Exclusive: Luke Evans on playing The Coachman in Pinocchio and how different he is from playing Gaston
Currently playing on Disney+ is Academy Award winner Robert Zemeckis’ “Pinocchio,” a live action retelling of the beloved tale of a wooden puppet who embarks on a thrilling adventure to become a real boy.
The film stars Tom Hanks stars as Geppetto, the wood carver who builds and treats Pinocchio (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) as if he were his own son. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is Jiminy Cricket, who serves as Pinocchio’s guide as well as his "conscience"; Academy Award nominee Cynthia Erivo is the Blue Fairy; Keegan-Michael Key is "Honest" John; Academy Award nominee Lorraine Bracco is Sofia the Seagull, a new character, and Luke Evans is The Coachman. Also in the cast are Kyanne Lamaya as Fabiana and Jaquita Ta’Le as her marionette Sabina, Giuseppe Battiston as Stromboli and Lewin Lloyd as Lampwick.
Evans is best known for his portrayal of Gaston in Disney’s live action “Beauty and the Beast” and Owen Shaw in three films in the “Fast & Furious” franchise. In press notes provided by the studio, Evans says “The Coachman is one of these people who is very enigmaƟ c. ’He’s a little scary. He’s quite mysterious. You don’t really know what he’s thinking or what his agenda is, but he seems to be happy, and he wants the kids to be happy. And he takes them to this theme park that’s filled with real magic.
And everything is larger than life and colorful and loud with music playing. And the kids can pretend to be adults. They think they’re drinking some kind of beer. They’re on gondolas. It’s all otherworldly. And to a kid, that must be very exciting. And The Coachman knows this. And so The Coachman is there to allow these kids to have the best of me of their life. Unbeknownst to them, there is a darker side to his agenda. He’s terrifying at moments, but he also has this sort of weird, twisted charm, which obviously all the kids, including Pinocchio, fall for.”
While speaking with Blackfilmandtv.com’s Wilson Morales, Evans goes over his role and how different he wanted it from Gaston.