Spanish actor Luis Tosar discusses Cesar and the future

[REC] director Jaume Balaguero says “Hola Hitchcock” in the scariest and most darkly unsettling psychological horror thriller. Unassuming Cesar is janitor at an upscale apartment block in Barcelona. However, his quiet politeness hides a much more sinister personality. His current obsession is Clara, the new cheerful tenant on the fifth floor. At night when Clara is fast asleep, Cesar sneaks into her flat – and bed – to appease his twisted fantasies.

If only the pesky young girl down the corridor would mind her own business, and one senior citizen wouldn’t poke her nose in. But soon Cesar’s life is going to spiral out of all control due to a police investigation that threatens to ruin his whole miserable master plan… Provocative and intense, with Spanish superstar Luis Tosar delivering a sensationally disturbing performance, the growing tension, clever twists and startling chills will keep you biting your nails.

We catch up with Spanish acting powerhouse Luis Tosar for the forthcoming release of Sleep Tight…

What was your initial gut reaction when you first read the script and how did you feel about your character because he’s not exactly a nice guy is he?

It was a very perverse idea , I was very attracted by the evil side of the character, the fact he’s very twisted so that was part of the attraction for me. The fact I got to portray that, that was a great achievement for myself and the film. It was really the evil side of things and taking along the audience for that ride and for me as an actor that part of the fun, it felt like a big prank!

I found myself almost rooting for your character in a way, particularly that scene where you spill the chloroform and you’re trying to escape the flat, was that a conscious decision to make your character almost quite pathetic in a way so audiences would take pity on him?

Yes, totally. That was precisely the scene that’s very important as well, as it symbolises that kind of game, because we’re rooting for the character to succeed there and its interesting because people may realise who am I rooting for here, and that raises questions about yourself.

Can you describe the relationship Cesar has with his mother because its unusual, he visits regularly to update her about the situation with Clara. Is he trying to help her, does she even love him, what’s their dynamic?

So in the beginning they did consider strengthening the relationship between the mother and son to see if that could be the subtext about why this is all happening but in the end they decided to just have a normal relationship to an extent which means that she is a very affable person, she’s a nice person and that’s why they cast the actress. In a way it strengthens the fact Cesar is the one whose very twisted and there’s no real explanation for it.

Your director, Jaume, obviously he comes from a horror background with [REC] and [REC] 2, are you a fan of those films and do you think his background in horror lent itself nicely to this film?

His first films were a lot more suspense based , but yeah I really liked Rec and Rec 2 but the other films he made first were my favourites, as they were more along the same lines as this film dealing with themes like darkness, fragility things like that.

What do you think some of the main differences between Spanish horror films and UK and US horror films are, culturally they come from very different places so as an actor what do you think some of those differences are?

The first [REC] for instance, I’d describe that as a very Spanish kind of film, very Spanish themes and idiosyncrasies whereas in the US , horror films are slightly less nuanced and subtle, in fact a lot of the horror films made in the US are made my directors who come from European backgrounds like Spain

You devote a lot of your time to making films in Spain, and obviously you’re very big in Spain but do you get a lot of offers from Hollywood now as  result of that, and does that appeal to you becoming more of a familiar face in Hollywood, for instance if MARVEL offered you a role in their next big comic book movie would that interest you?

The film I’d most be interested in starring in, is one that’s actually already been made, The Phantom! I used to like that film a lot, so if there was something I’d be interested in it would be that one!

Is it likely will fall into the hands of Hollywood and get remade, and if it was would you consider starring?

I don’t know if there’s going to be a remake but I definitely wouldn’t consider starring if it was! Unless I could play the part of Marta perhaps, the victim! Now that would be a challenge.

The last film I saw you in was Cell 211 and compared to your character in Sleep Tight its a very different role, how do you get into the mindset of playing your characters and how did you approach these two vastly different roles?

The more different the character, the easier it is for me and the more appealing it is to approach them.

I don’t approach them in a very methodical way, I’m more anarchic with that there’s not much of a method there. First I see what the character’s asking for, then I go for it! In the case of Malamadre, it was mostly from the outside to the inside, but with Cesar it was more of working the inside of the character.

Could you tell us a little bit about what you’ve got lined up, what are you excited for audiences to see.  You’re working with Robert Duvall on a film so that must be quite exciting?

Yeah, I’m really excited by that one because it’s very much his swan song, to close off a very successful film career so that should be good and on the other hand I’ve got a film called Operation E, a very political film and I think it’s a great time socially and culturally for this film to come up.

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SLEEP TIGHT IS OUT FRIDAY MARCH 1