It’s not one finds themselves in the physical presence of a King, but because that’s what Sharlto Copley plays in Disney’s Maleficent, I can say I have…right?? As part of the continued coverage of Maleficent, today I get to bring you a few tidbits from my interview with Sharlto Copley, who plays King Stefan in Maleficent. I have always been a huge SC fan, his on screen antics have always made me laugh. While I loved the characters he played in past movies, I found myself despising his character by the end of Maleficent!
I don’t want to spoil the movie for you, so this is going to have bits and pieces of the interview. I will say, he was HYSTERICAL in person. His personality was like a bright star shining into the room. I’ll try to remember to come back and share the whole interview for you once the movie has been released, but for now, check out a few of the things I can share.
After watching the movie, I knew it must have taken a great deal of preparation, so when we asked how he stepped into his role of Stefan, he had this to say:
He did say he found his character “quite unpleasant” to play. Why? Well, you’ll have to go see Maleficent, this Friday to find out of course!!!
Now, of course, as with most actors who like to have fun, there were pranks! During this portion of the interview, I really wish we had been allowed to video record, because as he re-enacted the pranks I am about to share, I was laughing so hard I was in tears. After hearing that Angelina was a better prankster, we wanted to know how that could be!
Sharlto Shares All About Maleficent On-Set Pranks
There were a lot. Most of it was pretty crazy and will remain with me. Sometimes would improvise, my dialog in, as I sort of have been known to do. I was trying to prank her (Angelina) on camera. So I pretended I heard a noise, and I suddenly said to her, “Do you hear something?” She sort of looked at me like, “Oh, what’s he doing,” you know, but she’s got to keep going. So, I run off and I go behind the bush and I’m I’m diving down like I’m finding things. I come up with the raven, as if the raven had been following her. Kind of like, you know, “I got him!” The whole crew laughed and I thought I was very clever and very funny.
Sharlto Tells All About How The Prank Backfires!
We finished shooting at nine thirty in the evening, and the next morning I get to my trailer. It was about six o’clock. I’m very tired and I just like can’t wait to just get into my trailer, so I open the door and there’s these two huge, real ravens in my trailer. They literally looked at me and kind of screeched really loud. After that, I was literally too scared to go into my trailer. It took half an hour before the guy could come and remove the ravens. They are intimidating birds!
I wish you all could have seen him re-enacting his response to the ravens in his trailer. It was hilarious!
Sharlto’s role as King Stefan is a very intense role from start to finish. Things he does, traits he takes on, and just everything he has to put into this role, seems like it would be a hard role to take on. He did it seamlessly, but learned a few things during the process. There is one thing, in particular he wants to make sure everyone takes away from the movie
Spend time with your children!. I have people asking, “What’s the message for my child?” I want to tell them, “Well, the message is for you!” It does have a lesson for your, for your children, but it’s very much for the parents too.
As we talked more with Sharlto, there is one scene in the movie he had an extremely hard time with. Because of his values, how he was raised, this particular scene really “tormented” him to his core. To hear how emotionally tolling this was for him, just solidfied what kind of a man Mr. Copley is.
On What He Would Be If He Weren’t An Actor
I’d direct. I would definitely be a director. That’s what I was gonna do before and I’ll go back to that. If I couldn’t be in entertainment I think I would have made a really good lawyer. My only problem would be I would not be able to defend somebody that I thought was guilty. That would just destroy me. But I think I could argue very well in court.
There is so much more to him than the funny man, we are used to seeing on screen. He is so talented, down to earth, and a great person all around. It was such a pleasure getting to chat with him for a bit, and I can’t wait to go seem him as King Stefan again this weekend when Maleficent opens on 5/30!
Be sure to like Maleficent on Facebook . Follow @Maleficent on Twitter, as well as the hashtag #MaleficentEvent to follow along with all the upcoming interviews and movie reviews. Don’t miss it, in theaters, or you may very well be in an Awkward Situation…
Be sure to check out my interviews with Angelina Jolie and Elle Fanning, as well! Will you be heading to see Maleficent this weekend?
**Thank you to Sharlto Copley and to Disney for providing me with this amazing opportunity. While most expenses involved were covered, all opinions are my own**
Toni Patton
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This movie is going to be FANTASTIC!! We love DIsney! He will be great in the role.
Copely is handsome and looks like a great fit for this movie. I really cannot wait to watch it.
I love learning a little bit of what went into the role like this!
I am looking forward to watching this movie only because my oldest has gone on and on about it so i really want to see what it is like,From everything i have read so far its going to be amazing.
All actors end up wanting to direct, that’s no surprise! But I’m glad to hear that Stephan has a bit of humanity, even if it’s through backstage.
How exciting you got to attend this. I can’t wait to see the movie.
I love that he saw the potential for a cautionary tale about pride and ego. I can’t wait to see this movie.
I can’t wait to see this movie this weekend!! Been looking forward to it for a year
Sounds like you had a great time at the interview. He seems like a truly nice person. This is my all time favorite Disney story and I definitely am going to see the movie. Can’t wait!
I love the raven prank! I would have totally flipped out! Good to know Angelina can take a joke and then return the favor!
I’ve actually never even seen Sleeping Beauty before so I had no idea the king played such a big part in the story. I can’t wait to see Sharlto in the role!
Thats cool you got to interview him and Angelina too!!! This seemed like a wonderful opportunity – I was supposed to see the pre-screening last night but somehow I missed it. This is gonna be a huge movie!
I would love to see the movie soon, but we have plans for the weekend already (and limited babysitting time on Saturday night!) I love how normal actors/actresses can be in real life and interviews, yet they are able to get into character and be completely awful/mean/whatever the role entails!
What a great interview. I love hearing how they find their roles and characters within themselves!
I saw a preview for this; sounds SO good! I think I may take my son to this!
That is too funny about the ravens! Can’t wait to see this movie!
It’s interesting to hear how tortured he was with that scene. I will have to see why!
It’s also neat to get to know the person behind the role they are playing. Looking forward to seeing this soon with my husband.
He seems perfectly cast for that role. I look forward to seeing the movie this weekend!
Woo hoo! CAnnot wait to see this movie when it comes out! Looks awesome!
I like that he was fun in person, how cool that you got to meet him. I do bet this interview/event was fun!
It is great to be introduced to another character in the movie. I honestly have been so focused on the main characters
I’ve so much about his movie online and it looks amazing! Can’t wait to see it!
It’s interesting when an actor says a role is unpleasant. I figured they like the diversity of roles – some good guys, some bad guys. “Unpleasant” makes it sound like he didn’t enjoy the part. Can’t wait to see it to put his statement into context!
I seriously can not wait to see this film.
He’s terrific! Awesome to listen to both in person and on screen!
They are certainly going “all out” for this movie. Looks exciting!
what a great interview! I ended up despising him in the end too…goes to show what a great actor he is
I am excited to see this movie. I’m not 100% sure if my kids are old enough to really enjoy it, but I hope they will!
I want to see this movie so much!! I will be there tonight!
ooh, what a fun post! I wanna see this movie soooo bad! I’m hoping my little one is into it, too. He was scared of the movie theatre the last time we went; time to try again 😉 <3
I cannot wait to see this movie! Maleficent is one of the scariest villains of all time.
I cannot wait to see the movie. I think we are going to go see it this weekend.
It is nice to get information on the art we like from he people who helped create it.
Saw the movie on Friday. He def played a great part. I didn’t like his accent though.. I felt it came and went :/
Sharlto did such a great job as Stephan. We loved him and understanding him helped us understand Maleficent so much more.