Culture
03 Apr 18

Ben Mendelsohn, “It’s about how you treat fame, that defines how fame treats you.”

Australian actor Ben Mendelsohn is in the business of playing bad guys. From the head of an antagonistic crime family in Animal Kingdom, to a child molester in Una, Mendelsohn cut his acting teeth portraying alternating forms of villainy.

His latest role, as megalomaniac CEO Nolan Sorrento in Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Ernest Cline’s book, Ready Player One, has Mendelsohn fighting head-to-head against teenagers. The end goal for Sorrento is to gain control over the virtual reality universe humans have taken refuge in from the world ruined by climate change and mass corruption.

Back at home in Australia, Mendelsohn has been a leading man since he started off in acting in the ‘80s. In the US, his laugh, fixed stare and chill-inducing voice led naturally to his usability as the definitive bad guy. Mendelsohn doesn’t seem perturbed by this typecasting.

“I’ve always thought it’s kind of a compliment in this world; it’s a good job to get. […] I don’t trip on why I’m playing these villains. I’m just happy to be playing anything!”

In 2016, Mendelsohn’s international fame stepped up a gear after he appeared in one of the biggest film franchises on the planet, being cast in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Rogue One, as the top-grossing film of 2016 in the US, boosted Mendelsohn’s profile as an actor and recognisable face. Despite this, Mendelsohn maintains that the trappings of fame haven’t changed him.

“Fame is never what people think it is […] It’s about how you treat fame, that defines how fame treats you.”

Ready Player One is in cinemas now.

Read the full interview with Ben Mendelsohn in the current issue of Hot Press.