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Hangin' With Archives
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Luke Ford:“Son” of The Mummyby Lynn Barker
We got to sit down in Beverly Hills with the friendly actor recently and, when we walked into his hotel suite, he was drinking a cup of tea and looked all casual cute in jeans, black tennies and blue shirt. We learned that playing an action hero has been a lifelong dream ever since Luke saw the first Indiana Jones film and The Mummy as a kid. The slim, athletic actor actually looks younger than his character on screen and that Aussie accent is charming. Turns out, mastering an American accent was his greatest film challenge on this project….. AGW: What was the hardest thing for you to do on this whole movie? Luke: The accent, the American accent. The action is exciting and fun but the accent was very troubling for me. I had a great dialogue coach Joy Ellison who has taught Heath and Eric Bana before. She’s done a lot of Australians. She was very patient with me but that was my weakness. I still struggle with it. AGW: What was it like working with the beautiful Asian pop star/actress Isabella Leong as your love interest in the film? Luke: It was a great experience. It was an extraordinary relationship because she didn’t speak a word of English [now, she speaks very well]. She had to learn it. At the audition, the only reason she got the job was because she kissed me! [we laugh] She was pretty but none of the other ones [did that]. AGW: And you’re like ‘I want THAT one’! Luke: [laughing] Pretty much. But she could speak no English and I could speak no Chinese and she learned and I learned Chinese. AGW: Your co-star Maria [Bello] just said that she gave you some advice on set but she couldn’t tell me what it was. Can you? Luke: [big grin] There was a lot of advice given to me. Brendan and Maria are both quite giving people and both of them offered advice about the [movie] business. ‘This is a business and you treat it like a business’. They do work you through the ropes in American films because they’re big productions. The hours are long and, sometimes, if you feel like your performance isn’t going to be the best, you’ve got to let them know, ‘I need a little bit of rest here. I need some time so I can come and perform to the best of my ability’. That was advice given [earlier] to both Maria and Brendan. Brendan even gave me a little card with a beer on it saying ‘stay strong’. AGW: That’s really sweet. Did the two of you develop more of a brother type relationship while shooting [Brendan plays Luke’s young-looking dad in the film]. Luke: Very much so. Brendan’s a true professional. My character is coming into this franchise and, hopefully, will be part of it so it gave us the chance to accept this. He was really lovely and kind, sweet and fun, just embraced it. AGW: So you hadn’t done a whole lot of martial arts before? There are a lot of fights in this film.
AGW: Your character Alex is kind of a street fighter too like his dad Rick. How did you train for that? Luke: You just go into a pub and start a pub fight! [we laugh]. You walk in and throw a bit of beer over someone and see what happens. No. We kept some Western style of fighting. Easterners will kick your [backside] any day of the week. We did martial arts training but it’s just my sloppiness that makes it look like a street fight. AGW: What were you like in high school? I’ll bet you were the life of the party. Luke: I was a bit of an outsider. We called ourselves ‘Seinfeldians’. Me and my mates grew up on [the TV show] ‘Seinfeld’. We weren’t really trying to pick up girls in high school. We’d play cards and make jokes and get into trouble and play hide and seek all through the school and destroy it and spray things. I even jumped off the second floor to the first with a fire hose, very Indiana Jones-like. My best mate and I grew up loving movies so we always had that imagination. AGW: Are you still friends with some of those guys? Luke: Oh yes. I grew up with them so I’m homesick for them. We went to primary school all the way through high school. I’ve known them like 15-20 years now. AGW: Are they amazed at your success? Luke: No, which is the best thing to be. They just don’t get caught up in it. They’re like ‘oh, you’re gonna be in a movie, that’s cool’. They’ll watch it. My friends are very supportive but my two best mates they’ve distanced themselves from it. It’s not their game like it is mine. AGW: Did you enjoy adventure movies when you were a kid or teen? Luke: I grew up, when I was a young kid, on Indiana Jones. That was my superhero. When my mates would dress up as Superman and Batman, I always used to put my mom’s leather jacket on and her hat. Then that kind of adventure film went missing for a very long time and I remember, when I was in my final days of high school, I saw the trailer for The Mummy, flipped out and went and saw it. AGW: You must have been just crazed with joy then when you got this part. Did you just do backflips? Luke: I did. I screamed and ran up and down and called everybody. AGW: Your director Rob [Cohen] says you were such a nice guy that other actors trying out for the part just flocked around you. Are you just a super friendly guy or what? Luke: I went in there for the audition and I remember seeing all the actors there and they were all chatting and talking to Rob and I just went and played basketball with one of the kids. I think Rob took notice that I wasn’t trying to suck up and get the job. It was all about the work. AGW: What, in life, are you pretty good at and what really bad at? Luke: Well, I’m really bad at dancing. I’ve got two left feet and I’m terrible at mathematics. I’m good at any sport. I grew up in my country with Rugby League. I’m good at it but I’d get broken in half. Basketball was my sport. Apart from that, I’m not really talented. AGW: Are you into music or do you play an instrument? Luke: I don’t. I was diagnosed with dyslexia when I was young. I remember getting lessons and I tried an instrument but it just didn’t work. I tried to paint and all I could do was stick figures so then I did acting and got an “A” so that’s the creative part [coming out]. AGW: What kinds of music do you like? Luke: Music for me is how it effects me. I like to be emotionally effected by it. Right now, I’m listening to an Australian band called Powerfinger, that’s rock and Radiohead has always been a top favorite.
Luke: Yes! My dad just recently climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro and he’s about to climb another mountain which is actually another extra six days longer up. AGW: So you had your own Indiana Jones in the family? Luke: Yes, my father and me are both quite courageous like that. I haven’t climbed a mountain yet but he’s bungee jumping and parachuting. I don’t know if it’s a mid-life crisis but he’s about to climb that other mountain. Can’t remember which one. AGW: If you are going to take someone out on a first date, what would that date consist of? A movie is good but you can’t really talk…. Luke: [laughs] Sometimes that’s good! It depends on if she can keep a conversation with me. It’s been a while. I haven’t been on a date for about three years. I’ve been working. AGW: Yikes! Well, after this movie is out, they’ll be knocking on your door. Luke: Well…. I think probably dinner and maybe a beachside walk. It depends on the girl. You just learn what they like and go for that. I can’t really say until I meet the girl. It’s more like what’s gonna blow her mind. AGW: So what could a girl do that would really tick you off? Luke: Well, the thing with women is that they take a little while in the bathroom. If we’re going to see a movie I have to make sure that we get there on time. I’m nice enough to wait and it depends on how long I’ve been going out with her but I hate to miss the previews [trailers] so if I know that she’s one who is going to make me wait while she’s in the bathroom then I’ll start the date and eat earlier so we’ll just walk straight into the previews and miss the advertisements. AGW: Sounds like a plan. Who do you want to work with in future? Luke: It was great working with Rob Cohen [the film’s director] because he’s one of the great action directors in the world but acting-wise, I’d love to work with Martin Scorsese. He and Rob try to push the boundaries. They have a real sense of passion. As for actress, Cate Blanchett. She’s a phenomenal character actress and I’ve worked recently with the great Australian actress Toni Collette and they really have a power to raise the bar for an actor to get up there on their level. AGW: Do you have a pet project or historical person you would like to play some day? Luke: In Australia there’s a story that’s caught me up. It’s kind of a Driving Miss Daisy about this lady whose father was dying on the opposite side of our country and she pays for a Taxi to take her there. It’s a true story and I thought it would be really interesting to play the driver. AGW: Are you going to move to the states? Luke: We were trying to work that out but no. I want to go back. I find it hard emotionally. I don’t have my friends and family here. I like being at home. I have a close family, my friends and my brothers. I’m not that ambitious. I’m looking for a great role, not just trying to make a name for myself. I just did a film about an autistic kid [The Black Balloon] and my goal was to make people believe I’m autistic. Then, I’m a success. It’ll be in American cinemas end of this year. AGW: Why should teens go see The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor? Luke: Oh, it’s adrenalin rush entertainment! You’ll get your value’s worth. Hey, it’s more expensive to go to it in Australia. I think it’s better than the first two “Mummys” and not just because I’m in it. I think, what “Indiana Jones” didn’t give you this year, we will give you. [the movie publicist comes to tell me our time is up]. Hey this was a great interview. You are fun! You’re very fun! Not only cute but enthusiastic!
Pictures courtesy of Universal Pictures, 2008 (unless otherwise credited) |
 
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Okay,
cute 20-something Aussie actor Luke Ford isn’t actually playing
the son of the mummy (played by the amazing Jet Li) in the new film The
Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor but Brendan Fraser’s son,
as Brendan reprises his role as adventurer/mummy fighter Rick O’Connell.
To play now grown-up Alex O’Connell, Luke was picked from a long
list of well-known actors because, according to him, he didn’t try
to kiss up to the director! While the tall, blonde and blue-eyed actor
has a “name” in his native land, especially for film festival
hit The Black Balloon, he’s virtually unknown to North
American audiences. Luke has played a serial killer and an autistic teen.
Now, his “Mummy” action and on-screen flirtations with his
co-star, the beautiful Asian actress/pop-star Isabella Leong, will garner
him some new fans. 
Luke:
I studied Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at home but that’s not really the
Wushu and the Jikandu which is what we trained on for the film. 
AGW:
Is your own family kind of adventurous?