Cult classic Constantine is Keanu Reeves’s movie: The actor is swoopy-haired, curmudgeonly, and single-handedly makes smoking look cool in the 2005 adaptation of the Hellblazer comics. As occult expert and in-demand exorcist John Constantine, Reeves’s athletic grace and simmering fury at the world’s injustices give the supernatural neo-noir its emotional grounding. In a film this tailor-made for Reeves’s strengths, it’s a surprise when one’s attention snags elsewhere. But that’s exactly what happens when Gavin Rossdale strolls onscreen for the first time as half-demon Balthazar, heckling Reeves’s “Johnny Boy” and popping poses in a beautifully fitted pinstripe suit. “There’s no sex in your violence,” Rossdale sang as the head of alt-rock band Bush in their hit single “Everything Zen,” but with Balthazar, there probably is, and he’d probably like it.
If Reeves’s Constantine embodies how exhausting it is to be good, Rossdale’s Balthazar exudes how pleasurable it is to be bad — how else to describe a scene in which Balthazar describes Constantine as “fresh meat” and then licks his fingers with threatening flair? That level of sensual confidence made Rossdale a standout in the film’s large ensemble cast, which includes Djimon Hounsou, Tilda Swinton, Peter Stormare, and Rossdale’s childhood friend Rachel Weisz. Constantine wasn’t Rossdale’s first film role; he’d already traveled to Brazil to film the soccer drama The Game of Their Lives before auditioning for Balthazar. But director Francis Lawrence’s comic-book adaptation was his most substantial role at that point in his career, and it’s the one Rossdale says “cinephiles” still approach him about often. In between stops on an international tour with Bush, Rossdale answered every question we have about his role in Constantine.
When I say the word Constantine to you, is there a distinct memory that comes to mind?
Where’s the sequel? That’s all I think about. They make sequels of the worst films imaginable. Somehow Constantine is struggling to get a No. 2 made.
Do you have a specific experience with the movie that comes to mind, or is it simply the frustration that we have not gotten a sequel yet?
Oh, I’m not frustrated about it. I gave up on it. I just wish it would happen. No, the memories are massive. It was an incredible experience, being so inexperienced on a $100 million movie and getting prosthetics four hours every day, from 4 to 8 a.m. before I began. And only for a few weeks, getting a sense of what it takes to make a movie, seeing Keanu’s insane work ethic, and his continued success is just a reflection of who he is. He’s an incredible man.
Can you take me back to where you were in your career at this point in the early 2000s? What made you want to do a role like this one?
Well, actors don’t get the choice of “I want to do this role, I want to do that,” unless you’re, you know, Tom Hardy. You just take what you’re given and you’re lucky if you get that. It’s a very, very hard world. I’d done tons of auditions and I wasn’t very good at them. I need to loosen up a little bit when I’m working. When I do auditions that I have to send in, I usually pick take four or five; that’s where I start to hit my stride. I remember the best thing about it was Akiva Goldsman had done the rewrite, and I gave a speech in my audition, and he called my manager at the time and said, “He spoke the words as I intended.” It was just that lucky thing, because it’s so hard for actors. We do good auditions and it’s maddening why you don’t get the work. You gotta be just physically right, emotionally right. There’s so many factors that go into it, but actors shouldn’t take it personally, the rejection, because it’s just part of it.
Do you remember if it was director Francis Lawrence who wanted you to come in and audition?
You’d have to interview Francis for that. I can’t tell you about his motives. [Laughs.] I’d love to tell you what Francis is thinking. Every year I send him a note and I’m like, “How’s it going?” Because I read a few years ago that Akiva was writing or doing a sequel. Every year I check in, in that Hollywood way, like, “Hey, what’s up? I just wanna commit my allegiance to the movie.”
What was the audition scene for which Akiva said you’d delivered the words the way he’d intended?
It was in the nightclub, the scene when we meet in the room with Djimon and Keanu. It was all about the deliciousness in the mouth. It felt very in the mouth. It was so easy for me to think of Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs, and that way that he would speak and the way he was really seductive. He’s a serial killer who rips skin off of people’s faces, but he has that sort of crazy charm. I just related to that and thought about that, thought about him, really.
So you were already sort of clued into the seductive salesman quality of the character in the audition.
Well, The Silence of the Lambs is my favorite movie. Anthony Hopkins is probably my favorite actor. Those words felt like that. It felt like that when I did a movie with Janell Shirtcliff, Habit — the words have a sensuality to them.
Did Francis ever talk to you about what his vision was for the character, or did he really leave it up to you to shape Balthazar?
He just liked the way that I made everything in the mouth, I think. I felt that if I could be seductive and ancient and from many lifetimes, it was fun to build that backstory and be this aloof devil, wreaking havoc. I read through the Hellblazer comics when I got the part, and I saw the genesis. But I went with an instinct, as you have to. And to have a writer say, “He said the words as I intend them,” that gave me so much confidence to stay on that and to hold on to that, and to try and have this character that has travelled so many lifetimes, burned but unscathed — finding a way to walk through clouds of trouble. An escape artist, of sorts. I’m doing this with really good actors, working with Djimon and working with Keanu. They’re just fun people to work with, and the caliber of performance is really high. I tried to copy Keanu — he’s got this thing of getting really ramped up before a scene. He used to go out running. I was doing that for a bit. And then when I got a coach, he was like, “That may work for Keanu, but it’s exhausting.” I saw his point, so I stopped. I was sort of spent before the scene’s begun. It worked for him, obviously. But for me, I needed to have a better system.
Do you remember how much time you had between being told, “You’re Balthazar” and, “We need you on set”?
Well, I had to go and get the suit made, the beautiful three-piece suit — they didn’t let me keep anything. I had to go to the Stan Winston Studio; Stan did all the prosthetics. I had to go there and get my face distorted, and then subsequently every day. I only worked a few weeks on it, but for ten days straight, it was prosthetics for four hours every morning. That just taught me so much humility, of how hard people work on movie sets. I was like, “God, everyone — anyone — that makes a movie is a hero, really.” It’s just so difficult.
In terms of prep, I read that a magician taught you the coin trick.
For three to four months, I just did it every day with that specific coin. And then, of course, my first scene was in a stairwell. I was like, “What, defy gravity as well?” If I do that with the coin on my hand, it might fall down! So we did it. The specific size was quite a bit bigger than a quarter. I imagine if I got it back, it probably wouldn’t take me very long to get it again.
Did you get to keep it?
They take your lunch, they take the water they gave you, they take it all back.
I feel like you should have it.
Ringing up Warner Brothers and asking for that coin that I used in a movie won’t get very far, I feel. I’ll be put on hold quicker than you can say, “Where’s the fucking sequel?”
We can try! I read a quote where you said, “The words do so much for you. There’s a rhythm, a sense of music to them, that I could sense, that I could hear.” As a musician, is it easier to learn dialogue?
I don’t think so. Many great actors have nothing to do with being musical, but I think the interesting thing about rhythm in speech is that it can allow you to be a different person. We all have our own rhythms, and a really interesting way of finding something different about a character is to change the rhythm of his speech and change the cadences. Be slower, be faster, whatever it is, but different from your own speech. My girlfriend says I sound like a completely different person in Spanish. I don’t know why that is; my voice changes. And when I speak French, she thinks it’s closer to my regular voice.
How did you shape Balthazar’s cadence? Does it go back to what you were saying about him feeling ancient?
Yeah. I wanted to indulge in making the words delectable, delicious, rolling off the tongue. [Smacks his lips.] With a nice taste. Everything is tasting good. There’s a lot of action through the mouth. Maybe I was throwing some dog in there. It’s all about the mouth feel and putting the words in the mouth. One of my favorite things about acting, and what I find most inspiring, is the actor’s ability to lift the words off of the page and give them so much life and history. It’s like, “Wow, where did that come from?” People say these things, and somehow the best actors can give you a sense of history and perspective and real understanding. Harrison Ford is one of my favorite actors, and I like him because he’s worried all the time. He’s worried in every scene I’ve ever seen him, and he’s so likable that his worry makes you concerned as a viewer.
Looking back then on Balthazar, is there a specific line that you felt you particularly lifted?
That sort of a mouth pucker is my favorite thing about it, and just being slightly disrespectful to Keanu. Toying with him like a cat toys with a rodent, just pushing him around. It was just fun to control him. My mom, she always used to get everyone’s names wrong. She didn’t like it when he kills me. She said, “I don’t like that Kahnu Reeves. Naughty Kahnu!” I was like, “He was acting, Mom, he was acting.”
I really enjoy your line delivery of “Fire, I was born of this” during your fight in the board room, because I think it does exactly what you said, which is give you this glimpse into who Balthazar is and his sense of history.
Oh yeah. That’s a good one: “I was born of this.” All I was thinking about was how much shit I’d gone through to get to be in that movie. [Laughs.] That was my motivation — my whole life had been a series of fires. It was a really fun line to say. As an actor, you do really appreciate the good writing versus the bad. When people write turgid scripts and then want you to be real and human, it’s really challenging. I did four auditions for The Good Shepherd and I found that script so hard. Trying to make it human and real; I was just so flummoxed by it. I did the East Coast reading and I got past them, and I did the West Coast reading with the casting agent, got past that. Went to read with De Niro. It was just me and him in his trailer. I did it, he’s directing me, I was like, “Yeah!” I was wishing that I could make the words dance more. Billy Crudup got my part. But I read with Leo when Leo DiCaprio was going to be in it, and that was me trying to give everything to something that I didn’t quite connect to, if I’m honest. I was really acting. His role went to Matt Damon. Crudup is an incredible actor, far better actor than I am, so it worked out. But my life would have been different if De Niro had cast me in that. We would be talking about my 25th movie, not my tenth album, and not about Balthazar 20 years ago. [Laughs.] Just one of those things were life went [makes a swerving sound]. I met him one time, out with some band called No Doubt. Joe Pesci was at the table with De Niro, and they all came by. Joe was like, “Hey,” and Bobby, as he’s known, turned around and said, “Hey, Gavin. How you doing?” A lovely moment.
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Balthazar is all the best parts of the devil. He probably has the best sex, has the best drugs, the best drink, and has traveled many lifetimes.
What was the vibe of the Constantine set?
Keanu was doing an 85-day shoot and on the weekends he was going to promote The Matrix, so I remember the makeup room being very intense. The guy was working like a police dog. It made it quite serious. And I realized from doing all my movies that the heart of the film is in the makeup trailer. The temperature of the movie is in the makeup trailer, and the energy in there. I learned really early on to know your lines, know your positions, be on time, and don’t say anything about anyone you don’t want repeated to them. [Laughs.] It’s really collaborative, even more so than music.
Did the cast hang out at all?
No. You’re working 14-, 16-hour days. The movies I’ve done with Sofia Coppola or Janell Shirtcliff, they’re indies. You’re shooting fast and you gotta know your lines and you have to be very, very focused. If you fuck up your scenes, you’re messing up the whole movie. It’s not like a big movie where you can do 15 takes and everyone can be happy. Indie movies are like, by the seat of your pants. It’s kind of fun.
Tell me about filming this nightclub scene. Did you and Keanu and Djimon have any conversations? Did Francis give you any specific direction? What are your memories of that?
My memory is it being super organic, and Francis being incredibly relaxed. He’s one of those directors who just nudges you if he feels you’re not going where he hoped you were going. It was a buzz to work with those two great actors and be in the mix. I grew up in London with Rachel Weisz. We knew each other as kids. After the table read, I went up to her, and I said, “I’m going to really promise you I’m not gonna screw up your movie. I’ll know my stuff.” As I drove to set, I was thinking, “You are literally the most inexperienced person on the set. The janitor has done more janitor jobs than you’ve done movies. You’re very early in your career. Don’t fuck it up. Have that sense of bravado. Have that sense of direction.”
From the first time you say “Johnny Boy,” immediately you get a sense of who Balthazar is. You’ve talked a lot about the taste of the dialogue. Was the “finger-licking good” moment scripted, or did you come up with that?
I think it’s something I did. The finger licking, I just kept on thinking of chicken and it made me salivate, you know?
Did you feel like you were trying to be flirtatious with Keanu? Like, did you want there to be sort of like an erotic, sensual element to the scene?
Yeah, because I think that Balthazar is all the best parts of the devil. He probably has the best sex, has the best drugs, the best drink, and has traveled many lifetimes having the best of all things. He had to be this confident and larger than life because he’s older than life. He’s gone through so much. I just wanted him to be terrifyingly wolflike and seductive. So it didn’t matter, you know, talking to Djimon, talking to Keanu. Everyone’s fair game to be seduced and dominated. That was his thing.
Is there another moment in the movie, another scene, another line of dialogue that you’re proudest of?
I liked walking through the supermarket. Because the hardest part about being in movies but not having the biggest part is when you’re on, you’re talking. It’s annoying. It’s nice to be on film and just be on film. That was my first experience of being on film and not having dialogue, and letting the scene play out in there. That, to me, is a mark of having a bigger role in the film than ever, is by having acting without the dialogue.
What’s great about that scene is that Balthazar is really the representation of all of the “half-breeds,” as Constantine calls them, and all the demonic intent of the film. You get to be that representative. Were there any scenes that you were in that didn’t make the final cut?
No, that rite of passage, of ending up on the edit floor, was saved for Little Black Book, that one with Brittany Murphy. Everything that was in Constantine was used.
Did you have any conversations with Francis about contributing to the soundtrack? Was that something you would have wanted to do?
Oh yeah, totally. But I would just consider myself lucky to be one foot in the door, two feet in the door, in the corner. To start the idea of, [pantomimes being a band leader] “What’s up, guys? Listen, score, I got it. Theme tune, check it out. 3, 2, 1, gimme a beat, Bob! We got this!” I couldn’t do that. I just was like, I’m in a really big movie. Just be good, you know? I had enough on my plate.
Of course people recognize you from being you and from being a rock star. Has anyone ever approached you who recognized you just from Constantine?
Oh yes, different audience. Happens all the time. It’s been a minute, but I guess people rerun it enough and see it enough that people are like, “Constantine?” I can tell by their outfit. There’s a look. They’re cinephiles. They look smart and interesting, and like they wouldn’t be caught dead at a rock show, that kind of thing. “You’re in a rock band? I don’t care about that. But what’s happening with Constantine?” “I made a new record, I’m going on tour.” “Fantastic. Any word on the sequel?”
At the time, Constantine got mixed reviews, whereas I think over the years, it’s become a cult classic. What did you feel about the reaction then?
When I was watching it, it felt quite specialist. It felt quite niche. It didn’t feel as clear as some big franchise movies can be, and that complexity is what’s given it its indie-darling status. But at the time, it was possibly what stopped it being Iron Man or John Wick or any of the other franchises that Keanu has done so successfully. And it’s annoying because some of us would like to have been in five Constantines. It would have been perfect, going to shoot a bit every 13 months. It would be amazing. You should be interviewing me about Constantine 9. “Can you believe there’s been ten Constantines?”
But I really feel like Constantine allowed for things like Iron Man and then all of the comic-book movies to happen. Constantine was counterculture that then became the mainstream culture. And I’m wondering if you feel that way.
Yeah, it’s like Constantine was like the Sonic Youth of rock.
In what way?
Extremely specialist, stylized, cool-as-fuck band, who didn’t want the mainstream and kept away from the mainstream, and by virtue of that, have an adoring fan base that appreciates that Sonic Youth belongs to them. There’s lots of cinephiles who think Constantine belongs to them because they love it, and they know that the critics didn’t connect with it.
We’ve talked about the possibility of a Constantine sequel. I know that Balthazar seemingly dies at the end of this movie. Would you have interest in coming back? Do you have any ideas for how Balthazar could come back?
Oh, no one cares about my ideas in terms of Balthazar. My ideas only matter for Bush. I would love to come back, and it makes so much sense because Keanu is on John Wick 5. He’s on fire. Francis has continued to evolve as a director. So we’ll see. I’m just a spoke on a wheel when it comes to Constantine. If they ask me, I’d be really flattered and I’d do it in a heartbeat. I just don’t want them to ask me when I’m going to go on tour.
Is there anything else you want to share?
It’s very important for me to reiterate: This was a career highlight. Great people, classy production. Who wouldn’t have fun doing that? It’s funny, John Wick 3, I had a song that got in there, and then when I went to the party, it was all the same people, because Chad Stahelski had been the stunt coordinator for the fight. I’d worked very closely with Chad and with Keanu. Keanu’s agent I know, and a few other agents. I was like, back in the mix at that one event — only for the evening. It was really funny to be back in the bosom of that powerhouse of a big movie, all exciting, I was seduced into it that night. I had a good night with Keanu, and then I was out again, out of the bubble, waiting for the sequel. That’s showbiz for you.
