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Oddball on the set

Actress Annabelle Wallis talks about her experience in the reboot of The Mummy, which promises more thrills, stunts and special effects

ONE of cinema’s most iconic monsters comes roaring back to life in the action-adventure horror film The Mummy.

The latest incarnation of the 1999 box office hit of the same name sees Hollywood actor Tom Cruise taking on the lead role as Nick Morton, a military man and artifact hunter who discovers something much more dangerous than he has ever dreamed.

When he locates the tomb – or rather, the prison – of an ancient Egyptian princess named Ahmanet (Sofia Boutella), he unleashes a terrifying force upon the world, one driven by revenge and bitter fury.

There will be consequences for Nick and everyone around him as he is ushered into a previously hidden world of gods and monsters.

English actress Annabelle Wallis, meanwhile, has been forging a healthy career on both the big and small screens, appearing in television shows such as Peaky Blinders and The Tudors, and in films including Annabelle and Come And Find Me opposite actor Aaron Paul.

In The Mummy, she plays Jenny Halsey, an archaeologist dedicated to protecting antiquities but dragged into an adventure with Cruise’s Nick Morton, facing more peril than ever before.

The film also stars Courtney B. Vance, Marwan Kenzari and Russell Crowe.

GETTING ALONG WELL

In the movie, Wallis, 32, who had previously done several short films before moving to London to pursue a career in films, does most of the dangerous stunts herself.

To prepare for her character, Wallis together with her co-stars Cruise and Jake Johnson (who plays Sergeant Chris Vail) trained for months to perfect their skills.

The competitive actress, who also speaks multiple languages including Portuguese and French, impressed everybody on set for her ability to perform the stunts without so much as breaking a sweat.

“We were always training at the gym andeverybody had their own space and allotted time. But because we got on so well, we were always training together. It was more fun that way,” says Wallis, who spent most of her childhood in Portugal.

In the earlier part of her training, she was constantly teased by her male co-stars on whether she could be capable of doing all of the physical stunts herself.

But when she eventually managed to outdo them all, that silenced them for good.

“Those guys are really playful and fun to be with. There was a lot of playfulness when everyone got together,” she says.

Wallis, who now calls London her home, is game for anything that comes her way.

“I try not to overthink things. I knew I was in safe hands and that the crew was not out to ‘kill’ me because they needed me to finish the movie. I felt confident jumping around,” she adds.

BETTER THAN THE GREEN SCREEN

Principal filming of the movie began in April of last year in Oxford, United Kingdom.

The crew travelled to multiple locations including Surrey, London and Namibia before filming finally wrapped up in August.

Of all the locations that the cast and crew spent during their four-month shoot, Wallis loved Namibia the best.

“I thought Namibia is so beautiful. That’s the joy of what we do. You're given the gift of travel, of wanderlust and working around the world. You never forget being in Africa and working with a local crew. It was a great experience. I brought my mum out and it was a lovely treat,” she says.

For the most part, the actress says it adds a sense of realism to the overall movie that one can’t get from relying solely on the green screen.

She says: “It keeps it alive, the energy of being in a vista. We would climb these huge sand dunes and you live so much more in the moment because you don't know when you'll experience something like that again. And it really helps you believe that your character is there because you are there!”

BRINGING THE MUMMY TO LIFE

The jetting-setting actress was in Taipei, Taiwan, recently, where she spoke to the regional Press as part of the movie’s promotional event. With her were Cruise and Boutella. Also joining them were director Alex Kurtzman.

At the Press event, Wallis made heads turn as she took centre stage in her electric blue dress. Besides Taiwan, the quartet had been busy promoting the film in Sydney, Australia and Madrid, Spain.

In 2012, Universal Pictures announced plans for a modern-day reboot of The Mummy franchise.

But the project had since gone through several changes involving its directors.

The directing job was first handed out to Len Wiseman (Total Recall, Underworld) before he announced his exit from the project in 2013.

A second director, Andres Muschietti (Mama and the upcoming It), was brought in but he too left in 2014.

Finally director Alex Kurtzman came on board and the film took off.

The Mummy also sees New Zealand-born Ben Seresin as director of photography.

Seresin is best known for his beautiful lensing in movies such as Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen, World War Z and Unstoppable.

For the music and score, the movie features the work of acclaimed film composer Brian Tyler.

Tyler has composed scores for film, television and video games, the more notable ones being Iron Man 3, Avengers: Age Of Ultron (with Danny Elfman) and Now You See Me.

Wallis talks more about her experience working with Cruise, how she got the role and what she kept from the set.

HOW DID YOU MANAGE TO LAND YOURSELF IN THE ROLE OF JENNY HALSEY?

I went for an audition and then it really came down to Cruise making the decision because it was so much about the chemistry and the rapport.

With the tone they were going with on the film, there were elements of — to use their words — my eccentric personality that helped to make it believable.

Cruise and I got on so well. And that was it!

It's so much about chemistry when it comes down to it because they didn't have a fully written script in place at the time when we started filming.

They had ideas and they wanted to make sure that these characters were fully formed. Several things fell into place at the right time.

HOW DID DIRECTOR ALEX KURTZMAN PITCH THE CHARACTER TO YOU?

He needed it to be someone who could really stand up against Cruise’s character on the big screen.

And it was all about making sure that she was strong, intelligent, brave and had the physical dexterity.

Doing action scenes, you must be believable in that physical space. As I'd done a lot of sports growing up, I was comfortable with most of the physical demands from the movie.

Kurtzman had a clear idea of what he wanted from the actors and actresses.

There were some elements about Halsey that I have, so naturally it worked for us.

AND YOU GET TO KEEP THE ACCENT...

I did! I think it was because I spent so much time with Cruise, telling him all my best jokes!

And he said, "Oh my god, just be you. We just want Annabelle."

So I took that as a compliment, and then realised that, maybe, it wasn't. (laughs)

They kept using the terms “oddball, quirky, weird” but in my head, I'm sophisticated, sleek, an intellectual!

DID YOU TAKE ANYTHING FROM THE SET?

I took everything. I still wear Halsey's ring.

I always take a little memento. There were so many beautiful artifacts and I asked for some set pieces as well.

AND YOU SHOT IN LONDON TOO?

We shot around the city, and in the Natural History Museum.

We were there before it opened. Then they opened the museum and we were upstairs running around as if the museum was being crushed by a sandstorm.

There were all these tourists on the ground floor – little did they know that Tom Cruise was right above them causing havoc!

HOW WAS KURTZMAN AS A DIRECTOR?

When you've spent that much time behind the scenes – building movies from the ground up, you really understand the nature of filmmaking in its entirety.

He understands story and character and that's what he brought to the set every day.

There are a lot of directors who are very visual but they don't always focus so much on developing the character with you.

Kurtzman was adamant about going through the characters with the actors, sharing his thoughts and listening to ours as well.

His temperament and his belief in us was incredible. And his willingness to listen: He really wanted to hear ideas and opinions.

So I feel very thankful to him. He is such a lovely man. I'd do anything for Kurtzman.

The Mummy opens in cinemas nationwide on June 8

Courtesy of United International Pictures (UIP)

FUN FACTS

WHILE there are many fun facts on Annabelle Wallis, some truly stand out.

For example, she takes pride in the fact that she did not vomit during the zero gravity scene in The Mummy.

The scene, which was shot in two days and took 64 takes to complete, saw a lot of the crew feeling nauseous — all except for Wallis and her co-star Tom Cruise.

Here are some other fun facts about the gutsy actress:

1. Her uncle is the famous Irish actor Richard Harris, who plays Professor Albus Dumbledore in the first two films of the Harry Potter franchise: Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone (2001) and Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets (2002).

2. She is reportedly dating Chris Martin, the lead vocalist of English band Coldplay.

The two have been together for two years. The actress has even provided vocals for Up&Up, taken off the band’s latest album, A Head Full of Dreams.

3. Wallis made her feature film debut in Bollywood movie Dil Jo Bhi Kahey, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Revathi. In it, she plays Sophie Besson, who falls in love with Jai (Karan Sharma).

4. Although Wallis was born in Oxford, she spent much of her childhood in Portugal where she went to Saint Dominic’s International School.

5. The actress is obsessed with TV dramas. Some of her favourites are Breaking Bad, House Of Cards, The Fall and Top Of The Lake.

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