Chronicles of Riddick

[Willow02]

Did anyone know that Alexa was in this movie? I didn't know until I was watching the movie even then I didn't realize it was her. She seemed familiar but I couldn't place a name.

[Faith]

I've known she was in it for a while now as i've been tracking this movie, being a big fan of Pitch Black. Its not out over here yet so i've not seen it yet :( Soon!

[Willow02]

Oh, well i'm sure you won't be dissapointed.

[The Defender]

I knew I recognized her but I couldn't place her at first and then it hit me "Its Gwen Raiden!" It was like a bolt of lightning hit me ;) She's a very cool actress; I hope we see her in more stuff.

[Jill_Valentine]

Much as I like the actress, I would have far preferred character continuity... The whole glory of Pitch Black was how non-Hollywood it was, but to switch actresses for what I can only assume was aesthetic reasons...

[Jenny]

Yes I did (another HUGE Pitch Black fan here) and I really want to see the movie!

[Lee]

I didnt like Alexa much in it...she kicked ass and stuff, but we didnt get to see her true acting talents, as we did when she was Gwen...

She spoke really funny too....

[XxSlayerxX]

So when I heard she was cast in The Chronicles of Riddick, it seemed like a logical follow-up. More butt kicking and tough girl antics.

We don’t really know why the original actress, Rhiana Griffith, didn’t come back to reprise the role of Jack, now called Kyra. We’re thinking the androgynous youngster didn’t grow up to be a totally hot sci-fi babe in between films, so they recast. Now, Davalos makes the role her own.

How awkward was it to play someone else’s character? At first, it was definitely daunting and I think to step into the shoes that someone else has worn is always going to be a bit awkward but Rhianna gave me a real gift.A real gift in the foundation of this character and all I can do is thank her and hope that I did her justice.

What were the particular challenges that you had in bringing her to life? There are so many elements to her and so many different layers. Just from the very beginning, someone who portrays herself as a boy to protect herself is very telling of her character and I think to bring that element throughout the story and throughout her challenges within herself. I think she’s got a lot of internal emotional battling going on and so to try and make those things clear was definitely a challenge.

How many other people did they read for this part? I don’t know how that was. They are very respectful that way, it’s nice. We don’t end up all in one place, I think that would be just traumatizing. But it was a long string of auditions though the first one there was a lot of time between the first one and the rest of them.

Which scene? “How do I get eyes like that?” That one scene.

How hard did you have to train for this? So hard you wouldn’t believe it. I had two months of training prior to this film starting and everything from wire-work to fight choreography and weapon training and shooting guns and everything you could think of.

Did you get injured at all? Nothing serious. I had lots of nicks and cuts and bruises and things but I have my Riddick war wounds to prove my hard work, so it’s ok.

Are you a very physical kind of person normally? Do you work out a lot? I did not before this. I danced for a bit as a child, I did ballet and I was a bit of a swimmer but I was never an athlete until this and now I love it.

So how do you keep in shape now? I worked throughout this whole film. I think for six months, you’re doing this every single day and so that was the maintenance and then since we finished the film, I’ve been keeping it up a bit because it kind of sticks with you, the feeling that it gives is nice.

What part of the training are you sticking with? I’m doing a bit of boxing here and there, which I did train with for the film and yoga to kind of counteract that. Just the little things here and there.

Had you done any training for the Angel episodes you did? We had five minutes of training. Five minutes before the thing went on, I thought I was going to have a heart-attack. No, not at all. No, we had Mike Gunther, the stunt coordinator there who taught me everything in five minutes.

Did doing a show like Angel prepare you for something like this? They are such different, different, different things and the process is so different working in film versus television and the length of time that you have and the time that you have to explore everything because it’s so different. It’s just more experience, it was more experience to get me here I guess.

Did you prefer your outfits in Riddick to your outfit from Angel? Yes. 150,000 percent, yes. Because latex is very uncomfortable to wear. It’s very hot, it’s very uncomfortable. Yes, it’s like wearing a balloon so that you can’t breathe. So, yes, I prefer the Kyra outfit by far.

What was the most challenging stunt that you had to do for this film? None of it was easy, definitely. I mean the wire stuff is most difficult because there is so many people involved and there is one stunt where Riddick flips her around and she’s kicking all these different people and the wire had to be wrapped around me in a very specific way to get my body to do that, so that was hard.

Are you pursuing film now over television? Yes. I mean, I would never close any doors to anything and if it were a character that I loved regardless, I would definitely give it thought but that is my first love, film.

Even though they’re talking about a Kyra TV series, you’re not interested? It’s a difficult thing. I love playing this character and I feel so blessed at being able to play her once.

I don’t know. If there is going to be a C[hronicles] 2 and C3 which is what they’re telling me, so I hear, rumor has it, you know, then I would love to play her again but I don’t know if I would be able to commit to five or seven years on television. It’s a different thing.

What was it like fighting Vin Diesel? I didn’t know much about him before going into it and he did surprise me in that he gave me so much time and energy, all of us. All of the actors just had a sort of safe haven with him of “What do you think about this?” He was very generous with his time and his knowledge of this whole process and in such a genuine and humble way that he was wonderful.

And fighting with him? A blast, we had so much fun. This character is going toe to toe with Riddick. I mean this is a big – it’s funny to see the two of us, but it was great. He was careful.

What did you think of the Angel finale? I didn’t see it. I don’t know. I’ll find out. I’ll see it and let you all know.

What have been your experiences with science fiction fans? I haven’t had much yet. I know that they’re incredibly loyal which is wild.

So nothing creepy yet? Well, that whole aspect is a little bit funny, you know. You deal with it differently in every circumstance but I haven’t had much exposure to that so I don’t know yet.

Would you do a convention and appear at a science fiction convention if they asked you to? I haven’t done anything like that. I’ve never really thought about it but I don’t see why not.

Have you seen your action figure? Yeah. It’s so bizarre. I like it. It’s a funny thing to look at this little miniature toy. This tangible replica of yourself is funny but it’s a huge compliment really, I’m flattered by it.

What’s your take on the Hollywood scene, are you involved in parties and that sort of stuff? No. I’m a big dork.

So what’s your normal life like? My normal life is: I love to travel and I travel as often as I can. I don’t stay in one place too long. But I’m an avid reader, I guess you could say, I’m a bit of a bookworm.

What do you like to read or what are you reading now? Right now I’m reading Mutant Message Down Under which is a story of a woman, this aboriginal tribe in Australia, and I read a bunch of different things at once actually.

Where would you like to travel? Being raised in France primarily as a child I spent a lot of time in the south of France and all through Italy and we traveled so much. I think that’s why I’m so used to being all over the place but I’m desperate to go to Australia. I’m desperate to go to New Zealand. I’m always working on my Australian accent.

How’s it going? It’s going ok. [She sounds pretty good.]

When your film career takes off and you get huge how are going to maintain your normal life? I think it’s a choice. I think it’s a conscious choice of how you live your life and what you allow to affect you and what you don’t. But I just hope to just carry on one step at a time and allow it to take its course really.

Source: http://star-net-nexus.com/StarNet/article/948/index.html

[SomethingBlu182]

Wow, i never realized 'til RIGHT NOW that it was her..haha. That movie is awesome! So is Pitch Black!!