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Will Kemp Generic Interview
by Martyn Palmer
When Will Kemp auditioned for director Stephen Sommers it was, to say the least, a memorable encounter for them both. Will, best known as a classically trained, supremely talented contemporary dancer now building a similar reputation as an actor, decided to `go for it' to use his own phrase.
And that meant utilising every inch of floor space, and his dancer's body, in a relatively small London office to act out a legendary cinematic transformation that has left audiences with their eyes popping in disbelief over the years.
It's fair to say that Stephen was enthralled because Will got the part (although he would wait a further three months before finding out). The rest of us will get to share the experience when Van Helsing is released on May 7. It should be worth the wait.
Will is a very determined young man and when he went in to audition that day, he decided that if the part called for him to transform from human to wolf man - the unfortunate fate of Prince Velkan in Van Helsing - that is exactly what he would show Stephen. Right there, right then.
“It was hilarious,” Will recalls. “Because the bit they asked me to read was when the character changes from the Prince into the wolf man. And there's this whole sequence when he flails around and screams and chokes and does this big transformation.
“So when I went in I just thought `I've got nothing to lose, I'm going to go for it. I'm going to play the whole thing out and transform here in front of their eyes.' So I'm half way through this scene, ripping at my shirt, and Stephen jumps up and says `OK, OK! Stop, stop!' And I thought `that's it, I've completely embarrassed myself and he said `no, no I believe you, I have seen your earlier tape, but don't bust a gut, don't break a blood vessel. That's fine, thank you very much...'
“And I walked out and thought `Damn, I've just made the biggest fool of myself and in front of a really nice guy...'”
He'd done no such thing, of course. Will had simply done what he does best - unleash his remarkable range of talent and draw upon his immense physical presence to create a role.
“Oh yes, my experience as a dancer certainly helped,” he agrees. “Having always approached a character from a dancers' point of view, I was able to work out the character in my head and express it physically. I felt this approach would really work for “The Wolf man”. And they loved it, fortunately. So it was like `phew, the risk of seeming foolish paid off, thank God for that!'”
This immensely likable young man - he's just 26 - is in a unique position right now. Hailed in the dance world as one of the foremost performers of his generation, often recognised in public for a very impressionable television commercial (for GAP clothes) he is now on the cusp of a whole new career as a film actor.
Will would like to continue to combine both dance and acting. Admitting “I feel very lucky to be in the position to pursue two careers”. “When not dancing I rely heavily on the expertise of The Body Conditioning Studio in Notting Hill Gate, to keep me in shape”.
“I am incredibly tough on myself,” he says. “I'm a perfectionist in every area of my life which sometimes has its down side but at times is the only element that keeps me looking to do better and push myself on to explore new areas, Mixing it up keeps me fresh and I never want to stop working in the Theatre because you learn so much, anything can happen during a live performance and you just have to make it work!”
The eldest of three children born and raised in Kings Langley in Hertfordshire, England, Will was nine years old when his mother, Rosi, decided that taking dance lessons at a local school would help channel some of his abundance of energy. A natural talent, he loved it from the very start.
“It was a great sense of achievement for me,” he says when you ask him to explain what it was that appealed so much. “I wasn't incredibly academic at school so dancing gave me a purpose and fulfillment very early on. It made me feel that if I worked hard enough I could achieve something in my life. It was an incredibly empowering thing for me at that time. When I was 12 I already knew that was what I was all about, expressing myself through dance and movement was where I connected best.”
At 16, Will won a highly coveted place at the Royal Ballet School where he studied for two years. Soon after leaving he joined Matthew Bourne's company for the multi award winning production of Swan Lake.
Will later played the leading role of the Swan on a UK tour and performed on Broadway and in the West End. With Bourne, Will created the role of Angelo in his ground breaking production of The Car Man, both on stage at the Old Vic in London and in the filmed version for Channel Four. He also toured America with The Car Man.
Will played Ratty in The Wind in the Willows in the Linbury Theatre at the Royal Opera House over Christmas 2003, and is performing in William Tuckett's new production of A Soldiers Tale this June. You can also spot him this summer in the psychological thriller Mindhunters alongside Christian Slater and Val Kilmer.
Will lives in London with his wife of one year, musician and composer Gaby Jameson.
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Interviews
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