Henri Smith aka Timothy Olyphant -- On Set Interview -- I Am Number Four

Yet another interview from Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub at Collider.com.  This time he sits down with Timothy Olyphant who plays Henri, Number Four's Guardian or Cepan.  In the story, Henri truly becomes John's father figure and mentor as he grows and develops his Legacies and prepares to battle for his life against the Mogadarians.  Timothy discusses the role, working with DJ Caruso and some of the other projects he has been working on.

Here is an excerpt from the interview:

Collider: What is your character like, obviously he is a mentor to John.

Timothy Olyphant:  He plays John’s guardian, his sole purpose is basically to keep him alive and train him so that he can fight his own fight.

Collider:  Have there been any hints from D J or the writers about subtleties of your character that may be in the book that may not be obvious in the movie?

Olyphant:  Basically the process was when he was getting me to, when I read it I had a very specific take on what I would like to do with it, I had that conversation with DJ and we were on the same page about what I was talking about and we just kept poking around in that area, we talked about the book a little bit in terms of the source material and what was to important to honor, because I am not in the know in terms of the novel on occasion if I have an idea, it occurs to me that we have a source material that I don’t know if I am going in that direction. If I have an idea that goes outside of what’s on the page and I say “you know I know it’s not in the script but here is what I would like to do. I also need to ask and how does that relate to the book and obviously even though I haven’t read the book, others have and I am in a position to be able to ask the questions.

Collider:  Obviously D J brought you on the project, what was it that drew you to Henri?

Olyphant:  There was something fun there, I thought there was something fun to play.  I liked the relationship between Henri and John. It seemed like it, I was just very fond of that relationship.

Collider:  Because he is his guardian and he is protecting him, is it a father son relationship or more like a brother?

Olyphant:  It’s a little big of all of those things you know.  All those things wrapped up into one, there is a father son relationship, there is – although it is not easy because I don’t think Henri is that accessible to John as John would like, there is also a bit of a coach, teacher student that kind of thing, which I really like as well, it is like a father/coach situation which is a tough situation when your Dad is your coach, but that is the fun of it.

Collider:  As John’s protector are you able to help him develop his powers, learn about his powers.

Olyphant:  That’s right, if and when they come, I am there to help him with that and mentor him with that and help him understand it.  That is basically it, essentially it is about parenting. You are basically trying to get this kid in a position where he can survive on his own.  Like any good parent you are trying to get the kid in a position where he is stronger and more powerful, and able to achieve things that you couldn’t.

You can read the rest of the interview here.

I Am Number Four  hits theatres, February 18, 2011

Source:  Collider