Christoph Waltz: Tarzan is very close to some form of mythology already

Q How much exposure did you have to Tarzan before becoming involved in this film What are your earliest memories of the characterA It was all about Johnny Weissmuller American actor best known for playing Tarzan in films of the 30s and 40s Tarzan to me in my little world was always a black and white movie from the 30sChristoph WaltzAs a kid I thought it was incredibly fascinating and later on I thought it was hysterically funny And that was about that When they redid Tarzan in the 80s I thought they didnt quite pull it off but it was still interesting to have this other Tarzan perspectiveQ You have created so many characters for the screen Did director David Yates welcome your collaboration in shaping Leon Rom whom you play in The Legend of TarzanA He was immensely open to my suggestions and that was one of the lures for me It was originally going into a different direction and they generously let me participate in it And I can do that responsibly I always put story first So it was gratifying to be able to participate to a certain degree and have the feeling of being heardQ You dont like to talk about the characters you playA I think the very purpose of a story mdash especially a story like this which is halffantasy halfreal halffolk tale mdash is that it ties into some form of the collective subconscious Its known all over Its very close to some form of mythology already Mythology and stories of that kind mdash and stories altogether mdash create meaning They are designed for the listener or viewer to make sense of the world I just want to assist in facilitating that on screen for the spectator to project himself into Thats why I dont talk about the characters I playQ You have worked with Samuel L Jackson in the past Did you get to spend time together in this filmA That was one major regret mdash I didnt have any scenes with him I want to play a whole movie with Sam Hes a true actor When you watch his performance in this film there are a lot of heavy situations but never once does he get even remotely close to heavyhandedness He has the swing the feel the rhythm and the right touchQ What was it like working with Alexander Skarsgard as John ClaytonTarzanA I am always trying to be discreet to say the least When an actor is working more or less every day like Alex is in this film you want to only touch him with kid gloves because hes got so much on his shoulders And we didnt really have that many scenes together either we had a few scenes a few crucial ones But I usually try to adapt and be supportive If you are just one of the day players mdash when you are coming in and leaving again and then coming in at a later time again mdash that is a different mode than the leading actor who has the whole thing to carry So that defined my relationship with Alexander a little bit Not so much with Margot RobbieQ Hows Margot to work withA I have infinitely more scenes with her than with Alexander Margot is just one of the loveliest creatures on earth and shes just lovely to work withQ What qualities do you think Yates brings to this film as a directorA Its his movie so everything is subject to his vision And his vision is developing in the months and weeks before so you have to find out what that is all about And I like doing that On the first day he took me around the studio and showed me the extent of the operation I thought HmmQ The huge sets all the moving partshellipA Immense And he has to connect all the loose ends and bring all the strands and strings together and tie them into a beautiful knot So I do everything I can within my limited possibilities to support that And at the same time I happily support my own work as well So thats kind of a negotiation But as the captain of a ship of that size David is so considerate softspoken the sweetest most sensitive and circumspect person that you could ever imagine