Hugh Jackman & Kate Beckinsale: Monster Hunters

She's a beautiful English rose who can really kick butt and he's the gorgeous Wolverine who can also.. well give 'um heck! Together Kate Beckinsale and hottie Hugh Jackman go after classic monsters in the action adventure Van Helsing and their characters fall a bit in love on the way.

Put the two stars together for interviews and they are bawdy, funny and honest, telling us why they took their roles, about the anxiety of movie-making, doing wild stunts and yes, a tap-dancing and hat-switching Van Helsing!

TeenHollywood: Hugh, we were told that you had some reluctance to play this character because of the connections to Wolverine. And, Kate you had done a movie with vampires in it as well (Underworld). Can you explain your decisions to play the parts?

Hugh: I read this script and the movies and characters are very different. My reluctance was that after X2: X-Men United I wanted to do a smaller independent movie so I was a bit reluctant to be in another big franchise type summer popcorn movie in a way. I feared to go down that road. Also they take a long time. It's a year of your life. Then I knew I was coming to Broadway for a year. I love the character and (director) Stephen Sommers told me that I am probably the only actor to worry about being in two successful movie franchises. It took a little more convincing.

Kate: I was so surprised to do any vampire movies at all because I'm not into them at all. When I first got sent the script for Underworld I didn't even want to read it. I remember when I got the script for this even though it had vampires and werewolves in it, my character was so different because first of all I'm not a vampire myself. She's a gypsy, passionate and human. It just seemed like a different role. I don't have a big career plan so I like to see how things turn out. I want to keep going in different actions.

TeenHollywood: Hugh, did you enjoy having the long Van Helsing hair?

Hugh: Well, sometimes the crew mentioned that I looked a little like the fourth Charlie's Angel, but...

TeenHollywood: What's the story on your cool costume, Hugh?

Hugh: He looks a bit like an Australian bushman, but Gabriella [Pescucci], who does the costumes, is extraordinary on this. I literally came in after shooting X-Men and put on the costume, and it hasn't changed a lot since then. Maybe a little bit of steel on my boot and that's all. I added that. I warned her about the hat. I said, 'I've got to tell you: I've never worn a hat that has looked good on me. So I've been told.' So she tried out about 30 hats before she found the one. I have two hats because for a tall guy I've got a relatively small head so I've got a smaller hat for close ups and I've got a bigger hat [for long shots]. And they're literally chucking them around, one two, and then there's others with rims, and yeah, it's all about the hat.

TeenHollywood: Did you come up with your own back story for Van Helsing?

Hugh: He's more than a vampire slayer. The main story involves him hunting down Dracula. But for want of a better word, he's kind of doing black ops for the Catholic Church. Imagine someone who is possessed or an exorcism fails: what do they do with that possessed person, whether it be Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde or Frankenstein? All these mythological creatures that are on the loose and Van Helsing is sent out to take care of them. So he's a warrior. By nature of the job, lonely and mysterious and almost like a spy. So in many ways he is misunderstood by the world and he is operating on his own steam and no one really knows who he is, except by what he leaves in his wake.

TeenHollywood: So he has something in common with the monsters he's hunting?

Hugh: Well, yeah. In terms of the inner turmoil and conflict going on, for sure. He's got some personal issues. In the beginning of this movie, he's a little lacking in motivation. He's trying to understand why he's doing it and it's taking its toll on him, this killing.

TeenHollywood: Hugh, you are in a Broadway show ("The Boy From Oz") and now a huge movie. Are there different responsibilities for you?

Hugh: With a stage show if I'm sick, the show is off. If I am having a bad day while filming I say Steve (Sommers, the director) I'm not feeling well can we reschedule? But theatre gives you the discipline to work every day. My first movie had a budget of (only) $70,000 but I had exactly the same feeling. The anxiety comes after you are done filming because then it's out of your hands because they're editing it and your career is contingent upon them. A stage show is probably a little more responsibility because reviews affect the show. If the reviews sucked we would have closed in weeks. Summer movies are on a whole other level.

TeenHollywood: Kate has described you as the nicest guy in Hollywood.

Hugh: Kate, you're going to ruin my career.

Kate: I checked you out. Believe me I watched you for six months.

Hugh: We had a great time and it was the most fun I ever had on a set. Stephen Sommers is an old fashioned director because he sets the tone. He ends the day at 7:30 with the same energy he had in the morning. He never goes a minute past 7:30. He goes 100 percent everyday. He pops his head in your makeup trailer everyday to see you and ask if you have any questions. Trust me that doesn't always happen.

Kate: You arrived with this "Gone Hollywood" label. The set was full of nasty English and Australian people and we wanted to find out what's going on there. He could be wearing women's underwear. We were peering in his trailer and popping in unexpectedly, but there was nothing.(laughter)

Hugh: Steve actually came into my trailer when I was practicing for "Boy From Oz". I was wearing my Van Helsing costume but with tap shoes on. I felt this presence behind me, I turned around and Steve said 'do not tell anyone!' He was genuinely frightened. He thought it was the end of his movie.

TeenHollywood: Kate, how did you get into the whole physicality of your role?

Kate: I had a whole training period called Underworld, thank god. I didn't have any training for this movie because I started it right after I finished Underworld. But I would have been in huge trouble if I hadn't done Underworld. We had a great stunt coordinator who would tell me to jump off this 80 foot tall building so I knew how to do it. I found it really helpful and sometimes it's really helpful to be around friendly people who you trust. Some people will go further for those they trust. It was a very comfortable set. The only stunt I hurt myself on was when running up to a window and banging my elbow.

Hugh: Occasionally Kate would pull the "English rose" thing but then as soon as action is said she's tougher than all of us. One stunt I was nervous about was when we were on wires about 50 feet up in the air and as close to real as possible we're supposed to land on a mat with Kate astride of me with her knees on either side of my head. I did it once with the stunt double and she nearly landed on my shoulder. I thought 'just a few more inches and I'm going to get a knee in the face'. We did it three times and Kate got it right every time like an Olympic gymnast.

Kate: If you tell an English girl you want a crotch in the face you're going to get a crotch in the face. (laughter).

TeenHollywood: Hugh there have been quite a few Van Helsings before you in Dracula films. Did you take notes from any of those performances?

Hugh: They weren't really relevant. I read Bram Stoker's novel. I play a much younger Van Helsing. According to Stoker, he is much older and very enigmatic. I do take the Dutch accent mildly and there is mystery around him but not much else. He is still an expert on the occult and has a window into this other world.

TeenHollywood: Kate, pretty much every one had a transformation process except for you.

Kate: I was in makeup for three hours a day. It was a nightmare. The boots took 25 minutes to get on. Every tiny curl took so long.

TeenHollywood: What special skill or experience did you take from working on this film?

Kate: I was having all kinds of interesting personal things going on. I really did find that working with people like Stephen and Hugh made it possible to get through what I was going through. I had such a profound experience on this because they gave me freedom to just go. It was really liberating. Doing Van Helsing made me feel like I was prepared to work on The Aviator with Martin Scorsese. It sounds ridiculous but it was true. In a theatre it's a given that everyone is supportive but it's quite difficult on a film and we really became a family.

Hugh: I know everyone says they love making the movies but in reality there is a lot of anxiety and even though it's always challenging but it's not always fun.

Kate: Because Steve is this highly enthusiastic almost child-like excited person, the people that he chooses have an element of that as well. You only have to watch him watching the monitor. He's moving and saying all the lines along with everyone. He's like a kid with his very expensive Barbie and Ken.

TeenHollywood: Kate, what can you say about the Underworld sequel? And Hugh, what about X-Men 3?

Kate: Were I not marrying the director I'm not sure I'd know anything about the Underworld sequel. I know he's reading scripts in the bathroom while I'm supposed to be doing something else. The first draft is under lock and key at the moment.

Hugh: I think they're in discussions about X-Men 3. I'm contracted for another Van Helsing. But I'm not contracted for any more X-Men. But would I like to do it? I'd find it hard to see someone else play the role, yeah. I love both of them. If I hated the movies and had to come back again, it would be a terrible situation.

TeenHollywood: Are you in discussions about playing James Bond?

Hugh: I mentioned it in Australia and they're taking it as gospel. I don't think there is man in this room who would not want to play Bond one day. But there is nothing official and I haven't been offered.

TeenHollywood: Kate, both you and Uma Thurman have now done costume dramas and some action films.

Kate: I think we both have the ability to move in a corset. I moved away from England to get away from corsets. There are a lot of action films involving women at the moment. One of the reasons I like this one is because it was a genuine one where the man and woman collaborate. There hasn't been a movie that's really been fun like this one for a long time. I still haven't found the movie that lies between costume dramas and a**-kicking. That would give you a lot of leeway.

TeenHollywood: Hugh, how do you juggle everything you do?

Hugh: B-12 shots man. Doing a big movie and a play can kill you.

TeenHollywood: Do you have your Tony speech ready?

Hugh: As the host! That's all I'm going to tell you.

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Lynn Barker is a Hollywood-based entertainment journalist and produced screenwriter.