South African actor Evan Hengst’s star is on the rise. His latest role is chaos-fuelled Ben in action-comedy movie ‘Novocaine’, which also stars Jack Quaid from ‘The Boys’. ‘Novocaine’ is about Nate (played by Quaid) who becomes a superhero when he uses his inability to feel pain to rescue his kidnapped girlfriend. Evan, who studied at Act Cape Town before beginning his acting career in the theatre, tells us about training for fight scenes, playing cops and robbers, and getting in the headspace of a maniac…

Tell us more about your role in ‘Novocaine’?

“Ben is a rocket-powered rage train fuelled by a love of chaos. Whatever he chooses to do, he’s going to cause as much mayhem as he can and enjoy every second of it. He’s that guy in the bar nobody wants to mess with because he’ll buy you a tequila, right before biting your ear off. Which was a joy to play, because I’m actually a big softy! I almost lost the role because I was working on three different projects at the time, so scheduling all the training and stunt rehearsals was a challenge. It’s truly miraculous how we managed to make it work out.”

What was your experience working on the film?

“Getting to work alongside such an extraordinary cast and crew was a dream come true. We were all just a bunch of kids playing cops and robbers, but with a lot more gore.”

“The directors Robert Olsen and Dan Berk cultivated such an infectious, fun and collaborative space on set from the get-go.”

“From the cast to the crew, the excitement was palpable and you could feel what we were making was going to be a really wild ride.”

What did you do to prepare for the role?

“It’s definitely the most physical role I’ve done to date and I was blessed to be given a whole team of trainers and coordinators to guide me. I annihilated so many chicken breasts to turn me into a tank, and got my ass handed to me by the stunt coordinators for a few hours each day. Lots of personal training and sparring sessions to get me moving like a fighter, and then I played video games – I played a lot of Grand Theft Auto 5 to prepare myself for robbing banks! I made this really wild playlist of country, German oompa, heavy metal and classical music to create a constant circus in my head. I also watched the movie ‘Heat’ about five times just to get a feel of the shootout scene.”

What was it like being involved in such an intense fight scene?

“‘Slow means flow’ was in my head every day for six weeks.”

“We would run through the scene meticulously piece by piece and in the end put it together like a beautiful dance.”

“It was an incredibly humbling experience to go through. My mind and body were pushed to the limit and was shown what I was truly capable of doing.”

What was your favourite moment on set?

“Being with Jack [Quaid] on his birthday. We filmed our big fight scene that day and were both exhausted between takes, but the crew got him a beautiful cake to celebrate. We both were on strict meal plans at the time and he was being extremely disciplined, but I managed to convince him to have a few slices. The satisfaction  on his face was priceless.”

Who would enjoy watching this film?

“Anyone who likes action, romance and comedy with a touch of sadism and a great underdog story. For people who happen to be a bit squeamish about blood,  this might cure you once and for all. Or maybe not!”

What does the future hold for you?

“I have a film coming out called ‘A Kind of Madness’, which I’m really excited about – it’s released in South Africa on 11 April. My focus is on building my career internationally and finding the right people to give me the opportunities to be a part of the stories I want to tell. I think South Africa has such untapped talent and I want the chance to show the world what we have to offer.”

‘Novocaine’ is released in US cinemas today (14 March) and is out in the UK on 28 March

Featured photo credit: Chris Pizzello, Invision