Dwayne Johnson as Hercules in Hercules

To bring audiences back to the B.C. era of fabled Greek heroes in an exciting, modern way, director Brett Ratner decided early on he would go old school — building epic sets from scratch. In search of the square footage to pull off such a feat, the production journeyed to the Origio Film Studios in Hungary.

“We were able to create incredible battle sequences on a scale I never dreamed you could shoot, let alone survive, with horses, chariots and hundreds of warriors,” says Ratner.

The experience was often surreal as hundreds of Greek soldiers marched to the set carrying their shields, followed by tattooed, bald Bessi warriors bearing fearsome blades, and then teams of horses pulling chariots. For many, the feeling was of being transported in a time machine. “Every set was like something out of Cecil B DeMille, with that kind of scope,” recalls Rufus Sewell, who plays Autolycus. “It makes a big difference to actors because you’re reacting to a real environment.”

Ratner also recruited a crack creative team. Heading the team was cinematographer Dante Spinotti, a two-time Oscar nominee for The Insider and LA Confidential. “Dante makes you forget that the camera exists,” says Ratner. “He really invites you into Hercules’s world.”

The duo also worked closely with production designer Jean-Vincent Puzos, who most recently worked with Michael Haneke on the Academy Award-winning Amour. “Jean-Vincent and I talked about Hercules for over a year before production,” explains Ratner. “He came up with amazing designs that always brought a new and fascinating slant. It was his idea to get away from the classic white marble look — and the dark, textured look he created works so well for our story.”

The centrepiece of Puzos’s design was the Bessi village of Thrace, which becomes the site of a ferocious battle. He had one goal: to make it feel as alive as any neighbourhood in the 21st century. “We built the houses with wood, stone, and mud,” explains set decorator Tina Jones. “Jean-Vincent wanted it to be gritty and dirty. He wanted you to be able to almost smell how awful it was.”

On a soundstage at Origio Studios, Puzos fabricated another colossal set: Cotys’s (played by John Hurt) courtyard citadel rising like a phoenix, and featuring a magnificent altar to the goddess Hera atop a huge staircase lined with flame-filled braziers. Here, the classical white marble beauty of Hera contrasted dramatically with the grittiness of the rest of the set.

The piece de resistance for Puzos was the dungeon set, where Hercules is chained and taunted by King Eurystheus (Joseph Fiennes) and Cotys. “I think it is the most impressive of all the sets,” he says, “because of the patterns we created with the stones, the fire and the green river of sulphur.”

Jones had a lot of fun with it. “We had cages full of skeletons, an executioner’s block and chains everywhere,” she says. “It takes you to a shocking place.”

HOW DWAYNE BECAME HERCULES

As the sets came to life, so too did the wide-ranging costumes created by Jany Temime, known for her work on Gravity, Skyfall and the Harry Potter series. Temime’s work began with Hercules himself, who dresses to match his reputation. “I dug into the mythology and gave him the lion’s head, the lion-skin cape, and the big belt,” the designer notes. “It works because Dwayne can carry all that. From the moment Dwayne put the lion’s head on, he was Hercules. We gave him long hair for balance, and he looks beautiful in it.”

Says Johnson of his look: “The goal was to be completely transformed, aged up a little bit, with longer hair, matted beard, tattoos all gone and scars everywhere. It was a tremendous transformational process, one that I’ll never, ever forget, and one that I was really grateful for, as much as it was a pain in the ass to sit there for four hours every single day for 95 days.”

Each of the mercenaries who follow Hercules wears armour that reflects their personalities and background. “Their armour is very personal to them and specific to the way they each fight,” explains Temime. “For example, Amphiaraus, played by Ian McShane, has seen his own death, so he has the shortest and softest armour because he doesn’t even believe he needs it.”

The warriors are defined not only by their clothing but their weaponry, which was created at the renowned Weta Workshop in Wellington, New Zealand, then fabricated in England and Hungary.

Hercules carries a hefty club; Tydeus (Aksel Hennie) dons two axes on his belt, which he uses in a thrashing motion; Atalanta’s (Ingrid Borso Berdal) weapon of choice is a bow and arrow with blades on each end; Amphiaraus uses a staff with a surprise sword that shoots from the bottom; Autolycus conceals a selection of throwing knives beneath his cloak; Iolaus (Reece Ritchie) bears just a single bronze dagger; King Eurystheus has an elegant dagger designed to match his costume; while Lord Cotys transports his dagger in a jewelled scabbard.

“All of the designs helped the actors go to work each day and become these characters,” summarises Ratner.

a little hercules in us

Though Brett Ratner is a veteran of high-style modern action, having collaborated closely with Jackie Chan for years, this film takes him into fresh territory. He aimed to create fierce, primal fights that might come out of myth, but feel like they are happening right this moment.

Ratner recruited a formidable team to work with the cast, headed by second unit director Alexander Witt, stunt coordinator Greg Powell and fight coordinator Allan Poppleton, who in turn brought in daring stunt performers from England, Canada, New Zealand, Hungary, Slovakia, and Bulgaria, as well as a group of sensationally skilled horsemen from Spain headed up by Ricardo Cruz Sr.

As soon as Powell read the script, he started thinking about just how enormous Hercules’s strength might be. “He’s not supernatural,” notes Powell, “but he is a big guy, probably twice as big as I am, so if I can throw someone six feet, then he can throw them 12. I worked on that principle throughout the fight sequences.”

He then began working closely both with Ratner and Johnson to develop Hercules’s distinctive fighting style. Despite having just recovered from surgery, Johnson insisted on doing all his fights himself and immediately started training with Hercules’s club and hefty sword.

“Dwayne is massive, so we incorporated his size and all wrestling skill into Hercules’s style,” explains Poppleton. “He was very hands-on with ideas — for example, coming up with his own methods of using the club.”

“He needed to wield this thing like the back of his hand,” says Johnson of the wooden club Hercules employs with deadly aplomb, “because it has been his weapon of choice over the years.”

Driving the chariots was another ancient skill that had to be mastered by cast members — and took six weeks of daily training to master the balance. Ian McShane says that it was a unique test. “I ride horses, I love horses, but driving a chariot is something completely different,” he remarks.

For Dwayne Johnson, it’s the way Hercules comes to approach his battles that explains his endless appeal. “Hercules might get knocked down, but then he comes back stronger, and that’s a lot like how life is. We all come back after a fall and we come back stronger. We’ve all got a little Hercules in us.”

dwayne johnson’s diet for hercules

Former WWF star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson may stand tall at 6’5” and weigh a whopping 130kg, but he had to bulk up big time to play Hercules. Besides spending time in the gym, Johnson had to eat seven big (make that massive!) meals a day. Here’s Johnson’s diet plan — that he calls “The 12 Labours Diet” — every day for close to a year.

Meal I: Steak fillet, 4 egg whites, oatmeal or cream of wheat

Meal II: Chicken, 2 cups white rice, 1 cup broccoli

Meal III: Halibut (a type of flatfish), 2 cups white rice, 1 cup asparagus

Meal IV: Chicken, baked potato, 1 cup broccoli

Meal V: Halibut, 1.5 cups white rice, 1 cup asparagus

Meal VI: Steak fillet, baked potato, salad

Meal VII: Casein protein (a dietary supplement), 10 egg whites scrambled with onions, bell peppers and mushrooms

FILM FACTS

The film is based on the graphic novel Hercules: The Thracian Wars.

Dwayne Johnson put in eight months of rigorous training in weaponry and action to prepare for the role.

This year has seen another Hercules film: The Legend of Hercules, starring Kellan Lutz as the Greek hero. Panned by critics, it was a box-office flop.

Guess what Johnson’s beard in the film is made of? Yak testicle hair!

Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo’s girlfriend Irina Shayk makes her acting debut as Hercules’s wife Megara.

Is Dwayne Johnson the right man to play Hercules? Tell t2@abp.in