Patrick Kake has taken the time to answer some of our questions about the Chronicles of Narnia. He plays the role of General Oreius, the Centaur that leads Aslan’s army. He was also the stunt double of Kevin Sorbo in Hercules.
Patrick Kake: Yes, I have read six of the Chronicles of Narnia so far and will probably read the last book “The Last Battle” on the plane to the London world premiere. I first read “The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe” after I landed the role of Oreius. I had always known about “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” but I was always more into Marvel action hero comics and wild life books. I think the two books of the six I have read so far that stand out for me are “The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe” and “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.” I would love to see “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” made into a film I could see it being a visually stunning movie.
NarniaFans.com: What are your memories of that?
Patrick Kake: Having read these books only 15 months ago my memories of the books are obviously very clear. The Chronicles of Narnia books by C.S. Lewis are very cleverly written. I loved the way he would come into the story like a storyteller that was surrounded by a group of seated children transfixed by his every word, and would briefly explain how something would sound-like or taste-like and then climb back into the character and continue with the story. Though these books were written 50 years ago, I think they still continue to take people who read them on an amazing mythical journey. I’m looking forward to reading “The Last Battle.”
Patrick Kake: Landing the role of Oreius was just amazing, and it was a nervous wait I can tell you. My agent “Odd management” would give me updates every couple of days sayin “Patrick you’re being put on the short list,” then it would be “It’s down to 5 of you,” then it would be “It’s down to you and another guy from the UK” and then, “Patrick you have been given the role of Oreius!” YEE HAA!!! For any actor to have an opportunity to be part of such a huge film doesn’t present itself every day, and as a child I had always dream’t of being an action hero on the big screen, so to be honest it was too a pretty emotional experience. To have an action figure made out of your character is also pretty cool. (“Some boys never grow up!”)
NarniaFans.com: What experiences did you have on the set and what will you remember most?
Patrick Kake: The time in the Southern Alps of Flock Hill was mind blowing. First there was the heart stopping scenery of the snow capped mountains that would, on some mornings, be coated in a violet/red sunrise as we travelled to work. My first sight of Base Camp Flock Hill was a sight to behold. It looked like a small town that was made of huge tents placed in the middle of a wilderness. There were vehicles of all shapes and sizes coming and going, film equipment for Africa, 5 helicopters ready for action and horse wranglers with a stable of horses and people everywhere. On any one day there would be 600 hundred people for breakfast, and it was always a carnival type atmosphere with extras singing while playing guitars and bongo drums.
One particular day on set, while we were waiting for the snow to clear, we had a doubles Foo’s ball competition. It was funny to see William and Skandar who had teamed up together, taking on the likes of the gaint ogres and easily beating them within about 2 minutes. Needless to say William and Skandar sweeped all comers to be crowned doubles foo’s ball champions.
One nice moment was after we had finished a scene; Georgie [Lucy] walked up to me and said, “Excuse me Patrick could I get a shoot of you and I comparing sword sizes please?” Very sweet. It turns out that the set photographer had taken the same shoot and passed it onto Perry Moore who put it in his movie companion book. That would have to be my favourite photo of all.
With 3 units shooting film at the same time it always exciting. Sometimes I would be standing on top of a hill beside William with a helicoptor shooting over head then it was off to another unit to shoot battle scene footage with Shane Rangi and then finish the day in the green scene theatre shooting centaur galloping scenes.
Other memoriable moments happened off set. There were birthdays, a wedding, Tilda’s famous barbeques, even a traditional Pacific Island feast cooked using white hot stones prepared by Siaosi Fonua who was one of the stuntman. One afternoon Shane Rangi and I were released early from work so we explored an anicent lime stone cave that was situated a couple of km’s down the road from Flockhill Base Camp. It had freezing water gushing through, which over thousands of years had created an interior that looked like the limestone had melted and then solidified and in some places it was 30ft high. It took us about 25 mins to get through to the other side. It was very cool.
All great memories I will never forget.
NarniaFans.com’s glamel: When are you planning to get married?
Patrick Kake: I’m already married.
NarniaFans.com’s glamel: What type of girls do you like?
Patrick Kake: There is one particular girl I like, and that would be my wife.
NarniaFans.com’s glamel: How do you maintain your body?
Patrick Kake: I train 4 to 5 times a week and do alot of weight training, swissball workouts, cycling and kick boxing.
NarniaFans.com’s glamel: How’s the feeling of working with Kevin Sorbo’s double in Hercules?
Patrick Kake: Working as the Hercules double was awesome. It allowed me to learn a huge amount about the film industry not only from a practical perspective but also a theoretical perspective. I actually caught up with Kevin here in New Zealand about 3 months ago. He and his family are very well.
NarniaFans.com’s Rosymole: If you had to combine your real body with an animal, would you choose a horse?
Patrick Kake: Yes, I would choose a horse. I’ve always loved horses. They are such majestic animals.
Thanks again, Patrick Kake, for doing this interview!
[Our Patrick Kake page here at NarniaFans.com]
[Our General Oreius page]
[See also our Exclusive Interview with Shane Rangi, General Otmin]
