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Calgary Herald

Calgary Expo: Nicholas Hoult talks Mad Max, Lex Luthor and transitioning from child star to adult actor

Article content When Nicholas Hoult took on the role of Nux in Mad Max: Fury Road, some of the prep work was a bit strange. Article content Article content For anyone who has seen the chaotic, super-charged 2015 blockbuster by George Miller, this may not be too surprising. At Calgary Expo Friday afternoon, Hoult stressed that the film — an exhilarating two-hours of high-octane stunts and car chases through a desert — did not have a chaotic set, of course. Action scenes that are this over-the-top needs to be produced with precision. But some of the prep work the British actor did for Nux, the bald-headed, sickly warrior who finds his devotion to his boss Immortan Joe tested as he tries to help track down the warlord's runaway wives, was a little strange. Article content Article content Miller and actor Hugh Keays-Bryne, who played the imposing Immortan Joe, would gather some of the actors and 150 stunt people in a gym. Article content Article content 'We would sing nursery rhymes together and pray to Immortan Joe,' says Hoult. 'He would put photos of himself up around the set. It was kind of like a cult, I suppose. Then you'd learn the different lingo and a way of communicate to people because obviously over the noise of the engine you couldn't hear each other so you'd be banging on the roofs of the cars.' Article content Hoult's hairless, emaciated character is meant to be sick, presumably due to the living in a radioactive wasteland. So Miller asked him to lose weight. When cameras rolled, Hoult had shed 27 pounds. Again, the prep work for this seems a little strange. Article content Article content He would the Food Network show Chopped, which has competitors cooking various meals, as he worked out. Article content 'It was kind of like torture,' he said. 'I would jump rope watching Chopped. I'd be like 'That looks so good! I'm so hungry!'' Article content Nux was one of many milestones for Hoult that helped establish the former child actor as someone capable of taking on a wide variety of character roles. While Hoult has done indie films — including the Calgary-shot thriller The Order that had him playing real-life white supremacist Bob Mathews — he is also known for participating in franchise blockbusters and cult films, which makes him a perfect guest for a fan convention. Since entering the spotlight as the socially awkward 12 year old in 2002's About A Boy, Hoult has played brave soldier Eusebios in Clash of the Titans, a lovestruck zombie in Warm Bodies, X-Men member Beast in numerous Marvel Universe films, Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien in the biopic Tolkien and Thomas Hutter in last year's Nosferatu. In July, he will make his debut as another iconic character when he plays supervillain Lex Luthor in the umpteenth remake of Superman.