Review by RCR Entertainment Reporter, Eddie Villavueva follow him on Twitter, Facebook, & Instagram @anticfire
“Someday, the violence will end. Someday… children, like Illyana, will not be victims of a war they are not a part of.”
Those aren’t the words of a political figure looking to grab a few extra sympathetic votes. They’re not the statements of persistent protesters standing outside the White House. It’s the statement a man of with the skin as hard as iron, and the heart of a hero.
They’re the words from Marvel comic’s man of steel: Piotr Rasputin, otherwise known as Colossus.There have been several conversations with up and coming actor Andre Tricoteux – the man who looks like he was practically bred to play the role of Colossus in the upcoming blockbuster film, Deadpool – in the last few weeks, but it always seemed like it was just a shot in the dark conversation with one of the most iconic characters in Marvel history.
Red Carpet Report caught up with Andre, and wanted to have a bit more of an in-depth look at the man behind the virtually indestructible Russian power house of a mutant.
Andre, Born and raised in Yellowknife, a small mining town in Northwest Canada, was an athlete throughout childhood and participated in various sports including wrestling, hockey, basketball, and volleyball. Following his graduation from the University of Calgary where he played volleyball, Andre used his colossal figure and height (6’10”) to his advantage by taking up professional wrestling. After traveling the world for wrestling competitions, he eventually returned to his hometown where he was stationed at a diamond mine until he decided to move to Vancouver to pursue acting and work as a stuntman on a few popular Canadian TV shows, one of which was the 2011 series, True Justice, starring the (in)famous martial artists in the industry, Steven Seagal. “Yeah, that was an experience,” Andre laughed. “Steven Seagal, he’s…an interesting guy.”
During the course of his life, however, Andre does mention how people like Seagal, as well as Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Russell, and every other iconic ‘80s and early ‘90s action star, have been a big part of his influence and inspiration for becoming an actor. The issue with those films, however, is the fact that many people are trying to remake them, not carrying with them the one thing that separates them from their source films: great action stars. “They’re great! I love those films, the way people chose to emulate the actors, not the characters. I think that’s what’s different nowadays: we have so many movies now that place more importance on the character, not really the actor. People would rather remember Iron Man, not Robert Downey Jr.” One of the biggest parts of his admiration with action stars and their films was a little film by the legendary director, John Carpenter: Big Trouble in Little China. “That was a great movie! I loved Kurt Russell in it, and the story was just incredible! If they ever finally decide to do the remake of that film, I’d love to play Kurt Russell’s character, although I think they already have Dwayne (Johnson) for that role. That’s a film remake I’d love to be a part of.”
Speaking of action films, Andre began to talk a bit about his role in the upcoming Marvel film, Deadpool. “We kept him (Colossus) very traditional to the original comic book,” he states. “You’re going to get to see a little bit more – or actually, a lot more, about who Colossus is, like how he sees the world, and how he fits in the world.” Andre was a bit tightlipped when talking about the film, but was able to give us some nuggets about what we can expect from his character. “You’re going to get to see a little bit more of his personality, which is really cool. I’m hoping that the audience will respond well to it.”
In previous interviews, Andre had made mention that, although his character has made many appearances in the previous X-Men films, his portrayal in Deadpool will actually differ from the previous films. “It was very important for Tim (Miller) and the Deadpool team to keep the story really traditional, from the look of him, his ethnicity, everything, is very true to the comic books. You’re going to see that that is a big difference, and how they’re going to give a little bit more of his back story, and how he sees his place in the world. I think that will differ from previous versions.”
If you’re unfamiliar with whom Colossus is, he is a Russian mutant also known by his real name, Piotr Rasputin. He possesses the ability to transform his body into organic steel, giving him immense strength and durability. Colossus is, physically, one of the strongest mutants in Marvel. “He has a great story. He’s got a lot of layers to him he’s a complex guy, but he’s also quite the traditional hero type”, Andre mentions, in regards to the comic version of his character. “I think Colossus should have his own movie. I think they could easily spin-off one on him.” Colossus had his first appearance in Marvel Comics back in 1975, in Giant-Size X-Men #1, and was later given a deeper look into his backstory in Marvel Comics 2008’s X-Men Origins: Colossus.
Marvel had a unique approach of creating characters that were not like most other heroes. Creating a character like Colossus painted a beautiful picture of someone who not only has powers, but someone who became an outcast for them, like the rest of the X-Men. It gave an opportunity to give humanistic emotions to incredible people who later became heroes. “I think that’s really what helped differentiate Marvel from some of the more traditional characters in the DC world, for instance. People can relate, especially to the X-Men characters, because they do come from different societies and communities, but they have this common thing about them: they’ve been shunned by people who have been afraid of them.”
This year, however, wasn’t an easy one for Andre. During the course of filming Deadpool, Andre lost one of the most important people in his life: his loving and supportive wife, Nicole. She had been fighting a battle against melanoma. “She had gone through surgery to remove it last year, and we thought she was cancer free for eleven months.” The heaviness of his voice began to build as he continued. “The cancer returned last Christmas, but she was responding well to the next level of treatment. That was why I took on Deadpool, it was really important to her that I do it, because it was a big opportunity for me.” Andre was hopeful that the she was responding well to the treatments, and did his best portraying the Russian man of steel. Sadly, things took a turn for the worst. “It wasn’t until almost at the end of the movie when the treatments stopped working. It spread into her cerebral fluid in her brain, and we ran out of options.” It was shortly thereafter that Nicole passed away, just a brief nine days later in June.
As a journalist, there are times that you wish you could reach through the phone, put a hand on someone’s shoulder, look them in the eye, and just help them carry their burden. This was one of those times. “Everybody faces tragedy. I’m honestly in the middle of my own, and I’m just trying to deal with it the best I can, to honor her memory. I get two choices: I could give up, or I just get up and try to do positive things, getting into my training, into work, trying to heal, and just kinda…live.”
Andre mentions that he doesn’t mind talking about his late wife, and attributes all of his success and confidence to her. “She was an incredible person. Strong and brave, she was my partner, and really supported me with my dreams. I wouldn’t have any of the level of success that I’ve had today without her being in my camp. She’s the big reason why I do this for a living, so I’m just trying to honor her by moving forward and doing the best I can.” Andre states that although this is hard, it’s part of his story now. “That’s life. The biggest thing I learned, and that I can impart on everybody is that growing old is a privilege. It’s not a right. I feel people sometimes forget that.”
One of the other big films that Andre has coming down the pipeline is the greatly anticipated video-game-inspired Warcraft, whose trailer was just released today. “That’s going to be another fantastic movie! We finished that in the spring of 2014, so it’s spent a long time in post-production.” Andre was excited to mention that Warcraft is going to blow some minds. “The gaming studio was partnered with the film studio, and it was really important to stay true to the game. That’s why I think the hardcore Warcraft fans are going to be really happy with it.” Andre states that Legendary really took things to the next level, starting with the CGI. He jokes, “The CG is going to make Avatar look like a cartoon.” The process was really intense, as Andre relates the experience to working at NASA.
“There’s like five or six rows of people on computers, working on the CG live, while they’re shooting it. It was cool! It was a different experience.” When asked about his exposure to the actual game, and whether or not he’s played it, Andre began to laugh. “I did. I gotta be honest, I’m not a hardcore Warcraft player, I haven’t lost relationships or jobs and things like that to it, but I have played a little bit of it.” He did however, get back into it when he got the role, and did his research for the film. “But yeah, I wouldn’t say I’m a hardcore Warcraft player.” He does assure fans of Warcraft that the film is going to appease the fans who are quick to judge and critique. “At the end of the day, the franchise is about the game. They (studios) want to share the story with everybody, but they also want to keep their hardcore audience happy. I’m sure there’s going to be some troll that has something negative to say, but the story is great, and I think it’s going to be a potential franchise that could do four or five movies. I think people are going to be happy with it.”
Along with his nerd cred of starring in the previously mentioned films, Andre also has another confession to make: he’s super stoked about the new Star Wars film! “I love Star Wars! I’ve wasn’t really a big trekkie fan, but Star Wars – how can you not be excited about it? Who didn’t want to be a Jedi Knight growing up?” One of his biggest points of excitement he has for the new film is the return of old faces. “I like what J.J. Abrams has done with the franchise since he’s taken it on, and how they incorporated some of the old characters into these ones. Han Solo, Leia, seeing everyone coming back, that’ll be cool.”
Along with Deadpool and Warcraft coming out next year, Andre is hopeful and ready for new projects to come his way. It’s a little ironic how Andre portrays a character that mirrors him a bit, as someone who, although large in stature, his intimidating exterior gives way to how large his heart is, and how well he can relate to people. From being Colossus, an Orc Captain, or even thug #2, he has had a great spirit about his career, and looks forward to many things to come his way, not forgetting where he’s from, and excited about what’s in store. From my perspective, 2016 can’t come fast enough, and I can only imagine what else Hollywood will have in store for its new and brightest compatriot, Andre Tricoteux. As Colossus once asked Kitty Pryde, “Could this be the beginning of a beautiful friendship?”, I think we’ve found a friend in one of Hollywood’s newest and brightest action stars.
Connect with Andre by following him on Twitter: @andretricoteux and Instagram: @andretricoteux.
Deadpool debuts February 12th of 2016
Connect with Deadpool Online:
http://fox.co/DeadpoolMovieSite
Like Deadpool on FACEBOOK:
http://fox.co/DeadpoolFB
Follow Deadpool on TWITTER:
http://fox.co/DeadpoolTwitter
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http://fox.co/DeadpoolInstagram
Warcraft debuts June 10th of 2016
From Legendary Pictures and Universal Pictures comes Warcraft, an epic adventure of world-colliding conflict based on Blizzard Entertainment’s global phenomenon. www.warcraftmovie.com
Directed by Duncan Jones (Moon, Source Code) and written by Charles Leavitt and Jones, the film also stars Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster, Dominic Cooper, Toby Kebbell, Ben Schnetzer, Rob Kazinsky and Daniel Wu is a Legendary Pictures, Blizzard Entertainment and Atlas Entertainment production.
