Tarsem's Divine Designs

Daniel Sharman as Ares in Immortals: "He's not going to be sitting on his arse. He's always going to be where the action is."

There is little doubt that Tarsem Singh is one of the most visually enthralling directors in cinema today, and his new riff on the Theseus myth Immortals is another stroke on that canvas. But Daniel Sharman, who plays hammer-slamming war god Ares, says there is still room for the actor.

"Tarsem, if you've seen any of his earlier work, is almost like a painter," Sharman said, "He has an incredible visual sense of composition." Much of the cast arrived in Montreal for stunt training a month before filming began, but much of the elaborate set was already constructed. Sharman said, "[Singh] walked us all through – what it was going to do, where we were going to be, what it meant – so you really got a sense of the things he wanted to do, the very classical Greek things he wanted to put in there and the twists and the deviations he wanted to do."

That visual perfectionism came with a very reasonable cost, When it came to nailing a shot, Sharman said. "It may take you half an hour longer, it may take two hours longer, but you know those two hours are worth it because what will be on the screen will look phenomenal." It also meant Singh was comfortable enough to let the actors really let rip. Sharman said, "He'll say, 'We've got that, but if you want to do it again, do it as many times as you want.' So you know that he's on your side, and once you're in that place you can riff and play with it, and do what you want with it."

The slim Englishman admits he is not the traditional choice for the Greek warrior god, and told Singh as much when he was hired. "I said, 'Look, I don't particularly look like the archetypal god of war. What's going on here?' He said, 'I want to be one of those character where, although he's not built, he can do some damage in that kind of wiry, young, extremely taut way.'" For Sharman that made Ares one of "those people who exist with that inner wiring that's always about to snap."

He also had to contend with one of Singh's most elaborate costume designs: The huge, spiked war helm that Ares wears into battle. Not only did it weigh close to 20 pounds, but it is not exactly maneuverable. When comic artist David Mack visited Austin earlier this year, he was unveiling a portrait of Ares for Immortals: Gods and Heroes, an anthology title from Archaia Press. The spikes looked like some avant-garde design concept, but the full helmet really made it to the screen. Sharman said, "You put it on and it looks beautiful. Then you realize you have to do all your stunts in it."

Immortals opens today, Nov. 11. Check our listings page for screening times and locations.

Immortals: Gods and Heroes from Archaia Press is available now.