A few months ago, we asked a few questions of the actor Bruce Hopkins, who graciously answered them. Now, three dead hard drives later, we get to finally share what he told us…
So many things have been written about Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” movies that even we here at Xenite.Org (as in Xena: Warrior Princess) sometimes have to remind ourselves there are OTHER aspects to New Zealand’s richly endowed entertainment industry. Most of the actors in the Jackson movies came from New Zealand (or nearby Australia), and they brought years of professional development and experience to the production.
Bruce Hopkins was awarded the role of Gamling, advisor to King Theoden of Rohan. In the Tolkien book, Gamling the Old lives in Westfold Vale and he is a grandfather (probably the equivalent of a local headman or chieftain) whom Erkenbrand, Lord of Westfold, has left in charge of Helm’s Deep. In the movies, Gamling becomes a much more important figure in Rohan’s hierarchy.
Bruce has spent more than 15 years entertaining people in live theatre, film, and television (including more than ten appearances across five of Xenite.Org’s favorite television shows: Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena: Warrior Princess, Young Hercules, Jack of All Trades — and, oh yeah, Cleopatra 2525).
When Bruce came to us back in January, asking if we’d be interested in talking about the movies with him, we said, “YEA, BABY!” (okay, he’s not yet appeared in an Austin Powers movie, but you never know…). Well, then someone wiped out our server…and his backup of the whole Xenite.Org network…And lost his computer and couldn’t receive or answer email for a month…and…well, Bruce finally contacted us again and said, “Hey, I still have all the answers, if you’re interested.”
YEA, BABY!
So, after much angst and contrition, we proudly present our exclusive, one-on-one email interview with Bruce Hopkins. Some of the questions were submitted by Xenite.Org staff members. We have provided a few embedded notes to clarify some points.
Xenite.Org: Of all the roles you’ve played, which did you enjoy most for:
The place…
BH: The role of Gamling in TTT, the location for Edoras, which was Mt Potts Station in the South Island of NZ. It was the most astounding setting, surrounded on three sides by snow capped mountains and rivers. In particular there was one day when it was all covered in fresh snow. Maginificent beauty.
The people you worked with…
BH: Kevin Smith. We worked together on 3 telefeatures called Lawless, a couple of Hercules and Xena eps, as well as a feature directed by Michael Hurst called Jubilee. Kevin was genuinely one of the most open and complete human beings I have ever known. There was always laughter and intelligent heart felt friendship. (NOTE: Kevin Smith is best known outside of New Zealand for his roles on Hercules and Xena as Ares, God of War and Iphicles, brother of Hercules — he died as the result of a tragic accident in February 2002 while working in China on the movie “Warriors of Virtue 2”.)
The role itself…
BH: Gamling in LOTR. Even though Gamling is not a big heroic role to play, it allowed me to be a part of what felt like a form of heaven on earth. For me the 45 days I spent shooting LOTR were truely blissful. Wonderful crew and cast, sumptuous food, plenty of coffee, amazing locations and of course working with the one and only Peter Jackson.
Xenite.Org: Of all the projects you’ve worked on, which set had the best food?
BH: Probably LOTR. However, the Hercules and Xena shoots had great catering also. Almost every job I have done in NZ has had very impressive food, and despite resolutions to myself saying I will take it easy, I can’t help literally pigging out.
Xenite.Org: What’s your favorite movie and why?
BH: “Hearts of Darkness”, about the making of “Apocalypse Now”. The tenacity, vision and shear passion of Francis Ford Coppola to stick with the project and get it in the can … was so inspiring. It allowed you to witness the brutal truths of making a movie under the most extreme conditions and on the edge of human tolerance. Also, I watched it with a very lovely woman and a nice bottle of wine.
Xenite.Org: Stage, television and silver screen – which acting do you like best?
BH: I know it may sound like I’m sitting on the fence but I do honestly love them all. Acting is the passion and the medium is almost irrelevant, even though they all require different approaches. However silver screen is what I am really interested in getting more off at the moment.
Xenite.Org: What lead from being a phys ed teacher to professional dancer?
BH: Oh Oh, it sounds like a recurring theme, but a woman lead me to discover dance. I had returned to commercial crayfishing (lobster) with my father after completing my PE training. An American friend came to NZ, so I drove him around the country, and while in Wellington we visited a woman I was friends with at university. She was rehearsing with a contemporary dance company when we caught up with her. Having never seen professional dance, I was blown away by the whole scene. They were sweating, getting paid to do it, and also dancing to wicked jazz by Dave Brubeck. I was hooked and launched myself into extensive training, landing a fulltime job after just 6 months. During the next 8 yrs I continued to learn on the job. (Note: Dave Brubeck is perhaps best known for his instrumental piece, “Take Five” — which many Americans may have heard in an American Express television commercial.)
Xenite.Org: Do you miss dancing when you’re acting in something that doesn’t require dancing?
BH: I only miss dancing when I watch an inspiring dance company perform. I am about to do a 2 night show of a physical/dance performance, backed by two full choirs, called St Mathews Passion. We’re performing in a cathedral. Four years ago I got asked to do a national tour with NZs all male company Black Grace (mostly Polynesian guys); it was one of the most physically demanding 2 months of my life, with me having to take pain killers every day for 6 weeks. Howvever I loved every second of it.
Xenite.Org: From a very curious person: why is there a Power Rangers Network link in the “related links” section on your web site?
BH: Power Rangers is filming here in Auckland, and I am part of a 6 person loop group. We provide the background human sounds and voices. I also voice the character of Choobo.
Xenite.Org: It says in your biography that you did a year as an exchange student in Iowa. Did that time have any particular influence on your life?
BH: It was a brilliant experience. The American education system was vastly different from that in NZ at that time. My life revolved around the ocean and swimming pools here in NZ. I think I swam once during the year in the States. It also gave me the realisation that the generalisations we make about other cultures are exactly that: gross generalisations.
Xenite.Org: Often people hear a name and immediately associate something with it – for example, you hear the name Ron Howard and you associate him with Opie (from the Andy Griffith Show), Happy Days, and quality movies. What would you want people to think of when they hear your name?
BH: That maybe I was someone who loved his children, and someone who had integrity. As an actor I would like to think I will be thought of as being able to make real what is unreal, bringing a humanity to the roles I play.
Xenite.Org: What one thing in your life are you the most proud of accomplishing, and what one thing are you the most proud to have done or been associated with? Something other than having children. A discrete setting and achieving of some goal is what we’re looking for.
BH: I realise in hindsight that at the age of 22 yrs, with no previous experience, I was able to set my mind & heart to a desire and achieve it. That was to become a professional dancer. It took a lot of hard work, and in my experience dance is the most disciplined, and least rewarded, of all the performing arts. I am proud to have been able to do that. Of late I have also taught myself to surf board ride on Auckland’s wild west coast, and am currently taking lessons and overcoming my fear of singing in public. I have sung at small public concerts 3 times to date. In terms of humanity, I spent 2 years visiting 2 elderly gentlemen and felt blessed to be able to sit with them each week, sipping tea and enjoying each others’ company. I am missing this very much and will soon begin to visit another of our older folk.
Xenite.Org: Is there a teacher or mentor you had that had any particular influence on what you have become or accomplished?
BH: There are actually a number of people who inspire me. Some of them are not performers but inspire me by showing that you can achieve anything you want, as long as you have the passion, persistence and faith. Then there are the big time inspirers like Nelson Mandela.
Xenite.Org: The anniversary of Kevin Smith’s death (February 15, 2002) has just passed – do you have a little story that we can share with the folks on our Kevin Smith forum?
BH: It is tempting to try and dig out some humorous event, but the fact is with Kev, there was very rarely time without humour. One of the amazing images I hold of Kev … is during lunch breaks on set. If he was in training (which was almost always) the cast and crew would all be hogging into the most sumptuous food, and Kev could often be seen eating out of a container filled with rice and tuna. He had amazing discipline in that area.
Xenite.Org: How did you get to be a part of The Lord of the Rings?
BH: Along with a zillion other actors, I was called in to do a generic bad guy audition. About 1½ years later I got a call asking my availability. I went to Wellington to shoot what was going to be maybe 8 days of filming. After 2-3 days I was approached by Phillipa Boyens and told that they liked my stuff and were going to look at aligning me with Theoden for more scenes. I shot for over 40 days altogether.
Xenite.Org: What was the most difficult part of participating in the LoTR movies?
BH: I am telling the truth when I say there was no difficult part. It was such a pleasure to be part of. If I ever felt a little sorry for myself, all I had to do was look around me at the crew. They busted their arses for 18 months, so my discomfit was minor. The most demanding aspect would have been trying to neck rein (one hand on the reins and one holding a bloody great lance) my horse (Charlie), whom the horse team had told me did not neck rein. That was a challenge, as I was a novice on horseback.
Xenite.Org: What was the most unexpected benefit from participating in the LoTR movies?
BH: Learning to ride a horse.
Xenite.Org: Did you have any untoward experiences while filming LoTR (falling off of a horse, etc.)?
BH: I had a few close calls when it came to falling off Charlie. On about my third night of filming (we were doing the Helms Deep battle), Bernard Hill (Theoden) turned to me after a take and asked me to check one of his ears. When I lifted his hair it was covered in blood. He told me he had seen one of the Urukai (Uruk-Hai) swipe my sword away and it had hit him in the ear. He had a stitch put in it and was back on set in about 40 minutes with a couple of pain killers and ready to kill more Urukai.
Xenite.Org: When Gamling helps Theoden don his armor in the movie, Theoden recites the poem (from the book) about Eorl the Young. It’s a very moving performance by Bernard Hill. What was going through your mind as he spoke? How many different shots were required to put that scene together? Did he actually say the entire poem all at once?
BH: I was focused on getting the sequence and timing of placing his armour on, as well as responding to his questions leading into the poem. It was such a wonderful scene to shoot, totally different from the dynamics of all the other scenes I was in. Bernard was wonderful to watch up close. We did quite a few different shots on that scene, and Peter went with a powerfully back lit feel to create the dream like quality. The poem was edited for the scene. (NOTE: The poem is recited by Aragorn for Gandalf, Legolas, and Gimli in the book, as he explains a little about Rohan’s culture to them.)
Xenite.Org: Who did you hang with on the set? What was the most interesting thing about that person or group of people?
BH: When Karl Urban was around I would hang with him and also John Leigh, who played Hama. I also hung out with members of the crew when they had time. There were many people I have worked with over the years crewing the film. Most of the time I would get myself in a position by the monitors to watch what was being shot and just marvel at the scale of the beast that was the filming of LOTR. Everyone had their interesting characteristics.
Xenite.Org: What is it like for an actor to fight a Warg and rider?
BH: It was interesting as I actually fought a stunt actress for most of the scene after Hama died, but also shot some footage where there was nothing, just me flailing with my blade.
Xenite.Org: Were there any surprises for you in the final cut of “The Two Towers”?
BH: Due to the fact that my role grew bigger from that in the book, I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of time Gamling had in the final cut.
Xenite.Org: Had you read the book before participating in the movie? Did you read or reread the book to prepare for your role?
BH: I have to be honest: no, I had not read the book prior to being cast. Once I found out I was in I bought a 2nd hand copy in Wellington and got stuck into it. What a read. The book I bought was quite cool also as it had been bound upside down in the cover, so I had to flip the book over and read from the back cover, if that makes sense.
Xenite.Org: In the book, Gamling is a grandfather who is left in charge of Helm’s Deep – in the movie your character is a vigorous Rider of Rohan serving at the King’s side. Do you think you could have made the grandfather role work as well as the younger man’s role?
BH: Yeah for sure, but of course there would have been less material to work with as there was no room to flesh out an older man’s story.
Xenite.Org: Since everyone has their own picture of Middle-earth, this question is not fishing for criticism of the movie. If Peter Jackson had asked your opinion on how to represent the Riders of Rohan, would you have done anything differently?
BH: No, I think they got the feel very well. There is a nobility fused with a rugged physicality. I actually tried to think of some music to help me gain a feel for being a Rohan. The album I came up with was Led Zeplin 4, and it turned out that Led Zeplin had written that album around their fascination with Tolkien. Take a look at photos of Robert Plant from Led Zep, pure Rohan. (NOTE: We have noticed that all of the LoTR movie actors casually refer to the Rohirrim as “the Rohans” — some of us have concluded the idiom is undoubtedly one of the conventions adopted by the cast and crew as a matter of convenience, since “Rohans” is equivalent to “Americans” and easier to pronounce than “RoHIRrim” — but we have never bothered to ask about where that usage actually developed.)
Xenite.Org: Your sword: real or fake? How did it feel? Did you get to keep it? Did you get to keep ANY souvenirs?
BH: I had a metal sword for some of the Helms Deep fight scenes (ask Bernard Hill, he copped it on his ear in one take), and prosthetic swords for other scenes. They felt great, had a good weight to them for a bit of authenticity, and no unfortunately I did not get to hold onto any souvenirs, apart from the wonderful memories, oh and there was a brilliant book I was presented with. It is one of only 100 that were made, most of us who were given them got each others autographs also, that was very cool, and a nice way to look back at the experience.
We wish very much to thank Bruce Hopkins for his patience (and having the presence of mind to save everything). The Xenite.Org Hard Drive Disasters of 2003 will, no doubt, become legendary. We lost over 40,000 pages of content, and many projects which had not yet been completed have been irretrievably lost. Being able to finally publish this interview is a very gratifying experience for us.
Follow Bruce Hopkins on Twitter and check out his official Website.