Alessandro Nivola Reflects on His Role as Rhino in Kraven the Hunter
In a recent interview, actor Alessandro Nivola shared insights into his portrayal of Rhino, one of the villains in the much-debated film Kraven the Hunter. Despite being part of a significant ensemble cast, the film has faced criticism, garnering some of the lowest ratings in the Sony Spider-Man Universe and disappointing box office results. Alongside the main character, Kraven, the film features notable antagonists, including Chameleon, Calypso, and Sytsevich, also known as Rhino.
Nivola’s Thoughts on Film Reception
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Nivola expressed his satisfaction with the creative process behind his character. When questioned about the factors contributing to the film’s lackluster performance, he noted the possibility of studio interference impacting director J.C. Chandor’s original vision. Despite these challenges, Nivola recalled his enjoyable experience on set and showed admiration for Chandor’s previous works.
Creating the Character of Rhino
Nivola went on to elaborate on how he crafted his rendition of Rhino. He revealed that his character development was inspired by a Russian poet, Philip Nikolayev, a close friend of his and his wife, Emily Mortimer. The poet’s unique persona served as a foundation for Nivola’s character study. He mentioned the collaborative atmosphere on set, which allowed him a creative freedom that ultimately made the filming process fulfilling.
“I really don’t know what happened behind the scenes. On these kinds of movies, you hear about all the wranglings at the studio, and maybe there were too many chefs. I don’t know. I don’t know enough about what the process was beyond just my experience of being on set, which was really joyful. J.C., Chris Abbott and I had worked together before on A Most Violent Year, and we all knew each other, so J.C. and [producer] Matt Tolmach trusted us to run wild.
I based my character on a Russian poet named Philip Nikolayev, who’s a good friend of mine and my wife, Emily [Mortimer]. He’s a wonderful writer who’d been visiting us a lot in conjunction with a movie that Emily is writing about an experience she had when she was living in Moscow around the time of glasnost and perestroika. He jogged her memory about that time because they knew each other then, and he is just a totally brilliant guy. He has a really particular-sounding voice, manner and look about him. So he was my initial inspiration for the role, and J.C. and Matt were encouraging of it. Kraven was as creatively playful and fulfilling a time for me as a lot of other movies have been, and so I didn’t have any sense of there being problems behind the scenes. But a lot of that probably starts to play out in the edit with all the different opinions about it, so I really couldn’t tell you. All I know is that I had a great time filming it.
I haven’t read much of the reviews, but my agents sent me all the trades’ reviews, which were some of the best reviews I’ve ever had for anything. In fact, IndieWire wrote three pages about my performance, and so that’s nice. But I don’t really pay too much attention to critical and fan response because it can be a black hole. I went through all of that before with Many Saints of Newark. It was another situation where my performance was praised, but the movie was not.”
For additional insights and to explore Nivola’s journey in Kraven the Hunter, visit the full interview here.
Source: THR
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