Ioan Gruffudd: Amazing Grace

Okay, right away, let us call this gorgeous guy by his right name. Ioan (pronounced like Yo-han) is Welsh and his last name is pronounced Griffith. When he went into show biz, the actor decided to never change his name and we admire him for that. Whether it's those puppy-dog brown eyes, that curly black hair, his friendliness or the posh Brit accent that draws you in, this is one adorable fellow.

Enough gushing.. Ioan has tackled everything from Brit costume drama in the "Hornblower" and "The Forsythe Saga" TV series, to playing Mr. Fantastic.. the stretchy super-hero in the popular Fantastic Four films. Now, you can catch the versatile actor playing an amazing historical character in Amazing Grace. William Wilberforce, a British politician and philanthropist, almost single-handedly abolished slavery in the British Empire almost 30 years before it was ended in the U.S. by Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation in 1862.

Wilberforce was one cool dude! He also started the Royal version of the SPCA because he didn't like the horrible way animals were being treated. You can learn all this in a history book but why not see a well-made, well-acted film version of the story? We spoke with Ioan in Beverly Hills about period films versus big popcorn movies, his happiness at finally having an action figure in his image and all about Amazing Grace and the new Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer films!

Picture this suave cutie in jeans topped with white dress shirt and a black Armani jacket...

TeenHollywood: We're going to start with a very serious question. If Wilberforce had had our modern capacity for mass media, would the word against slavery have spread faster? For instance, if Anderson Cooper could have taken his CNN cameras into a slave ship back then, would the movement against slavery have gotten earlier momentum?

Ioan: The funny thing is, we have that capacity in this day and age to highlight these issues and we do get to see them on screen and CNN and Anderson Cooper does expose us to some of these atrocities which continue to happen today. So, we haven't really learned much since that period really. I think, unless we are presented by it every day and bombarded by it; unless it physically affects us, we're very quick to brush it under the carpet.

TeenHollywood: It's sad but true. It has to be personal. So, when Wilberforce took people to slave ships in person, it had more impact?

Ioan: Absolutely. They had to find out a way of exposing it and bringing it to life and they had to expose it to Wilberforce himself because he was aware of it but wasn't convinced of it. He needed to experience it himself.

TeenHollywood: How familiar were you with this story from school history lessons?

Ioan: I was slightly ignorant to the whole story. Whether that was me not paying attention or it passed me by [I don't know] but certainly, in British education, he is renowned and remembered as the British politician who abolished the slave trade. I think he is more of a footnote as far as the abolitionist history over here.

TeenHollywood: Are you a big activist? Have you ever stood up for a group or a cause?

Ioan: I'll be perfectly honest, I'm not one of those brave souls. I'm not necessarily a leader in that sense. That's what makes these people stand out from the rest of us is that they do have the courage and bravery to be that lone voice and then the rest of us can get on the bandwagon. It's tough to be like that.

TeenHollywood: That was you singing "Amazing Grace" in the movie, right?

Ioan: Absolutely, yes. I'm very proud of that.

TeenHollywood: So, at no point did you say 'get someone else to sing this?'

Ioan: Well, I think that I am a bit of a singer, coming from Wales; being Welsh, we are all very proud of our singing heritage. But [director]Michael Apted and the producers never actually asked me if I could sing and it came to that morning and it was 'shit, now he's gonna sing. What are we gonna do?' But, luckily I wowed them all with it. I got my old singing coach from drama college whom I hadn't seen for ten years since I left drama college, I called him up and asked him to help me out with the singing.

TeenHollywood: Did Wilberforce want to be a minister and had to choose between politics or the church? That wasn't quite clear.

Ioan: Absolutely. What he said was 'to praise God' whatever that means, to become a meditative monk or whatever or a preacher, I don't know. Certainly, in history, William Pitt the younger, the Prime Minister at the time and his best friend, wrote him a letter asking him to reconsider, because he was such a great politician, he was getting so far in politics, please don't give up that. Surely the religion can lead to action as well as meditation. Those are his words. They lifted his words from that letter to use in the script.

TeenHollywood: Are the British just more comfortable doing period pieces than actors from other countries?

Ioan: I know I'm as comfortable doing period as I am contemporary. I suppose we grow up with it in a sense, in the theater. We get to put on costumes and play a lot of period dramas or plays so we're exposed to it a little bit more I think because of our theatrical background. And, I love it because you put a costume on or a wig on and you're suddenly somebody else already. It's like playing as a child; you put on a cape or your father's jacket or your grandfather's jacket and suddenly you're able to play being that old man. Any prop ignites some sort of imagination.

TeenHollywood: Wilberforce also started the Royal SPCA and had many pets in his house. So, slavery wasn't his only issue. Do you have any pets?

Ioan: No I don't. I've never been around pets. I didn't have pets as a child.

TeenHollywood: That's sad.

Ioan: I know. I always had this image if I had a pet, he would be free to roam the fields. I'd have to live on a farm.

TeenHollywood: So, this animal advocacy was in the research on him?

Ioan: That was already in the script. It was a big part of his life. When you read about him, his house was filled with people or animals he was looking after. He was this incredibly rich guy, a wealthy man so he was able to be such an philanthropist.

TeenHollywood: This is a really meaty role. Were you worried that having played Mr. Fantastic might not make them think of you for it?

Ioan: Well, I don't think I would have got this part if it had not been for the success of the first FF movie.

TeenHollywood: Even having played Hornblower, you wouldn't have gotten this part?

Ioan: I suppose, I could prove until I was blue in the face that I could play the character but the powers that be, the producers, need an established name and numbers and figures because that's the name of the game these days but, thank the Lord for Fantastic Four, yeah!

TeenHollywood: Did you ever think that Mr. Fantastic was going to let you play a period piece?

Ioan: [laughs] It's extraordinary, isn't it, that people say 'wow, this is great and diverse' and I'm like 'well this is what I grew up on playing Hornblower and Pip and 'The Forsythe Saga' so it's my stock and trade really'. But, yes, playing a superhero in a spandex suit has allowed me to come back to what I do best. It's amazing.

TeenHollywood: But, when you look at it, they're both leaders in a way.

Ioan: Right. Yes. The reason I've been attracted to these projects over the years has been because they're such great characters. They're such great heroic figures. Producers are now realizing that I'm the go-to guy for any hero that you want to play. [laughs]

TeenHollywood: How does a British audience react to you in a Fantastic Four movie compared to you in a period piece?

Ioan: That's interesting. I haven't really spent any time in the U.K. since Fantastic Four came out. I did shoot this movie there but, I suppose it goes hand in hand for them for me to be seen in the frocks and wigs.

TeenHollywood: Have you gotten a lot of fan reaction to your Fantastic Four character?

Ioan: The response from Fantastic Four is primarily from kids running up to you and wanting to pull your arm and see if it stretches. [laughter]. But to think that I've affected somebody in that way... Even as a child, that's why I wanted to be an actor, the magic of movies. 'wow, he made me feel this way'. That's why I wanted to do Amazing Grace, because when I read the script I was bawling my eyes out at the end of reading it because of what he'd achieved, a sense of relief. I wanted to be that actor that affected me as a child. So, I got my chance to create that bit of movie magic. When you see the wonderment in a kid's eyes; they're so nervous and tentative because they can't quite believe it's you and then, obviously disappointed when I can't stretch.

TeenHollywood: Are you allowed to tell us any information about Fantastic Four 2?

Ioan: Well, I had a phone call this morning from Fox saying 'will you stop talking about the movie so much and stop ruining it for everyone'. So, what I can tell you, as the title suggests, it's the rise of the Silver Surfer and that's it [laughs]. At the beginning of the movie, we are embracing our powers, sort of coping with living in the public eye so that's an exciting element of it. There's an aspect of the movie where we sort of toy with the idea of not being superheroes anymore because it's such a responsibility. Then, of course the Silver Surfer arrives and the world is looking to us to help save it again. As far as a movie, I think it's a much better movie than the first one because that was sort of an origin movie and we were trying to sell it to a wider audience and not just cater to the fans. So, I think the fans were slightly disgruntled with the first movie because it took so long to get into it. And, we were working out the difficulty of presenting four or five different effects together working simultaneously. So, this one, we start the movie with a bang and it doesn't relent till the end. It's a real roller coaster of a ride.

TeenHollywood: Was there something particular the studio was mad about?

Ioan: They told me 'don't talk about Doug Jones as the Silver Surfer'. I'm like 'but, he's credited as The Silver Surfer'.

TeenHollywood: He told us about the part at the Pan's Labyrinth press day.

Ioan: I know. I think it's to the detriment of the movie. They should be celebrating Doug Jones as the Silver Surfer. He's brought this great character to life and they're just manipulating what he did on set; putting that sheen on him. I thought it was wonderful, so majestic. When you meet him, he's like a beanstalk of a guy, isn't he? But, his movement is fantastic, breathtaking. When I saw Pan's Labyrinth I was like 'that's you?' It's beautiful. I just want him to have his credit where credit's due.

TeenHollywood: Does this next "Fantastic" movie end in a way that you might want to see a third movie?

Ioan: [grinning] Perhaps it does. Everyone's aware that people have signed a three picture deal and I'd love for that to happen. They probably know now how it's going to perform with the tracking and they have an idea.

TeenHollywood: Have you seen the new Fantastic Four movie?

Ioan: Haven't seen a frame of it, no. I saw a little bit of dailies but it's somebody standing next to you in a green suit or a tennis ball with an X on it. I haven't seen any of it put together but that's the exciting aspect of making a movie like that is that I am like an audience member when I see it for the first time. I'm like 'whoa, I can't believe they made me stretch and do that!' There were bits in the first movie where they manipulated me entirely. There's a scene in the Baxter building where Dr. Doom is throwing lightning bolts at me and he eventually throws me out the window and I'm hanging outside the building. I remember shooting the bit where he threw lightning bolts at me and pretending to avoid them and they put the effect on and from then on, I run to the window and fall out the window. I never did that. It was a digital me... amazing. I didn't do any of that. It is breathtaking, really impressive. The difficulty with the new movie is every frame that the Silver Surfer is in, even just as a character talking, is an effect so it's costing a fortune.

TeenHollywood: What's it like being a toy; having an action figure of you?

Ioan: The coolest thing ever! I can't tell you... I collected all those Star Wars figures when Star Wars came out. I remember one of my first highs that I got was a little action figure of Superman about this high [indicates about four inches high]. My mom had gone to London to see a play and she bought us back a little toy. I treasured that thing so much. If I had known then that I would one day become a figure, I'd have flipped out.

TeenHollywood: Do you think it does or doesn't look like you?

Ioan: I think it looks very much like me. They got the proportion of the nose perfect; got a big clunker [does he mean honker?] in there.

TeenHollywood: Have you seen the new toys, the car?

Ioan: [excited] The Fantastic car? It's a toy? [he sounds like he's about 5 years old here] Is it online? No way! Does it look good? Do you think kids will want to buy it? It's a stunning-looking car. Honestly, it was like a playground ride. They had it on a gimble and it was able to do all this [leans back and forth] really fast. We had to be strapped in. It was hysterical.

TeenHollywood: You seem to enjoy playing a superhero. In the superhero world, who, not made into a movie yet, would you like to play and what historical figure would you like to play?

Ioan: In the comic book world, I'm afraid I'm not well-versed. I'm not an authority on comic books. I didn't read comic books as a child so I'm introduced to this via The Fantastic Four so I don't really have an image or person from a comic book that I'd love to play. In history, gosh.. John F. Kennedy.

TeenHollywood: Other than the next Fantastic Four, what is coming up for you?

Ioan: A film called The T.V. Set. I play a British executive who has been brought in to bring a bit of class to the whole proceedings but, of course, he tries to stamp his authority on it and be all about integrity and he devolves into this character interested in numbers and figures and so we see his sort of demise.

TeenHollywood: How was it doing a comedy after doing action and period pieces?

Ioan: I loved the opportunity. That's why I fought tooth and nail to get into that movie. I read it and immediately put it down and thought 'they'd never consider me for this'. Then they couldn't find the guy and funnily enough an assistant to Vin Diesel, who is now [director] Jake's [Kasdan's] assistant said, 'Listen, I know this great actor Ioan Gruffudd' because Vin is with my manager. This guy said [in Bronx accent] 'This guy is fantastic fuggedaboutit'. So, he said 'Well, just sit down with him. He's a good British actor'. So I did, I sat down and persuaded Jake to give me the part by reading and proving that I could do it.

TeenHollywood: Are you going to the Oscars this year?

Ioan: No. I'm not going to go until I get nominated or I'm a presenter.

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