Kellan's Q&A with GQ

 
From GQ-magazine.co.uk:

"When it comes to playing ageless characters, Kellan Lutz has form - something the Twilight star shows off in Immortals. A PlayStation generation take on Greek mythology, it's basically Clash Of The Titans combined with 300,with Henry "Superman" Cavill's Theseus squaring off against Mickey Rourke's megalomanical King Hyperion while Luke Evans' Zeus and his heavenly host look on. Aside from his godlike physique, Lutz displays some impressive trident skills as the titan-dispatching Poseiden. Here the actor-slash-model-slash-designer talks to GQ.com about his equal proficiency at hand-to-hand combat, pumping iron with the man of steel and having Simon Spurr on speed dial...

 (Continue Reading for the Q&A)

GQ.com: What was the hardest thing about staying in shape?
Kellan Lutz: There's always food on set and every time you do a scene change you have downtime and you're at craft service. I've never been on a strict diet but there's always food around. We ate a lot of protein. All the guys had nutritionists who would bring us little salads with tuna or turkey every hour or two hours: just small portions so you always kept your metabolism burning. Between sets we'd run to the gym on and work out for half an hour. Most of our characters were topless throughout the movie so we didn't have to worry about sweating and ruining the wardrobe.

Luke Evans told us that he and Henry Cavill would have a weekly steak "cheat" day...
It's always good to have an off day. We would have a pizza day, we would have a junk food day, we would have a beer day... Most of the time we were working out so much and eating so well that we could do that after set and it would be fine because our bodies were burning so many calories. So we weren't really too cautious: after set we'd all hang out and grab a drink. Then probably hit the gym after that. [laughs]

Working out drunk is perhaps not the best idea...
Well, it gives you a little buzz... [laughs]

We know that you're into martial arts. Could you kill a man without using a trident?
I could definitely take someone out with my bare hands. When I was doing Generation Kill in Africa I worked with five really super-trained Navy SEALs who taught us all these moves like how to disarm people: if there's a bar fight and someone's got a chair or there's someone with a gun behind our head, how to disable them and take them down in a swift move. I'm really great with weapons: I did a lot of bo and staff training for Immortals. I love knives. I'm a pretty good shot. But I love hand-to-hand combat.

How was it working with the likes of Alexander Skarsgård and David Simon on Generation Kill?
Well, for me that was really a different pedigree. It was a world away. I matured so much more as a man. Working with Alex and James Ransone and Lee Tergesen, all these really cool, great actors, who I got to learn a lot from. I learned a lot from working with the real recon marines and my brother's in the marine corps so it really brought us closer. I'm so happy I was a part of it.

You're a regular at New York Fashion Week and you have your own clothing line Abbot & Main. What have the likes of Tommy Hilfiger and Simon Spurr taught you about style?
I'm very blessed to have designers who are friends who I can call up and ask, "Hey, what do you think about this?" or, "What do you think is the new thing that's going to be coming out in 2013?" Simon Spurr's a good buddy of mine as is Bernardo Rojo at Joseph Abboud. It's really great to pick their brains and ask them questions. I'm like a sponge: I absorb everything they have to show and tell and see what they're working on and get inspiration and take that back.

Did you have any favourite looks from the shows?
I loved Joseph Abboud's tuxes and what Simon and Tommy did with military. I'm big on military so I liked the structure of the tops.

You looked very sharp in your dinner suit at the amFar gala [pictured]...
That was actually one of the first times that I've worn a bow tie. I've very seldom worn one; I just love a straight black tie. But as far as doing black tie well goes, I think less is always more. I even have to call myself out on this: I've put too many touches on, maybe at the time I thought it looked great, but when you step back you think, "Wow, this is trying way too hard." Just be yourself, fit in and if you're wearing too much, put it all on and take one piece off.

Was it a proper bow tie?
No, it wasn't! It was one of those ones that was already all done for me. I've always wanted to learn how to do a bow tie actually. I've practised it but it never really turns out right...

You've modelled for Calvin Klein. What's the hardest thing about modelling?
It's a job; it's tough. A lot of people think jack of modelling and turn their nose up at you but you're selling a product. But I learned when I got into modelling, I would watch models and some would just stand there and do the exact same look. It's like acting: you've got to give them different takes and different feelings in those takes. Because you're selling something. So for me I learnt from watching my peers to be more fluid and give the camera something different every time so not all 50 shots are the exact same shot: to let my personality shine. That's why I love acting because with modelling, you have to sell something by a still, by one little picture, whereas with acting you get to convey a lot of different emotions through dialogue and moments.

You modelled Abbot & Main with Kate Upton. What was it like working with her?
It was fun. It's all about personality and both Kate Upton and Anne V, who I worked with on the first campaign, shine with their personality and they know how to model and sell product. It was really great working with Kate and I'm happy she got the cover of Sports Illustrated. She definitely deserves it: she's a beautiful woman and really fun to work with.

That must have been a tough day at the office...
Well, I'm very lucky. I think we're going to launch the campaign that Kate was in in May so look out for that...

Henry Cavill was in our 50 Best-Dressed Men list. Did you talk about clothes at all?
No we didn't - when we were shooting Immortals all of us were hanging out topless. It was really all just going to the gym. Henry's a very well-dressed man. I'm happy for him and I can't wait to see him in Superman. We had a laugh working together.

What TV do you never miss?
I watch whatever is on my roommate's Tivo because I don't really have time to watch TV. But I'm very much into shows like Breaking Bad and American Horror Story. But then of course I love my guilty pleasures like The People's Court, Cheaters, 20 Most Shocking and America's Funniest Home Videos... I love those shows where you can just tune out and relax.

What's a Kellan Lutz groupie like?
Well, originally in the first few years they were quite hysterical and would scream and yell and call me me Emmett. Throughout the years though, you make friends with them. Now I have friends throughout the world who I see from time to time at different events, conventions and outings; every time I do a talk show in New York, a lot of them come out from wherever they are in the world. You know them by name and you have a chat with them and really build a relationship. I probably have more friends from Twilight than I've ever had in my whole life.

Do you get many strange gifts from fans?
I do. I even get gifts for my dogs. This group of Twi-moms that I know from Philadelphia, they send me and my roommates and even my dogs stockings with presents. The dogs' stockings have all these chew toys and even letters that we'll read to the dogs from them.

Do you get many marriage proposals?
Two or three a day. It's sweet. I don't think anyone's really truly 100 per cent looking to propose but when they do send messages like that... they make you smile."