Matthias Schoenaerts (‘The Regime’) on playing Corporal Zubak like ‘Taxi Driver’: ‘He’s this bull in a china shop’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
“We never quite know if his intentions are good or manipulative… that is very appealing to work with because it allows you to keep people guessing,” remarks Matthias Schoenaerts about his starring role on the HBO limited series “The Regime.” The actor plays Corporal Zubak, a man with a violent past who is summoned to work at the palace for the chancellor of a fictional European nation. As he describes, the character is “somebody trying to move from dark to light,” who is “coming out of a very dark place” and “gets the opportunity to really profoundly change his life.” As a result, “He’s not one dimensional.” Watch our exclusive video interview above.
Created by Will Tracy of “Succession” and other politically-savvy shows, “The Regime” features a unique tone, moving from satire and farce to drama about authoritarianism and state violence. Schoenaerts says the overall style of the show comes from the directing, not necessarily the performances. “You just want to bring as much truthfulness to a character as possible and then let the context and the way it is directed add on,” explains the actor. For his character in particular, he says he played Zubak “as if I was playing ‘Taxi Driver,’” referring to the famous Martin Scorsese film starring Robert De Niro, adding, “Then by accident, he becomes comical because he’s this bull in a china shop, and then that contrast becomes hilarious.”
WATCH our exclusive video interview with Alex Heffes, ‘The Regime’ composer
At the heart of “The Regime” is Zubak’s relationship with Chancellor Elena Vernham, played by Kate Winslet. Schoenaerts and the Oscar-winning actress spoke often prior to production to figure out “what this project really was, because nobody really defined it.” He shares, “On the page, it was just bouncing all directions,” and he describes their on-screen collaboration as “a tango.” Though it was Elena’s idea to summon Zubak to the palace, the corporal quickly develops aspirations of his own that sometimes butt up against the chancellor’s. The actor characterizes their relationship as a “constant power struggle. It’s also mother-son relationship, it’s also kind of abusive woman-man relationship, it’s also mentorship.”
The power struggle between Elena and Zubak erupts in the third episode, in which Elena turns on Zubak for usurping too much of her authority and spotlight and. As a result, Zubak beats one of her billionaire allies bloody before being carted away to the prison underneath the palace. Schoenaerts says of that incredibly intense and visceral sequence, “It’s always hard to figure out how you get yourself to that point… It’s like a sprinter, you hear the shot, you just run.” He describes playing such a moment of total abandon and violence on screen as “a very controlled way of being… completely irresponsible.”
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Once in prison, Zubak encounters Elena’s former political rival, Edward Keplinger, played by Hugh Grant. The two characters have an incredibly rich dynamic as the magnanimous Keplinger tries to ally himself with Zubak to topple Elena’s regime. Schoenaerts remembers meeting Grant at a table read of the episode, called “Midnight Feast,” and “in the very first scene, he grabbed my hand… He naturally understood where to take it.” He commends the actor for being “so present and so clear” and “very generous, very sharp.” The performer also shares many scenes with Oscar nominee Andrea Riseborough, who plays Agnes, one of Elena’s closest staff members. He describes Agnes as “the moral compass of the series” and comments on the “very gentle, tender way that they deal with each other.”
The final episodes of “The Regime” are incredibly climactic as Zubak is welcomed back into Elena’s inner circle just before rioters threaten her government and breach the palace. Schoenaerts reveals that the incredible sequence of Elena and Zubak’s escape from the palace took “approximately two weeks at least” to shoot and required many different departments and actors to bring the tense scenes to life. In the finale, Zubak and Elena must permanently part in order for her to be reinstated to power, a development that leads to very powerful scenes between the actor and Winslet. “The scene by the pool, that’s a scene that Kate and I and also Will, that we spoke about right from the very start of production,” shares the performer, noting, “It was vital to really end on true emotion between two people of flesh and blood… To some extent, I truly believe that there was love.”
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