forget him. I'm not really in Tormented for that long myself, but hoped I'd be able to make a lasting impression of my own."
Ultimately, says Alex, "I loved playing Bradley. It was the first time I'd ever ventured away from playing good boys and heart-throbs, and it was fascinating to be able to explore the evil side of human nature. Fun too!"
A quick survey of the more popular social network sites on the web confirms a major fan presence out there for young Alex, a fact that brings a big smile to his face. "I'm very happy to have a lot of fans," he says. "It means there are lots of people who'll go see my movies."
Currently shooting a modern teen take on Beauty on the Beast called Beastly, co-starring
High School Musical's Vanessa Hudgens and due out next year, Pettyfer seems destined for big things. "Even though I left school at 16," with eleven GCSEs it has to be said, "every film I make takes me back. It's like I never left! I can't see myself ever going back to school to actually learn, but you never say never. For now, though, I'm happy with the way my career is developing, and excited to see where it's going to go."