Sebastian Roché may be known for playing the most powerful vampire on The Vampire Diaries and The Originals, but Roché plays a mere mortal in his newest film, A Walk Among the Tombstones. In our first ever ‘on the go’ interview – Roché called uInterview from his car, and then again from his front porch – Roché dished on what it was like to work with Liam Neeson on their new film noir.

In A Walk Among the Tombstones, Roché stars alongside longtime action-vet Neeson and Downton Abbey heartthrob, Dan Stevens, but he wants fans to know that Neeson’s presence does not make this another Taken. “Everyone thinks that a Liam Neeson movie about someone who got kidnapped is Taken, but this is a totally different kind of movie,” Roché told uInterview in an exclusive video interview.

Roché currently stars as Mikael on The Originals, and, while his character in A Walk Among the Tombstones is a drug dealer, he is far from the super villain Roché plays on TV. “I’m supposedly a bad guy – in the film – I play this Russian drug dealer whose daughter gets kidnapped. So you have this supposed bad guy who finds himself in a very tragic and human situation, where he has to ask [for] help,” Roché revealed.

Roché also spoke to uInterview about making the move from sci-fi to action and what it was like going head-to-head with Liam Neeson onscreen.

UInterview

Article by UInterview

Leave a comment

Subscribe to the uInterview newsletter


Q: What attracted you to 'A Walk Among The Tombstones'? - Olivia Truffaut

What attracted me? The offer. No, no, no. But basically it's a film with Liam Neeson and the director, Scott Frank, who's an amazing writer. I kind of came on board last minute, they couldn't cast the role and my agents [sent me a] break down. I put myself on tape, sent it to Scott Frank and literally the next day, I had an officer for the role. So, it was a fast process. But it was cool, actually. It was not painful to wait for the answer. It was very fast, so it was really, really, exciting to be part of that movie, which is actually a very well written film and not at all like, you know...Everyone thinks that a Liam Neeson movie about someone who got kidnapped is 'Taken,' but this is a totally different kind of movie.

Q: How is it making the move from the sci-fi genre to a thriller? - Olivia Truffaut

It's actually a totally...What I liked about the film is it was a totally different genre, where the bad guy – I mean, I'm supposedly a bad guy - in the film I play this Russian drug dealer whose daughter gets kidnapped. So, you have this supposed bad guy who finds himself in a very tragic and human situation, where he has to ask help from a private investigator, played by Liam Neeson, to try to find his daughter without alerting police. So it's a very interesting film. It's not super action packed. It's more like a psychological, New York film noir.

Q: Was it intimidating stepping into an action film with Liam Neeson? - Olivia Truffaut

It wasn't intimidating. No, I don't get intimidated by it, no - we all go to the bathroom the same way! I don't get intimidated by that kind of stuff now. The only thing I would get intimidated by is if it was a very complex actor, which, you know, it was, but, otherwise, more than intimidation I was excited above and beyond.