Photography by Tina Picard
We had the wonderful opportunity to interview actor Josh Cruddas who stars in Netflix’s Polar as Alexei. Check out the interview below.
Hi, Josh! Thank you for granting the interview. Congrats on your role in Netflix’s Polar. Tell us about your character Alexei!
Thanks for having me in your amazing magazine! Alexei, sadly, is probably the kind of guy who WOULDN’T thank anyone for interviewing him – he’s a ruthless, quiet but bad-guy-stylish assassin who packs a lot of punch for his size. What I’m trying to say is I’m short. And Alexei definitely has short man’s syndrome.
What was the process like getting the role?
Fairly familiar to any actor trying for a role like this, I would think! Except I thought I absolutely bombed the audition AND the callback. I went out for a smaller role early in the process but then they re-released the audition call for Alexei and my amazing agent Meagan Allison-Hancock and casting director Sara Kay asked me to read for the part I ended up playing. Then I met with Jonas and Jeremy and assumed I had come across way too desperate for the role. But somehow I got the part and made it through the entire shoot without getting fired. In fact, nobody even talked about firing me, to my face anyway, which was pretty amazing!
How did you prepare for your role?
Well, I thought it would be good method-acting to go around punching people in the face, specifically people who looked like Mads Mikkelsen, but then my roommates talked me out of it. So I just THOUGHT about punching Mads Mikkelsen in the face, which I felt really bad about as soon as I met him because he’s one of the loveliest, most grounded and talented dudes I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. Other than the punching, I did research on the amazing graphic novel that the film is based on and created Alexei’s backstory and his relationships with the other characters in the script. Lastly, I did some firearms training which was terrifying. I’m firmly anti-gun, and we were shooting Polar right around the time of the Parkland shooting, so the very last thing I wanted to be touching was a gun. I really don’t understand why regular citizens like myself (when I’m not at work) have access to machines that are designed to kill other humans. It’s honestly insane to me.
Was it a challenge to play Alexei?
Nailing some of the stunts took a few tries, and I think I drove our incredible stunt/fight coordinator Jean Frenette to the brink of retirement by failing certain stunts time after time. Otherwise, just playing a very violent role at a time where I worry about the effects that gun violence has on people – kids specifically…That was something I struggled with a bit personally, but it has much less to do with the film and more to do with society and politics at large. Otherwise, the entire cast and crew of Polar made filming the opposite of a challenge – it was so much fun with all the incredible folks in all parts of the production.
What did you enjoy most about playing Alexei?
So much! Meeting and working with everyone else on the production is a big one, and the incredible wardrobe that Alexei gets to wear – Susie Coulthard and Lea Carlson did amazing things! Playing a bad guy with such style – that was fun.
Polar is such an intense film, tell us about the production!
It was an intense process! Intense but a lot of fun. It’s hard work doing a movie like this but it’s not lost on me that acting is something I can never complain about. Sometimes the hours are long and the nights are cold but there are folks doing far more honest work for less money and far less personal gain. Acting is a completely selfish job, and in my humble opinion, an actor who’s working is the luckiest person on earth. And besides – the film crew and creatives were the real rockstars – they had to be there all day, every day. And night!
What’s your favorite line from the film?
It’s not mine, but Mads asks a group of elementary school kids “Alright, who here has seen a dead body after three weeks in the sun?” and he starts to pass around photos. It’s so dark but it’s my kind of humor. I’m extremely fortunate to teach kids at a musical theatre school called Stagecoach here in Canada, so that line really made me laugh.
Do you have any favorite stories from set or production that you can share?
I absolutely loved working and laughing with my A-Team group of assassins – we stayed out late one night till 3 AM practicing our opening number (September by Earth, Wind & Fire) until we got it perfect! And flying in a helicopter for the first time was a real rush – as well as working with Johnny Knoxville. We played a game of pool while we were waiting for the cameras to be set up and he sunk the eight ball (and my game) by looking me straight in the soul while he did it. It was an experience that will haunt my dreams for eternity.
For anyone who hasn’t seen Polar, how would you describe the film in a few words?
Violent, Dark, Funny and Fun!
Are you working on any projects that you can share with us?
I just finished shooting one of my favorite roles of my career so far, but if I breathe a word about it, I’ll be locked in a filing cabinet until it comes out. It’s an iconic role though and I’m still pinching myself about it. Otherwise, going to be playing a vampire in a sweet film by fellow Nova Scotian Glen Matthews. Stoked for that.
Where can we follow you?
On the street! I walk a lot up here in Canada, so feel free to follow me around and make me nervous! Besides that, I’m on Instagram and Twitter at @joshcruddas, and on Facebook at Josh Cruddas.
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