CHANNING TATUM, JAMIE BELL, KEVIN MACDONALD interviews on THE EAGLE

COVERED BY: BRENDA MEYER

On having four films out this year and if he's risking overexposure:
Channing Tatum: [The Eagle] was supposed to be out last year, but I think we got a little afraid of Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps and the sort of marketing engine behind that thing, and we didn't put it out then, and I think 300 had been successful in this sort of first quarter so I think we were hoping to get lucky, but now we have a bunch of big movies opening up this weekend too, so no winning in this time. But either way, there's not really a strategy behind it, but I do want to take some time [off] to kind of try to reinvent and get better and maybe get behind the camera a little more. I do want to try to direct at some point and start failing really early (laughter), start shooting videos and commercials and then hopefully do some narrative.

Do you worry about box office:
Channing Tatum: A little bit, but I let my people do that, my representation, they think about that stuff. If you think about it, you will go insane. Obviously, you want every movie to do well.

What drew him to Esca and this role:
Jamie Bell: I'm a big fan of The Defiant Ones, which is a really beautiful film, very old-fashioned, very simple story. I saw a lot of similarities between that and this [film] and I just really loved the idea of these two guys are on this journey and they hate each other, and ultimately there's something very valid and valuable they have to learn from one other. And the fact that your closest friend might also be your closest enemy was, I thought, kind of an interesting idea.

I think that Esca as a people - as part of the Brigante - a people who have had their way of life completely stripped away from them and have someone else's values and culture kind of thrust upon you whether you like it or not. And not only that, but your whole family dies at the hands of them, and then you're captured and then you're enslaved to these people... And the sense of guilt and the sense of shame that this character has that he didn't die with his family, and now he's enslaved to these people and is kind of thrown into these rings and made their sport and kind of laughed at... That sense of aggression and nothingness and wanting to die, y'know, nothing left to live for, that was huge.

And I think, going from that part to where he ends up, as someone who does have something to live for, does kid of reclaim his own honor back because honor is incredibly important to him, I thought it was a really beautiful journey. And I think that what they learn from each other is incredibly valid. And, y'know, the story is very old fashioned in the same way that The Defiant Ones is and those similarities kind of drew me to it.

Also, Kevin MacDonald is a filmmaker who makes films about two men and landscape. That's what he does. Touching the Void is a great survival movie, it portrays that landscape brilliantly. I really believe the pain, I really believe the suffering. In Last King of Scotland, the landscape is a political landscape, it's incredibly tumultuous; I totally believe these two guys. And, y'know, it's a similar thing with this - it's a harsh landscape, it's a harsh terrain, and these people who have got this journey to go on. And he tells that story really well and I wanted to be a part of it.

Learning Scottish Gaelic for the part:
Jamie Bell: It was one of the many challenges on this film - learn to fight with a sword, learn to ride a horse, learn a dead language (laughs) - so is there anything else, you want me to tap dance as well...although I've got that part down, haven't I? But it was one of the challenges, it's the reason why you do stuff.

I think language grounds you to a character, makes you appreciate a character more, appreciate the time, the history and everything else. It is, for the most part, a pretty dead language. There are pockets of the United Kingdom that still have this as their main language, but they're really, really small and they have to be protected, because it's dying out. But I understood that I would never really fully get my head around the language and really understand everything in such a short period of time. I had to learn it phonetically, like the same way I would learn an accent.

I had recordings and we had Gaelic speakers from universities come and sit me down and go through everything. And the writer, Jeremy Brock, realized that he couldn't actually write everything for them to kind of interpret because the languages are so different that you would lose character in the translation, so we had to kind of rely on a lot of people to kind of fill in the blanks. But me and Tahar [Rahim, who plays the Seal Prince] really had the hardship of kind of having to do it on camera and kind of good lengthy scenes of it as well, so we would just sort of wander around our hotel in Scotland with our iPods on going (mimics Gaelic sounds).

And when it goes wrong, I mean, it really goes wrong. Really wrong, like embarrassingly wrong. So there's a few times...well, there was only once in one scene where it happened to me where I was just like, I cannot wrap my tongue around these words, but for the most part it was fine. But, it was a challenge the same way the horse riding was a challenge.

How did he come to The Eagle:
Kevin MacDonald: I read the book when I was a boy and it stuck with me, and about seven years ago, I heard that Duncan Kentworthy, the producer, had the rights to it, and I hadn't really thought of the book for a long time, but I knew Duncan a little bit. And I approached him and said, I'd love to do this, I loved the book, and he said no. Because, at that stage, I hadn't done a feature, I'd only done Touching the Void. But then I did Last King of Scotland and he said yes. So I started developing the script with him from scratch and we spent awhile doing it.

I was going to do Eagle immediately after Last King of Scotland, but because I was so fascinated about the idea of making a film about journalism, I left it on the back burner and did State of Play, then went back to Eagle.

On how he cast the film, with Americans as Romans and Brits as Brigante:
Kevin MacDonald: Because, first of all, conceptually, my idea, mistakenly, perhaps, was I wanted to have a new look at the convention that says Romans always have to be British. Every single movie, up to the present day, including the Rome HBO thing, sort of has this idea that the classical world was peopled by individuals educated at Oxford or Cambridge, why I don't know. Well, actually, I do know, because it's to do with the fact that when they started making talkies set in the Roman world - in the classical world - Britain was an Empire still in the 1930s and 40s. Also, there's some history, I think, between America and Britain, isn't there, I can't remember what it is (laughs)...so there's a historical reason for why it happened.

But nowadays, when Britain is practically a third world country and certainly a minor player on the world stage, it seems absurd to continue what is totally just a convention. And I thought, it's much more interesting thing to make this a parallel to be about the world's sole remaining superpower - the United States - and to see the Romans as Marines, effectively. And that seemed a more resonant way of looking at the whole thing.

And so I started looking for young American actors. I needed somebody on the cusp between childhood and adulthood and I met a few people. Then I met Channing and he had played a lot of soldiers. And he had, immediately, to me, that kind of straightforwardness of purpose and single-mindedness that I associated with a soldier, a kind of honorable, decent man who, you know, you send him on a mission and he's going to fulfill that mission no matter what. And that seemed every interesting. He seemed to embody a lot of the best parts about America to me, actually.

So after I cast him, it was a very easy leap to go to Jamie, because it's an Odd Couple story. I needed somebody who was his opposite, both physiologically and also mentally. And you look at Jamie, and he's a little less trustworthy and his eyes dart around and he's a bit feral and he's small and he's very British looking. And also, coincidentally, I discovered when I met him, he's actually from near Sunderland and that is actually where the tribe, the Brigantes, both in the film and the book, are from. He's from exactly that area, so maybe he is a Brigante, and maybe that's typecasting.

Is the 9th Legion myth based on fact:
Kevin MacDonald: Well, it's an interesting thing, because originally, when the book was written, in 1954, people thought that the 9th Legion had disappeared and that this was historical fact. Then, in the subsequent years, people decided, no that's not true, they didn't disappear, they just went to Germany. Which is much the same thing. (laughs)

But actually, very strangely, while we were researching the film, we came across archaeologists who were revising that opinion again and now the belief is now yes, they did. They probably didn't disappear completely, because they were reformed in Germany, but actually they suffered a terrible defeat and lost a huge number of their men and that's the current thinking.

Effectively, for that period of time, there's so little known for sure. There's a few bits of writing, but other than that, it's all archaeological evidence and you're dependent on scraps of information - inscriptions, gravestones, bits of graffiti, coins - and then piecing together an hypothesis of what happened. And of course, when you go north of [Hadrian's] Wall, when you get to Scotland, it becomes even more sketchy. There's not really any archaeological evidence. There's evidence to say that there were tribes who worshipped seals who lived on the coast and the seal in Scotland continues to have a folkloric significance - there are these people called the Selkies who are half-seal/half-man - and that stretches back to the time when people worshipped the seal, and in [the book] Agricola there's an inscription of people in Scotland painting themselves and shaving their heads, so you can take a few of those little clues that you actually have from archaeology or writing and extrapolate and create a culture. And what we tried to do was create a culture that felt anthropological, it felt real.

On what he learned working with Donald Sutherland:
Channing Tatum: He's so thorough. I mean, he's been doing this so long, longer than I've been alive, truly... Hogan's Heroes, M*A*S*H, you name it...Animal House, Backdraft...and he really cares. He really still cares. I mean, I just got to work with Al Pacino as well (in Son of No One) and they both...they haven't lost that fire that still wants to make them get up every day and go read scripts and get to play make believe. After each take, they don't just phone it in and walk out, they're like, alright, what else can we do?

And [Donald]'s there every second off-camera, and he's just such a pro and if that does anything other than make you want to be better... It's such a good thing for a young actor to see and just make yourself know that there's a reason why these guys are so great.

On if actors like Sutherland and Pacino stay in character all the time:
Channing Tatum: No way, at least not Sutherland. He tells jokes and stuff and then he'll drop right into 128 A.D. Roman and you're all, goddamn, how do you do that, and Jamie and I are trying to hold onto his coattails. You should see us trying to keep up with the guy. He's such a pro at it.

But Al Pacino, he wasn't joking around, but I dunno if he was in character all the time. You could have a conversation with the guy.

Christian Bale is probably the only other person who - and God, I respect him so much - he kind of stayed in and around where he was the whole time [on Public Enemies], but I don't know if I could do that. I want to try it on one movie. Truly stay in [character] the entire time - that takes discipline.

On why he took the role of Marcus in The Eagle:
Channing Tatum: Braveheart and Gladiator are two of my favorite movies of all time so, it was full fantasy. But really, I came to the movie because of Kevin MacDonald. I mean, Kevin is, by far, one of the better filmmakers that is out right now, or is ever to come. I mean, Touching The Void - if you can make a reenactment movie that compelling and that, sort of engaging... I was head over heels to try to even get in front of him, let alone be in one of his movies.

He does relationships so well that it's insane. Between Touching the Void and Last King of Scotland, I mean, look at that relationship. It's very similar to Esca and Marcus. This script has a very interesting structure to it - it's not your normal thing. It's very different. Jamie doesn't come in until almost the first act break.

What do you look for in a part:
Jamie Bell: I guess it's basically ways I can either really embarrass myself or possibly kill myself, in this case. You know, even though I'd learned the sword fighting, it's very difficult to teach a dancer - well, Channing's kind of slightly different because he's had a lot of combat experience - but trying to teach a very kind of technical dancer like me to sword fight is incredibly complicated because the one rule - which is a very specific rule in dancing - you don't lead with the same arm and foot at the same time. It's a very specific rule, you just never do it, and I'm hardwired so that would never happen. And sword fighting is all about that - lead with the arm, lead with the foot. So I'm having to do this incredibly unnatural thing and the fight choreographer literally had to rework the way he teaches sword fighting for me so I could understand it, because he was all, no you step out like that and I was all, dude, I can't do it, my brain doesn't let me do it. So the first two weeks of fight choreography, I literally didn't have a sword in my hand, I just basically danced around the room with my feet and then put a sword in at the end.

On if they did their own stunts in the film:
Jamie Bell: Pretty much everything. I didn't do one and I'll tell you why. There's a scene in the film where we're running away, running away, running away from these people and there's these kind of rivers and small waterfalls and pools. And my character's kind of helping Channing's because he's physically out of it, he's expelled everything he has, he's on his last legs, and I'm trying to drag him to the finish line. And the water is so cold. It's so cold that it literally sends a message to your brain - very specifically - which says if you don't get out of here, you're going to die. And the pressure it puts on your chest - you can't take a big breath, it crushes your chest, your heart's beating as fast as horses hooves and you just literally can't think. And then they say Action. And you're like oh, right, oh my God, I'm supposed to be doing something, grab Channing, fall in the pool, I'm not a very strong swimmer, oh my God, I might actually die, is someone even really like watching me, am I going to die.

And I did it once, and then I like looked at Kevin and I was like, Kevin, this is like bad, this is bad, and then he said, can you do it once more, and I did it once more, and after the second time, I was really struggling to even like move through the water, because the clothes get heavy and you're dragging. And the medic kind of came over and I was like freezing and shaking and they kind of had to take me away, and Channing did it a further eight or nine times. So he kind of got me on that one.

I mean, listen, most actors would be all, look I did everything. But the truth, my body was like, no, you're going to die. And [my stunt double] made me look good, so I'm happy about that, he definitely earned his pay that day because, to be honest, with physically kind of capable actors, stunt guys literally stand around all day at craft services, that's all they do. And when they're actually called up to do something, they have a great time and that's what they're there for, when the actor goes, oh, I'm not too sure about this one. And they step in and make you look great. And [my stunt double] he's' a great guy, he actually rides a horse beautifully - fortunately, we never had to use him for that.

On if the physical side of acting uses a different acting muscle than the emotional scenes for The Eagle:
Channing Tatum: I think they're very similar. I mean, it's not just action for the sake of action. We talk about it a lot with the sword master - he wants to tell a story with the action. One, it's finding a style of fighting that's yours - Jamie and I, our styles are very different in the film. Fighting for men back then was just a way of life, especially if you're a soldier, obviously, but for Jamie['s character], it was for survival. His was more animalistic and carnal, and mine was very trained - brutal and efficient and getting it done any way you could get it done. But if you watch it, it's the moments in between the action, of the looks to see where Jamie is, the fear, watch it, look for the next person, and then reacting at the last second...that's the acting in it. If you're just going through the motions, it won't be as sort of dangerous and compelling.

On if he's recovered from all of the injuries he sustained while making The Eagle (including the infamous one to his groin):
Channing Tatum: Yes, thank God. It was, by far, the craziest thing that's ever happened to me, but I'm good now. It's bled over into other movies - and I don't use bleed lightly - but yeah, it's kind of been the thing, it's kind of always come up. I mean, I remember the paramedic being, I know it's no consolation right now, but it's good thing that it hurts because there's no nerve damage and I was like, thank God, and then immediately went right back into screaming.

On the fathers/sons motif in the film:
Kevin MacDonald: I mean, fathers and sons is what the film, at its core, is about. There's a motif that goes through it, obviously starting at the beginning with the flashbacks to [Marcus] with his father and the sort of idolization that he has for his father. There's the fact that he's searching for the truth as to what happened to his father: In a way he can't live his own life properly until he finds out what happened - did his father die a hero, did he die a coward? He's been taunted all the time in school, one imagines, for being the son of the man that lost the Legion and he's a kind of outcast because of it, he's a bad omen, even.

And then, with Jamie's character, Esca, he's lost his father and feels shame that he didn't die as well and he's sort of given up. He's the sort of the last of the Mohicans in a sense and he feels ashamed because he feels, well, everyone else died and I didn't, and that's why he eventually, in the [gladiator] ring where Marcus meets him, he's trying to kill himself because finally he has the bravery, in a way, to do it. He wants to die.

And in the same way, at that stage, Marcus wants to die, because his character is someone whose only aim in life is to be a great soldier and regain his family's honor and all he knows about is soldiering and being this physical man, and then he has this injury and suddenly he can't be that person anymore. And that's something Channing really understood, because he's a very athletic, physical person, and we had lots of discussions about what would happen to you if you couldn't dance, if you couldn't do sports, if you had this sort of terrible injury.

But so when they meet, they both are people who feel that their life is not worth living anymore and through the journey they go on together they find, to be corny, a reason to go on living.

On the book to movie changes:
Kevin MacDonald: Primarily the thing that we changed was the relationship between Marcus and Esca which, in the book, is not actually so central. Marcus saves Esca in the book, and Esca is then a grateful servant in the rest of the story and that seemed, to me, to belong to the period in which the book was written, when people were more accepting of the idea of a good and faithful servant. Whereas, what interested me was the idea of these two people thrown together from these different cultures and they kind of hate each other and distrust each other, but they're forced to be together because Marcus has nobody else that can help him on this quest. So, that friction is the thing that's interesting, that's what's mostly changed because the book is not about their friendship. And hopefully this is a film that can appeal to both kids and adults, it's what I'd like, that's the idea.