Aaron Eckhart returns to the cinematic screen with I, FRANKENSTEIN, portraying the enigmatic figure that has captivated audiences for decades. The film opens nationwide January 24th.
In an HOMBRE exclusive, Eckhart takes us behind the scenes and offers his emotional insights into the making of this epic story.

After 200 years Dr. Frankenstein’s creature, still walks the earth. The film is set in a dark world where vigilant gargoyles and ferocious demons rage in a battle for ultimate power. Victor Frankenstein‘s creation Adam (Aaron Eckhart) finds himself in the middle of a war over the fate of humanity, discovering he holds the key that could destroy humankind.

From the co-writer of the hit supernatural saga, UNDERWORLD, comes the action thriller I, FRANKENSTEIN, written for the screen and directed by Stuart Beattie, screen story by Kevin Grevioux and Stuart Beattie, based on the Darkstorm Studios graphic novel “I, Frankenstein” created by Kevin Grevioux. The film is brought to life by a cast that also includes Bill Nighy, Yvonne Strahovski, Miranda Otto, Socratis Otto, Jai Courtney, Kevin Grevioux, Mahesh Jadu, Caitlin Stasey and Aden Young as Victor Frankenstein.

HOMBRE: I, Frankenstein certainly looks like quite an exciting project.
Aaron Eckhart: Yeah, It was. There was a lot of action in it.

H: Tell me about your take on this iconic character.
AE: Well, this is kind of the next chapter, it’s the evolution from Mary Shelly’s  Frankenstein. It takes us from the old into the new world; and it takes us to another world of a good, and evil. The battle for immortality with gargoyles and demons.
How the monster Frankenstein, who’s now called Adam, how he evolves into almost a human being, a normal person, and how he deals with that.
How he defends himself against the demons that are after him. They’d want to find out the secret of how he lives without a soul. So it’s quite exciting, and it’s imaginary world, and all those undertones and underworlds, and all that sort of stuff.

H: Sounds very different from what people have seen in the past. How do you think people will react to this new take on it?
AE:  Well I think that people are definitely going to have an opinion. I think they’re going to be excited by the film itself, and the journey in the story. But, you know everybody’s going to have an opinion on whether or not Frankenstein should be more strong, or more damaged, or the depth of speech, whether he should speak more, or less, and all that sort of thing. I think it’s a good conversation to have, because this film is out of Stuart Beattie’s imagination. It’s his take on Frankenstein, so there really are no rules.

H: When the script was presented to you, how did you react to the initial reading?
AE: Well, I saw in the script this great man who was trying to find his purpose in life. A man who feels he’s unworthy, unloved, and yet he’s in pursuit of friendship, love, and companionship. And I thought that’s a good story to tell.

H: You said there was a lot of action. How did you prepare physically for the challenges?
AE: I worked my little butt off, hahaha. I trained for six months every day.
I worked with my trainer; I got in very good shape for it. And, you know I felt like a guy who is basically living on the streets, and living off the land for God knows how many years. Eating crumbs, and eating what he could find, and what he could catch. I felt like he had to be very strong. He had to be very physical, and in-depth. You have to be a fighter, because that’s what keeps him alive basically.

H: Where was it done?
AE: Melbourne, Australia

H: How long were you there?
AE:  Oh boy, we were there I think four months. I mean I’m the only American in the movie. Everybody else is Australian; Bill’s English, but all the crew, everybody all the stunt coordinators, and everyone was Australian. So it really had that Australian history. Stuart the director is Australian, so we had a good time making it there.

H: You spent six months training for it, was this the most intense physical role that you’ve ever had?
AE: Yeah for sure, just learning stick fighting. I mean, having no idea what it was before, and then this pro’s coming over to my house, and putting sticks in my hands.  Then saying, you’ve got to look like you’ve been doing this for a hundred years. We did it, we trained hard, and it really worked out. So I feel like by the end of my training that I was a pretty good stick fighter. It’s all in the movie,  Stuart the director didn’t  want to cut away the action he didn’t want to cut it to pieces.  He wanted to show it all at one time, and that meant that I had to do all the fighting.

H: So does that mean that you pretty much did many of the stunts involved in the film?
AE: Yeah, I should become a stunt man I guess, hahaha. I really am a stunt man in a lot of ways. Except I don’t go through glass. I leave that to the guy whose face goes right through the glass.

H: Haha, yeah that can be dangerous. Do you think people will see Frankenstein as a hero, a villain, or combination of both?
AE: I feel they will think that this is a man who is trying to get along in life, and find joy. He’s definitely not the villain, because even all the way back in the beginning Frankenstein, the monster, was always looking for love. It’s just that others didn’t accept him, and I think that’s why this story is so important to tell. Because, we all feel at some point in our lives that we’re not understood, and it’s how we evolve through life, and the life quest and overcoming obstacles. That’s what this movie is about.

H: You’re saying that in addition to the action there’s a lot more depth to the film, it seems.
AE: Yes, I’m pretty sure that there’s a story there of good, and evil. Sort of going through and learning life lessons, and what it all means, and that sort of stuff.

H: Also this was a comic novel. Do you think it sticks to the story line?
AE:  Stuart made it you know, I’ll just say yeah.

H: This is yet another film where you are taking on a mythical character, like Two-Face in The Dark Knight…
AE: Yeah! They’re making more and more of those every day. It’s like the audience and the world really has an appetite for that sort of thing, and so this is another incarnation, and I think it’s an interesting road to go down.

H: How do you feel about doing these kinds of roles, as opposed to the romantic comedies, or dramas like you’ve done in the past?
AE: Well, I’m doing both. I think I can do a movie like this, and then do a very small movie like the movie I have coming up. I’m doing a pretty intense drama about a solider that comes back from war, that kind of thing. So I do both. I do everything. I always try and make my characters human no matter if they’re good, or bad, or if they’re monsters. Always finding that human element in everything.

H: Tell us about the next project that you’re working on?
AE: Well, next week I’m starting on a movie called ‘Fadeout.’ It’s about a wheel chair bound adventurist. You know he has to go on his journey and tell his story, and it will be fun.

H: That sounds like another challenging project. For people who admire your career, what advice would you give somebody who’s interested in show business?
AE:  I’ll give the advice that Harrison Ford gave to me one day which was, just be yourself, and then just go do that. There’s no other key, and never say no, and never give up. Well, everybody says that, but they say it because it’s true.

H: Why should audiences see I, Frankenstein?
AE: Because they’re going to be wildly entertained they’re going to see things they’ve never seen before, they’re going to be in a world where they’ve never been, and they’re going to see action like they’ve never seen before. Really in terms of stick fighting. And it’s got a great theme, and great characters, and gargoyles, and demons. It’s going to be a very fun world to be in for a couple of hours.