In his post-Doctor Who years, Matt Smith has been unafraid to take on a huge array of roles, from Patrick Bateman on stage, to bloodthirsty Targarye
In his post-Doctor Who years, Matt Smith has been unafraid to take on a huge array of roles, from Patrick Bateman on stage, to bloodthirsty Targaryen princes – but his look in Caught Stealing might be his most dramatic transformation. The actor is teaming up with Darren Aronofsky for his fresh crime thriller, in which Austin Butler’s Hank gets pulled into the criminal underbelly of ‘90s New York – coming into contact with Smith’s Russ, a full-on, mohawked punk. It’s a wild change of look for Smith, who shaved his own hair to pull off Russ’s sky-scraping ‘do.
But if Russ looks like a formidable figure, there’s a sweet soul under that hardened exterior. Exploring the character, Smith took on some literary inspiration. “I [reckoned that Russ had] moved to New York and learned all of these John Cooper Clarke poems because he’s a punk, but he’s quite a sensitive punk,” he tells Empire. While preparing the role, Smith sent several Cooper Clarke poems to Aronofsky, including one bluntly titled ‘Twat’.
It’s not just poetry – Russ’ music taste also extends beyond the usual punk bible bands like Black Flag and The Clash. “I used to say that Russ is a fucking mad punk; he goes home and listens to classic punk tunes and loses his mind,” says Smith, “but there’s also a day where he goes home and puts on Whitney Houston. He’s one of those guys who’s a bit of everything.” Hey, sometimes you just wanna dance with somebody.
Read Empire’s full Matt Smith interview – about getting into character as Russ in Caught Stealing – in the Avatar: Fire And Ash issue, on sale Thursday 31 July. Order a copy online here. Caught Stealing comes to UK cinemas from 29 August.
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