Interview with Charlie Bewley (Demetri)

He’s this tracker. He obviously does a lot of running, and I do loads of running, so I just worked out of it. It was very easy for me to play the character, as opposed to building the character from the bottom up … it’s a lot easier when you’re acting, to do that. So I just made the character myself, and when I got called back for the second audition, it was in front of Chris [Weitz] and it was in front of Wyck [Godfrey], and I was just myself. [Laughs] I was just, you know, charming and smiles and everything. I wasn’t typically vampiric, in that sense. And I think Chris liked it; he started laughing.

In Stephenie Meyer’s book, Demetri is described as polite …
CB: Very polite, yeah. And I’m just a nice English guy. I’ve had my trouble, and it’s gone. I’m just a nice guy who doesn’t want any trouble. [Laughs] I think Demetri is someone who ... seeks out trouble and adventure. He’s getting very bored, having been alive for thousands of years. I think he’s interested in trouble -- nonspecific -- or adventure -- nonspecific -- or any kind of action. I think being a vampire, or being alive for 3000 years, just makes you very bored. Look at Marcus’ character; he’s very apathetic, and he just sat there … he just wants to die.

Do you actually know Demetri’s backstory, based on what’s in the book?
CB: I made it up.

Tell us!
CB: Demetri was obviously Italian. And at a young age, he was orphaned. He was living in the foothills of Mt. Vesuvius -- the big, volcanic mountain -- and in 900 A.D., it erupts. Lava starts pouring down, and his parents get caught in it. Their house gets taken apart. I outrun the lava, into the foothills, where I found a place where I was safe, essentially. But I couldn’t provide for myself, so I was thrown into slavery. I went through various masters but they couldn’t pin me down, because I was so nonchalant and arrogant and just ran away from everyone; it was really frustrating. I kept getting sold on to the next guy -- the next master, for the best price they could get -- and I was too nice for someone just to kill me.

So eventually I got sold to a merchant trader in Rome, who dealt specifically in fighters, and I found myself in front of the Coliseum with these baying, bloodthirsty Romans, desperate for gladiatorial combat. I didn’t have any fighting skills, so I just ran around for three hours and no one could catch me -- until somebody shot me with an arrow. I was lying on the floor, I was about to die, I was waiting for Commodus’ verdict of thumbs up or thumbs down, and he’s about to give it a down when Aro comes in and whispers in his ear and says, “Don’t kill him, I’ll take him.” Aro converts me in the depths of the Coliseum himself, and I’ve been working loyally for him ever since.

Did you think of sharing this with Stephenie?
CB: [Glances at Stephenie nearby] Oh, yes, Stephenie’s there! I actually asked Stephenie …

Are you going with the crew to Italy?
CB: Yeah, we leave on the 24th. I can’t wait.

How many weeks will you be there?
CB: Just five days, I think.

For those who haven’t read the books, does your character come back?
CB: He does. I recur until right at the end, when I get killed off.

What power would you give Demetri if you could give him another power?
CB: That’s a good question. [Pauses to think] I think he’s a little bit pissed off that Jane has taken over the head of the Volturi; he hates that. Ergo, I think he would take a psychological power …

2:15PM Charlie has to go back to set, but he promises me that he’ll figure out the power he’d give Demetri and report back when he decides.

2:30PM Mr. Bewley motions me over as we watch filming. Seems he really has been pondering the question. Love it.

In an English-accented whisper, Charlie reveals that he’d give Demetri: “the power to change people’s minds.”