Video:Sanctum - Ioan Gruffudd Interview

Transcript:Sanctum - Ioan Gruffudd Interview

Rebecca Murray from About.com Hollywood Movies at the World Premiere of Universal Pictures' Sanctum.

Ioan Gruffudd - 'Carl' in Sanctum

All right, when you get a script like this that says you'll be underwater, they won't see my face much while I'm down there, why do you take that?

Ioan Gruffudd: "You know what? I didn't think about what I would be doing when I read the script and signed onboard. It was so exciting to discover that I could play this part of Carl, that I had no idea what I'd let myself in for when I went to Queensland in Australia and then was put through this rigorous, arduous training - learning how to scuba dive and then sort of unlearning in order to relearn this rebreathing technique that they did. And then rock climbing and a bit of base jumping thrown in there, a fight sequence with a young handsome Rhys Wakefield who plays Josh. So, I mean all in all it was a real eye-opener for me."

What was the most difficult part? Was it the diving?

Ioan Gruffudd: "Bizarrely, the diving is a pretty serene experience. Even though it's exhausting when you're doing it for 12 hours every day...well, not at all once I may add...it's a very serene experience when you're down there because nobody can really come running up and talk to you; you're just in your own little space. The hardest part was fighting with the character Josh, with Rhys, because we were trying to drown each other and you have to make that believable..."

Without actually being drowned.

Ioan Gruffudd: "I know. So there were a few moments that were a bit hairy that I would forget to breathe in when my face was above water and of course breathe in when my head was beneath the water. But it all adds to that moment in the movie. You really believe that we are fighting and trying to kill ourselves."

How do you balance all of that? You're doing the diving and you have to remember the character and everything else, and where you are.

Ioan Gruffudd: "Yeah, I mean the process of making a movie - as you know - it takes four or five months - four months in our case. So at every given moment you know that this is a tiny part of the story, so you don't dishearten when you're underwater for four weeks because you know all that will add to the overall telling of the tale. And Carl is an amazing journey, my character. You start off as this very arrogant, confidant, bossy sort of character we think who might be a hero of the piece. But eventually we discover that he becomes weak when faced with a real life or death scenario, and becomes sort of a backstabbing, selfish, sort of coward. So it's an amazing journey that he goes on."

And you're playing against type.

Ioan Gruffudd: "You know what? That was the thrill of coming to play this part. I don't often get the chance to showcase that element of my capabilities, so it was a real thrill."

You don't play the bad guy.

Ioan Gruffudd: "No, no. I think, you know, I'm a leading man and that's who I want to represent and that's who I think I am really at heart. But as an actor, of course you want to have a go at everything and this was a real delicious challenge for me."

Have you done any diving since this?

Ioan Gruffudd: "No, not at all."

More on Sanctum:

Sanctum Trailer, Photos, Poster and Cast List