From Werewolf to the Silence
By
DJ Forrest
Marnix
Van Den Broeke, born 24th February 1976 in Axel is a Dutch actor,
professional dancer and a stuntman. He
was cast in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in 2004 as the werewolf
that Professor Lupin turns into whenever there’s a full moon. From then he went on to appear as the
physical death in Hogfather (2006), The Deaths of Ian Stone as the Harvester 1
(2007), the Colour of Magic (2008), also as The Shadow in Inkheart (2008) in
Terry Pratchett’s Going Postal as Mr Pump (2010) and in 2011 he played The
Silence in Doctor Who, in the episodes The Impossible Astronaut; Day of the
Moon; The Wedding of River Song.
Marnix
is extremely tall, in fact 6’ 7” in his stocking feet and it’s not surprising
that he was chosen for the role of werewolf, or the role as The Silence, both
slim characters. From the off screen
photos of the werewolf and from Marnix in costume it looked a physically
demanding job as the werewolf judging by the one where he’s off the ground
strapped into the harness. Project:
Torchwood had the opportunity of interviewing Marnix recently over his roles as
the werewolf on HP and as The Silent (the singular name) in Doctor Who.
When
the werewolf appeared in Harry Potter, Prisoner of Azkaban I didn't realise it
was an actual creature that you were dressed up in, for it being that tall, I
was under the belief that the entire costume was CGI. How much training did you have, to get used
to the movement as you were quite a few inches off the ground weren't you and
it was an incredibly slim wolf, obviously you're a very slim person, but did
you have to watch what you ate in order to stay in trim for that role?
Marnix: What’s been used in the movie in the
end is a mixture of real images and CGI. After we shot all the werewolf scenes
it’s been decided for whatever reason as to do quite a bit of the creatures’
action with the computer. I think based on the fact that it was physically not
possible to deliver some movements in the suit. For example running on all
fours. In the scene you see the werewolf running. I could hardly walk on the
stilts on that steep slope of the set. So let stand alone running.
Saying that, we trained
for half a year prior to shooting of our scenes. Because of the design of the
werewolf costume with all the animatronics, the stilts and the position we
would be in whilst in the suit we needed to be ready and prepared. We practiced
two days a week in the beginning, full days of hardcore gym time, later we
would do full weeks with training at the studios with parts of the costume,
stilts etc.
We also went to the zoo
to watch the behaviour of the wolves in their pack. LOL. They sleep all day.
Being a prof. dancer at
the time I was well fit. One of the reasons they hired me for the job. Besides
my height, body type and acting abilities. We started off with three, one guy
had to leave after a week because of the difficulty of the training. Spencer
and myself made it till the end. We have similar body types, Spencer was a
prof. kick boxer, I was a prof. dancer so the combination of the two of us
training together was interesting, funny and very cool. Being the two of us
with the difference in movement would be used in different scenes. Also because
it would be too risky and impossible to just do it with one actor.
For
the role of the Silence in Doctor Who, how long did it take from start to
finish getting into the prosthetic costume?
Marnix: As compared to the werewolf costume this
was much easier. For the character of the Silence we only had a headpiece and hands
gloves on besides a normal suit. It would only take 5 minutes in the end to put
the head and hands on. We had a great team working on and off set who were used
to work with creatures, animatronics etc. They did a great job.
I
went to a Children's Gala in my area as the Silence, my daughter went as the
Judoon, I looked extremely scary but it was the suit that I couldn't get right,
I couldn't get the wet look of the suit, what did the team use to make you look
as if you'd stepped out of a rain shower?
Marnix: Honestly? I don’t know, or actually
I did but forgot. ;-)
What
is your funniest moment on set as the Silence?
Marnix: There are many! We had such a good
time on set. My fellow actors, Matt, Karen, Arthur, Alex and Mark liked a laugh
and were very funny at times. I miss them around now I think about it. Of
course bumping my head, wandering off and walking against stuff during takes
would be very funny at times.
When
you're in costume is it very comfortable or do you find you sweat a lot inside
all of that latex or rubber? And when you're in costume, I'd assume you're
going to be inside it all day, so you'd be limited for how often you could go
to the bathroom, or take food and drinks?
Marnix: It depends on the job and costume
actually. With the Silence it was quite comfortable as it was just a suit. They
wouldn’t let you sit around waiting in your costume if not needed for a scene.
And in between scenes I got to take off the mask and hands every time.
How
did you get into this business?
Marnix: At the time just before the castings
of HP I was in London dancing for a show called The Snowman. My friend from the
cast knew a friend who was having this agency for dancers. So I signed up with
them and a few weeks later I got the casting for HP3. After many casting rounds
I got the job. ;-)
For
anyone who wanted to go into the industry doing the same as you, what advice
would you have for them? As I can imagine your work would be very demanding, as
I know film sets can be quite long hours and often sitting about waiting in
costume. But for people who watch you in
the films and programmes, what is it that keeps you going, that makes you want
to sit for hours in makeup and prosthetics, what is it that drives you?
Marnix: I like to transform. Character wise
and physically. To make a character mine by using different parts of me. Always
seeking for other characteristics and behaviour to find that part in you and to
make it yours. Blowing life into a fictional character as well as a real one.
Human, inhuman, beast, monster whatever! What drives me is finding myself in
the characters I play, meeting all the interesting people on a job. And getting
the chance to see the world the great places where it takes you like locations.
What
projects are you working on at the moment?
Marnix: I’m doing casting direction on a TV commercial
at the moment. Apart from that there is not yet any news I can share. There
might be soon,.. ;-)
Thank
you very much for the interview.
Marnix: It’s been a pleasure answering this
questionnaire for you and all your followers. I like when people are passionate
about things and like to bring that about and show it to the world. So please
keep continue with your blog and thanks for all your support on the series.
People appreciate this very much and so do I.
To
find out more about Marnix Van Den Broeke you can follow him on Twitter and
Facebook and his new Tumblr page at:
You
will also find details about Marnix on Wikipedia and IMDB
Source
info and photographs: Wikipedia, Marnix Van Den Broeke Facebook Page
Special
thanks to Marnix Van Den Broeke for the interview
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