When Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, it simultaneously destroyed and immortalized the Roman city of Pompeii, encrusting the city and its inhabitants in iconic ashen fixtures, many of which can still be seen today. When Pompeii erupts into theaters this weekend, a similar dichotomy of fury and affection will be on display in the form of Atticus, an enslaved gladiator champion played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje. Atticus battles with the possibility that the Roman’s won’t live up to their word of granting him his freedom with one more arena victory, as well as his potential defeat at the hands of the Celt Milo (though he doesn’t seem to worried about that), causing tension to boil to the surface in metaphorical ways. But Vesuvius’ impending doom casts a literal cloud of doom over the entire city, leaving royalty, politicians and slaves alike with a much larger and lethal concern. Before Pompeii floods theaters Feb. 21, Wrestling with Pop Culture talks to Akinnuoye-Agbaje about working with co-star Kit Harington, director Paul W.S. Anderson and previous films with The Rock.
The disaster at the center of Pompeii is based on historical events. Is the character you play based on anyone who actually existed or is it more speculative?
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje portrays Atticus the champion gladiator in Pompeii. Photo by Caitlin Cronenberg.
It was more speculative. There was a lot of research done in preparation for the movie. As you’re probably well aware, the surviving relics in Pompeii were the starting point. What Paul Anderson was really keen on was to trace the possible lives of these lava-carved victims, from gladiators to servants to Roman royalty. The movie almost starts from these molten-carved figures and we see how they would have lived and arrived at that situation.
Your character in Pompeii is oddly similar to, yet drastically different from, the character you play in Thor: The Dark World. What comparisons do you see between these two characters? How did Thor possibly prepare you for Pompeii?
Actually, they couldn’t be any more different. Atticus is a captive African slave and because of his physical prowess, grows to become the champion gladiator of Pompeii. In Rome you could win your freedom by winning a certain amount of fights and he has one fight left to win before he wins his freedom. That fight is with none other than the slave he is imprisoned with played by Kit Harington. So there’s a very tense and unusual dynamic between two men who are forced to live together, but have to kill each other. The similarities, perhaps, in the characters are the nobility. They’re both characters portrayed in dire circumstances. Atticus is a man and gladiator of principle and honor, and he exudes that in the way he fights and how he treats his opponents. He also has a very compassionate heart, which is brought out in the relationship between Milo and Atticus. The marked difference between the two characters in Thor and Pompeii is that Atticus is a hero.
This was your first time working with director Paul W. S. Anderson. What was that experience like for you? What were you expectations going into this film based on the previous movies he’s directed?
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje takes direction from Paul W.S. Anderson. Photo by Caitlin Cronenberg.
My experience working with Paul was one of awe and excitement. Paul has a very kinetic energy to his movies, which I enjoy. This was a very dear pet project for him. I like his direction style. He’s very clear about the vision of how the movie should look, right down to who he wanted to portray the characters. This movie is very physical but at the same time he still has a sensibility towards the romance and drama. He’s a man of few words, which is what I like, and he’s concise and direct. But most of all, he’s very supportive of the actors to bring their input and to really give birth to the characters themselves. It was a great collaborative experience and I loved it.
Earlier in your career, you worked with The Rock in The Mummy Returns and again in Faster. What were those experiences like? Do you have any plans to work with professional wrestlers again in the future?
The Rock is a great guy to work with. I really enjoyed both movies with him. There aren’t any times in the foreseeable future to work on any specific projects, but I’m sure our paths will cross again at some point and I look forward to that. He’s a great guy and a consummate professional. I enjoyed working with him.
You’ve been quite busy over the past few years in film, and before that you made a name for yourself on TV. Do you have any other big projects coming out in the near future?
Yeah. I have both, actually. I return to TV on the NBC pilot Odyssey … and I’m excited to be going back to TV. I’m also going to be appearing in Annie, the film version of the musical, starring opposite Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz. So that’s a different side to what fans have grown accustomed to me playing. It’s more lighthearted, warm and humorous. I even get to do a song and dance and that’s a lot of fun. Those are a couple of things you can look forward to this year. We’re actually dabbling with animation as well, so there’s a particular project I’m going to come on with to do some animated voices.
Both you and your Pompeii co-star Kit Harington made names for yourself with TV shows before jumping to the big screen. How would you say TV helped prepare you for film? What was it like working closely with someone else who got his start on TV?
Adewele Akinnouye-Agbaje and co-star Kit Harington in “Pompeii”. Photo by Caitlin Cronenberg.
TV is a great discipline. I look at it as a form of boot camp. The shoot schedules are quite rigorous because the turnaround is very quick. I like that because it trains the actors to be ready. It’s a good discipline and a good grooming tool to prepare you for movies because things move quickly. As far as working with Kit, we derive from the same family that does a lot of acting for HBO. Not only did we have that in common, but we have similar cultural backgrounds because we’re British-born actors. That helped with the bonding of two actors and the two characters of Milo and Atticus. We could both talk about the expectations and what was involved with TV, and the subsequent success. I’ve been down that road and I could give him certain pointers and he shared what it’s like now. We also had a director in common who had worked with both of us at HBO, Alan Taylor, who shot Thor and also shot Game of Thrones. So, there were many things that allowed us to bond and share experiences.