Stefan Kapicic is living the dream of nearly every comic book fan there ever was – getting to portray a childhood hero on the big screen.
And you need a pretty damn big screen to fit the German-born Serbian actor into frame – standing 6'4” and boasting the honed physique of a champion heavyweight prize fighter, Stefan is perfect to play Colossus in the 'Deadpool' series of films.
As a devout fan of comic books, Stefan says getting to play Colossus is a rare privilege he can't quite put into words.
“Sometimes I was trying to explain the feeling that I have combining my love for comic books; I have some geekiness regarding comic books... [with] my love for acting and my job,” he explains.
“Getting those two things together and being part of a movie, which was a record-breaking thing; 'Deadpool' was a phenomenon in itself – it was like a golden opportunity for me.”
Stefan will be in Australia to meet and greet fans as part of the Supanova Comic Con & Gaming Expo in April at the Melbourne and Gold Coast events.
Being a fan and collector of comic books, Stefan says being part conventions such as Supanova has allowed him to indulge his own, pure love for the form.
“They combine my childish love, my honest love, for comic books with these opportunities to go all around the world to be part of these comic cons and meet my childhood heroes of comic book artists and comic book writers, meeting the people who were my movie heroes and be on the same side with them,” he says.
“I was going to comic cons as a fan, so for me being on both sides I can totally understand every single fan, and now I can also understand all the people sitting on the other side of the table.”
Though Stefan has played more than 70 roles across theatre, film and television – not to mention his notable voice-over roles – it is the role of Colossus he considers his greatest prize.
“I like to joke about it and I've said this so many times but Colossus in a way is my own private Academy Award, but a silver one,” he laughs. “It's my silver Oscar, my Colossus.”
With 'Deadpool' taking its place in the vast and seemingly ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), and having been a fan himself, Stefan gratefully acknowledges the importance of Marvel's loyal fan base. “They appreciate every, single sentence that I or we are saying. We wouldn't be here if there were no fans.”
In taking on the role of Colossus, Stefan says his biggest concern was how diehard fans would react. “When you're playing someone like this, an iconic character, one of the things is that you don't want to disappoint the fans, because fans are making you or they are breaking you,” he says.
“When I get messages saying 'this is the greatest Colossus, you make us proud', your heart feels warm and you feel so happy because you didn't disappoint them.
“You don't want to disappoint them, so that was the biggest fear when the first 'Deadpool' was coming out. Seeing the first reactions and that Colossus worked, that was the biggest award for me.”
