By: Lynn Barker
In the eye-popping actioner Gods of Egypt, Bek, an unlikely mortal hero played by cute Brenton Thwaites of The Giver, Maleficent and the upcoming 2017 Pirates of the Caribbean movie, has to rescue his true love and save a world in which gods and humans co-exist.
Bek has an alliance with the powerful god Horus (“Game of Thrones’” Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) to take Egypt’s throne back from evil and powerful god Set (Gerard Butler of 300). To bring peace and prosperity back to the world, the duo has to fight Set and his baddies across the heavens and into the afterlife.
Gerard Butler as SetCourtesy of Lionsgate
Character descriptions are needed before the guys tell us more. Set is the god of darkness and is jealous of his bro Osiris, god of nature, life and death whom his dad Ra favors. He thinks humans are dispensable and far inferior.
Horus is the Lord of the Air and is a golden winged creature. He’s egotistical but learns through mortal Bek to respect and even like mortals. His dad was Osiris and he wants to take the throne back from evil usurper Set.
Horus threatens mortal BekCourtesy of Lionsgate
Bek, the mortal, is mischievous and poor with little to offer his lady love Zaya. He’s lost faith in the gods but…well, let Brenton tell us:
- Brenton: I play a character called Bek. He is a mortal in a word living with gods. Basically my true love is taken from me in the early half of the movie. In order to get her back I have to team up with the gods to restore order in Egypt but my ulterior motive is to get her back and save her.
Brenton as BekCourtesy of Lionsgate
Q: What is your favorite scene?
- Brenton: I enjoyed the scenes with Nikolaj and Gerard where they both have a lot of physical stuff mixed in with the drama. There are a lot of stunts. It’s a very powerful moment and I thought that the energy and tension created between both those actors was great to watch. They both brought a really cool energy to the set. Gerard is so powerful in the way he talks and his physicality that it’s exciting to watch him.
Bek with love Zaya (Courtney Eaton)Courtesy of Lionsgate
Q: Nikolaj, what was it like working with Brenton?
- Nikolaj: Brenton is a great young Australian actor. He’s already worked with a bunch of great people in the business. He’s very dedicated, very professional and also a lot of fun. We had fun outside and on the shoot.
Brenton Thwaites Bek PosterCourtesy of Lionsgate
Q: And working with Gerard?
- Nikolaj: I think he had his big break in 300 where he plays this hero so he’s done these kind of movies before on this scale and here he plays a different kind of character. He’s the villain of the piece and he’s very good. He’s a very good actor and great at the physical aspect of his role and he likes to have fun on set which makes it easier especially when you shoot these big action sequences. It takes a long time to shoot them and sometimes you have to do little bits and pieces. He’s just a real pro.
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as HorusCourtesy of Lionsgate
Q: Gerard, tell us about your powerful character Set.
- Gerard: He is the villain and it’s fun to play the villain. He’s the ultimate bad**s. He is so incredibly dangerous and angry yet it’s composed and he is a weapon personified. It’s not always in his power but he has incredible power. He can kick anybody’s a** and love doing it but, at the same time, he is resourceful, he’s charming, he’s manipulative, he’s cunning but I also wanted to put in there humor and vulnerability and sadness and loneliness because he has all of those things.
Gerard Set Poster and Nikolaj Horus PosterCourtesy of Lionsgate
Q: How do the humans and gods relate to each other in the story?
- Gerard: They do interact. They are living together and you see what they learn from each other and there’s this incredible journey that Horus (Nikolaj’s character), the god hero and Bek take. On this journey they learn so much about what life is really about and that they can learn from each other.
A giant lizard-like creatureCourtesy of Lionsgate
Q: What do you hope audiences will get from the film?
- Brenton: For me, when I watch these kinds of films I just completely relax and get entertained for two hours.
- Nikolaj: Well, I love it when you go to a movie and you’ve been transported to a whole different world. There are some images in this movie that just blow you away.
Gods of Egypt PosterCourtesy of Lionsgate
Gods of Egypt is in theaters this Friday, February 26th!
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