Rob Kazinsky Talks Siren, Pacific Rim and True Blood

Shannon O’Connor ’16 / Emertainment Monthly Editor-in-Chief
Between a guest starring role on True Blood as the handsome and mysterious faerie vampire Warlow and a supporting role as Chuck Hansen in Guillermo del Toro’s big budget film Pacific Rim, it has been a crazy year for Rob Kazinsky who is now promoting his new independent film Siren.
After a screening of his new film Siren at the Boston Film Festival, Kazinsky sat down to talk with Emertainment Monthly about his busy year, Siren and what is coming next for the up-and-coming star.
What drew you to Siren?
It was 100% the script. I mean you always sit there going ‘okay, first time directors you always [have to be] slightly cautious of.’ But the script was so good, I was like ‘I don’t care I am going to do this, this is fantastic [and] I really want to do this.’ I think Jesse [Peyronel] did an unbelievable job as a director on this as well. It was basically [the script] and the opportunity to practice my American accent [that drew me to the film].

What was it about the script that made you want to play the role of Guy?
It’s just a well-written piece. It is well structured [and] it made sense. When you read scripts it is very much a case of, if I can pick up a script and read it in one sitting, I know I should do it. If I can’t put it down, I want to do that film. But if I pick up [a script] and I read 10 pages and I put it down and then I forget about it and come back to it later, that is not really a film that you want to be a part of. With this one I picked up and I read right through. It held me and I could imagine it in my mind’s eye.
What was it like it doing an American accent for the first time?
[It was] hard. I felt I had to choose between a good performance and a good accent and I felt that my performance suffered because of that. I think the editors kind of covered most of that as much as possible. There are moments that I sit there and I want to punch myself in the face and throw things at the screen, because it feels incredibly forced doing a fake accent. You get used to it and you get better at it and by the end of shooting I felt more comfortable doing it.
Are you going to go to other film festivals with Siren?
I assume they will. I mean these are the first two [Boston and Austin], and they have ones penciled in and then they will see where they take it.

What was it like going from this small budget film to the big budget film Pacific Rim?
Very relaxing. [With Siren] I was helping with makeup and sets and sound, I was helping kind of around the board on this one, because that is what you do you are my kin. And then you go to do something like Pacific Rim and you just do your shots, you go sit down in your chair and you wait. They are completely different animals; I have never had more fun in my entire life than when I was shooting Pacific Rim. That was because Guillermo del Toro is an amazing human being and all the cast and crew are amazing human beings and I loved the movie. I absolutely loved the movie.
How did you get involved in Pacific Rim?
I wanted to do it, desperately. I auditioned, desperately and then got the job, amazingly. I was very grateful.
Yeah, there are always crazy auditions stories you hear.
Guillermo know who I was from working on The Hobbit, before he left and I left, so there was a certain awareness of that. And then Max Martini was cast as Herc Hansen and the two of us totally look related, so that really, really helped me.
You seem like you are very into science fiction?
Massively and obsessively and crazily, I am a massive science fiction nut. I am doing a degree in astrophysics and cosmology at the minute, so science fiction is my absolute Mecca.
What do you like to do more, film or TV?
It is an impossible question, it really is. They are such different mediums; I think that film is the most powerful medium on the planet. I think that film can spread a message and change the world quicker than any politician ever can and film is the reason I got into this industry in the first place, because it’s informed my life more than anybody apart from my parents. But TV has evolved in such huge leaps and bounds that it’s now become my favorite medium, because you can go much more indepth with the storyline and the quality is so high that you can tell stories you could never tell in a film. You couldn’t tell Game of Thrones in a movie, you know what I mean? Breaking Bad would never work in a movie sense, but when you have five seasons to get to love and anti-hero, then people get very confused about why they love this bad guy. TV now has evolved to the point where it is certainly not a step down for anybody to ever do television and I really, really, really enjoy working in television.

Speaking of television, what was it like shooting True Blood?
It was great fun. [It was] no different from shooting anything else, just good people and long hours; shooting a lot of night, a lot of nights because it is a vampire show.
And you were that cool vampire that could be in day and night.
Which meant I had to work mornings and late nights. Yeah, I was doubly screwed on that one. But, it was a very filling experience.
I was surprised they killed your character off; if there was any way your character could come back would you come back next season?
When we went for the deal, the only reason I wanted to do it was because it was always a one season deal. I would never sign on for something that was longer than a season, because I just don’t want to do the same thing for too long. The fact that it was a one season deal was the most appealing about it for me. We talked about doing season 7, but again it didn’t really seem to make sense because we knew at that point that it was coming to an end. It will end strong.
So you knew during the middle of last season that was going to end next season?
Yeah.
You do not like doing TV shows for too long?
I do not like doing anything for too long. I am completely A.D.D. in that sense, I get so easily distracted. I played a character in British television for 256 episodes in a TV show over three years, and whilst it was incredibly gratifying and fulfilling to go through and create a character and know a character, at the same time I really like that fact that since then I have played a World War II fighter pilot, super soldier from the future, a vampire/fairy, another wondering soldier, a doctor and a dwarf. Having that kind of variety is what really makes this job appealing. I like to be learning at all times. I mean if the right job comes along you’d sign on forever, but you know otherwise probably not.
What has been your favorite character to play so far?
The most fun I have ever had in my entire life was Pacific Rim, playing Chuck was incredibly fun. The character I think I did my best work on was Sean Slater because I had so much time to get to know him on EastEnders. Chuck Hansen was by far the most fun I have ever had.
What kind of projects are you doing next?
It’s called auditioning. It’s about a guy desperately looking for a job and I have been playing this part most of my life and I am back into it now.