A few months before the release of Dracula Untold, Dominic Cooper talks about tackling Mehmed the Conqueror, the therapy of playing bad and the legend of Dracula
Only a few actors can claim as great a range of roles as Dominic Cooper, who joins the cast of Dracula Untold as the villainous Mehmed the Conqueror. Trained at the london Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (lAMDA), Cooper broke through to the big screen in Nicholas Hytner’s adaptation of the Alan Bennett play The History Boys. He became recognisable to wide audiences as Sky, the fiancé to Amanda Seyfried’s character in the musical film Mamma Mia!
You debuted with The History Boys, which is about students studying to get into Oxford and Cambridge. Is it a coincidence that with Dracula Untold and Abraham lincoln: Vampire Hunter, you’ve now done two films that completely revise historyIJ
That’s true. I’ve never thought of that. I don’t know whether that’s a choice. It is quite interesting when I look over the films that I have done. Probably without realising it, the historical references are what drew me in. When I did Abraham lincoln: Vampire Hunter, as I read the script I was embarrassed by how little I knew of the man. With this, I’m playing Mehmed the Conqueror, a character that came from somewhere, had a real background and existed. As long as you’ve got something tangible you can say, “This person’s doing this for reasons no other than revenge.…” It was the same attraction for me with Abraham lincoln: Vampire Hunter — that the story was great and I thought it was a fun concept. The historical references in that book were brilliant.
Tell us about Mehmed.
He was revolting. It was incredible what his empire achieved — they were taking over the world. It’s brilliant to play someone that ruthless, that determined and all-powerful. I can’t really imagine what kind of a belief in one self you need and why you would find it necessary to go to such extraordinary lengths for power. They carried ships across land to plonk them somewhere else.
Did you find out the rhyme and reason behind the guyIJ
Yeah, my thought — and that of Gary Shore, whom I spoke to at length about it, was that it came from a place of envy towards this guy, Vlad — would never be as powerful or as good a man as him. So he went to destroy him. Essentially that’s where it came from. Otherwise it’s the most ridiculous thing to have gone and done, to risk what was essentially already accomplished. He thought it would be quick, simple and easy to seek revenge because of his father and being left without clarity. He was the real son but always knew that his father trusted the other, certainly with military status and control. I always related it back to some father-son relationship.
Is it good to be badIJ
If you’re a hero or a good guy, and every reason behind all of your actions is for a good outcome, you understand what they’re doing and it’s very apparent. You feel strong. But playing ‘evil’ is much closer to the truth of people.
You also had the benefit of some of the most extraordinary sets on this film. Do they help get you into characterIJ
The sets were absolutely incredible. They were astonishing. You always approach these massive projects with a slight amount of trepidation, thinking, ‘Am I going to be stuck in a blue box for five monthsIJ’ You think you can cope with it, and then you realise that you’re not so good at coping with it and that your imagination can only stretch so far. Your ability to create a world around you, which is believable for yourself and an audience, is a lot harder than you first thought. Actually, doing this was cool. It totally enhances what you’re doing and it helps the imagination and the scale of what you’re dealing with. My tent was amazing. I had all the interiors, which was necessary for understanding how lavish it all is and the world he inhabits.