|
Australian actor Philip Quast poses the question: "How many people go to church and drink the blood of Christ?" Speaking from Morocco where he is filming the $ 100 million US TV mini-series Cleopatra, Quast argues that a new ABC drama series about vampires, Ultraviolet, has a perfectly believable premise. Vampires exist in the modern world and a secret police squad, funded by the Vatican, is needed to ward off their evil ways.
"No, I don't actually believe in vampires but, honestly, the scripts are so real it's hard not to. And a lot of people do!"
Ultraviolet, a new six-part drama from the UK's Channel 4, is produced by World Productions, the outfit which brought us the ABC's cult hit earlier this year, This Life. Jack Davenport (Miles in This Life) stars in Ultraviolet as Michael Colefield, an honest detective sergeant and a reluctant recruit to the clandestine anti-vampire squad. In episode one his best friend Jack, also a detective, disappears on his stag night and Michael's loyalty sees him interrogated by the squad investigating the mystery. Quast, who settled in London with his wife and three boys three years ago, plays Pearse Harman, the enigmatic leader of the squad and a Catholic priest with close connections to the Vatican.
"I read the script and I wanted to do it straight away." Quast says. "I think nearly every actor in London wanted to do it. The scripts read wonderfully. There was never anything changed on set."
Earlier this year Quast won his second Olivier, Britain's top theatrical honour, for best actor in a musical for his performance as a cripple in the Donmar Warehouse/ Cameron Mackintosh production of The Fix. His previous Olivier was for Sunday in the Park with George in 1990.
Since 1989 Quast has been dividing his time between England and Australia. The son of a Tamworth turkey farmer, Quast remains fiercely modest and rejects the whole notion of being a star. He has always said he doesn't think his life is any more interesting than anyone else's. He is very proud, however, of Ultraviolet which was well received in the UK. He believes people will find it difficult to follow the plot in the first two episodes but urges them to persist. Certainly, there is nothing obvious about it. There are no long pointy teeth, wooden stakes, black cloaks or garlic cloves.
"In fact the word vampire is never used. Only the subtle reference to 'Code V'."
Ultraviolet is a modern take on vampire mythology. Against the modern vampire enemy the clandestine squad uses carbon bullets, the chemical allacin and ultraviolet, instead of daylight.
"I think it is done very, very well considering it's a cult thing.The issue is taken very seriously."
Producers have taken the medieval concept of vampires and woven into the script modern issues such as AIDS, global warming, CJD, Ebola, pollution and abortion. The vampires believe mankind is destroying their life force blood and they are fighting back.
"My character gets a blood disease in the third episode and then he faces a dilemma. The method of the vampires is to recruit people who are ill and give them immortality."
(Thanks to Karla J. for supplying this article)
© The Australian
