Movieline talks to Billy Burke
Posted on 02. Mar, 2011 by amydod in News
Twilight fans who flock to see Drive Angry 3D this weekend in support of Billy Burke are in for a bit of a surprise, as the actor — who plays the calm, mustachioed father to Kristen Stewart’s Bella in Summit’s Twilight Saga films — swaggers his way through the South as a sexually-charged Satanic cult leader. To put it plainly, Burke’s Jim Jones-meets-Jim Morrison villain gives co-star Nicolas Cage a run for his money in the anti-subtlety department, and Burke clearly relished every second of the departure from Charlie Swan. Movieline spoke with Burke in Los Angeles about his “tasty” turn as Jonah King, a Satan-worshipper so evil that Nic Cage has to claw his way out of hell just to find him, his experience filming Drive Angry and Breaking Dawn in Louisiana, and his reunion with Catherine Hardwicke for the upcoming Red Riding Hood. And while Burke tried his best to play Movieline’s My Favorite Scene, can you blame him for having trouble picking just one moment from his favorite film of all-time?
It’s fun to see you go from playing a no-nonsense cop dad in The Twilight Saga to this off-the-wall cult leader in Drive Angry 3D. Were you looking for a departure from Charlie Swan?
I wouldn’t say that I was seeking it out, but I can say that when I read it I would have done anything that I could to work my way into the movie in any capacity. [Jonah King] was the character they approached me with, and it had been a long time since I had not only not played Charlie, but… in the first part of my career I did a lot of bad guys, and most of them were not very well-written. This guy was so well-written and so tasty and had so many places to go that I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it and see what we could create.
To read the rest of the interview visit Movieline.
