Premiere Magazin, Frankreich, March 2001
Translation from French to English by "The Wolfsisters"
Born in Hawaii, raised in California , early
trained in Kung Fu - he had what it takes to be a champion, which he was several times in
the early 80th. But he had other plans. A smooth and "plastic" body, a profound
charm, a balanced personality that made him turn to cinema. After his debut in DIM SUM by
Wayne Wang, in a sequence which was cut in the final version , he multiplicate the parts
in Kung Fu movies. Just until the moment when Christophe Gans chooses him to incarnate the
sentimental killer in "Crying
Freeman", in which he proved his actor's ability. The benefit was limited,
because of the relative confidentiality of the film, come out only in Europe and Japan but
not in the US. Meanwhile, Dacascos keeps going acting with a certain success in action
movies. Among other things, he portrayed the leading character in the TV series "The Crow". In "Pacte des Loups" he plays an
American indian who - in opposition with the speeches of a Europe in changes - shows a
intuitive and universal intelligence. A role that resembles his own personality.
| Question: | What are your common points with your
character ?
|
| MD: | Mani is the character that I wish to be, one
day. I share with him the love of the nature and animals, even if he understands them
better than I do. We talk about him, of extrasensorial perceptions or vibrations, but Mani
doesn't talk about it, he lives it. His hyper sensibility allows him to go from this
dimension to another, or talk to his ancestors, to the trees and to animals. I think that
everybody has this ability, but we have lost it. If we think about it, how much time per
day do we spend walking barefoot on the earth? Except when I'm in Hawaii, I have rarely
direct contacts with the earth. When I'm in contact with the water I revive with the
nature. At home [Los Angeles], I'm surfing.
|
| Question: | What did you learn for the movie ?
|
| MD: | Horseback riding. Mario Luraschi and his team
helped me for being complety cool with horses. So right now, I want a horse and it's good
because my wife comes from Texas, she's grew up with horses. Otherwise, I studied the
Mohawk language with a Canadian diction teacher, whose grandmother still talks this
language. Finally I had never used a Tomahawk before, but it's similar to some Chinese
weapons. So, with some skills and weapon experienceyou can adapt easily.
|
| Question: | How do you manage to wear these light clothes
with these winter temperatures ?
|
| MD: | I would not do that just for fun ! But it's
interresting, because the costume allows somehow to find the character. Mani is Canadian,
I come from Hawaii, these are two places in the opposite extrem of each other. So I can't
think as Mark. If I can understand why Mani is dressed like that by such a weather, the
audience will be able too. On the other hand, doing martial arts is a good mental and
physical training. At the beginning of the shooting, to become impregnated with my
character, I oblige myself to stay in the cold and stay relaxed. It's not only a kind of
discipline, it's a way for understanding the nature too. It's important to know your
capacity, and be able to say : "I'm hungry, but I won't eat". This develop the
conscience, the respect. We figure out how much the body is fragile. I talked with my wife
about that. We can't understand the people who died by hunger in Somalie if we have never
known hunger ourselves.
|
| Question: | Watching you work with choreographer Philip
Kwok, it seems that you could understand each other, either French, Chinese or American
|
| MD: | We say that action talk more than words, and,
in this situation, it's 100% true. If we could not do a move, Philip was doing it for us.
Instead of talking, he showed it. All was only body language, it was fantastic. I was
really impressed by the ability of the adaptation of the French guys. They were all
talented, humble and eager to learn. Which had built a solidary group. Working during
months in cellars, or on the outside with a shit weather, may make people irritable. They
have always remained excellent. I assign this to Philip Kwok. He has chosen them, he knew
what he wanted, and he obtained it.
|
| Question: | What do you think about the French work
conditions ?
|
| MD: | I love the way of life of people here. When they sit and have a cup of coffee or eat, they talk, they make the most of the moment. It's really healthier than in US where the diet fanaticism reigns. When I walk in a French street, I don't see any gym club advertising, but the people are slim, smily and happy on the café terrace. I love that . until the moment when this rythm reaches the set. That's the reason why I'm still here [the shooting lasted two more months than planed]. What was very hard for me, was to be separate from my wife, my friends, my dogs and to be away from surfing, which is my way of meditation. The days when I had the blues, I went fondling the horses. But they are very professional, they don't like when we are too sentimental with them. |