Actor Alessandro Nivola discussesKraven the Hunter’s reception and explains his satisfaction with his role as theMarvelsupervillain Rhino. DespiteKraven the Hunter’s star-studded cast, the sixth installment in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe was met with some of the worst reviews in the franchise, and even worse box office results. Besides the titular villain-turned-antihero,Kraven the Hunterintroduced several more Spider-Man antagonists— Dmitri Smerdyakov a.k.a. Chameleon, Calypso, the Foreigner, and Aleksei Sytsevich a.k.a. Rhino, among others.
In an interview withTHR,Rhino actor Alessandro Nivola looks back on his antagonist role inKraven the Hunter.When asked about his opinion on the factors that may have played intoKraven the Hunter’s poor performance despite director J.C. Chandor’s otherwise remarkable career, Nivola mentions the possible changes the studio might have made to the director’s original vision and praises his previous work with Chandor. Alessandro Nivola also explains how he designed his Rhino portrayal and highlights the villain’s positive reception. Read Nivola’s full comments below:
“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 onA 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.Kravenwas as creatively playful and fulfilling a time for me as a lot of other movies have been, and soI 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, butmy agents sent me all the trades’ reviews, which were some of the best reviews I’ve ever had for anything. In fact,IndieWirewrote 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 withMany Saints of Newark. It was another situation where my performance was praised, but the movie was not.”
What Alessandro Nivola’s Kraven The Hunter Comments Mean
There’s More To A Movie’s Reception Than The Talent Behind And In Front Of The Camera
Alessandro Nivola chewed the scenery inKraven the Hunterand shined inThe Brutalistnot long afterward. As Nivola mentions, he also collaborated withKraven the Hunterdirector J.C. Chandor on the acclaimedA Most Violent Year. Chandor’s directorial work on movies such asMargin CallandAll Is Lostwas well-received by critics and audiences, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson has gained critical acclaim in movies likeNocturnal AnimalsandBullet Train, not to mention his experience in the comic book movie genre with theKick-Assfilms andAvengers: Age of Ultron.Kraven the Hunter’s poor reception isn’t a result of a lack of talent. Instead, the movie may have needed more freedom from the studio’s goals for the franchise.
I Will Never Recover From What Sony Did To The Villain I’ve Wanted To See In A Spider-Man Movie For Years
I can’t believe what Sony’s Spider-Man Universe did to a classic villain that I have been waiting years to be adapted to a live-actio movie.
Alessandro Nivola’s clear respect for the source material shows how a character like Rhino could have been better received in a more consistent movie. However, an actor and a director’s vision can only do so much within a restricted production.Sony’s Spider-Man Universe rarely took its characters in fresh directions, and every installment seemed to be pulling its punches.The lack of a distinctive style was a recurrent criticism of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, andKraven the Hunterwas no exception. By the timeKraven the Huntercame out, the franchise’s goodwill had been depleted.
Our Take On Alessandro Nivola’s Kraven The Hunter Comments
Kraven The Hunter Could Have Been A Much Better Movie With The Same Cast
Just likeThe Penguinturned Oswald Cobblepot into a popular leading villain andThe Guardians of the Galaxyturned its titular team into A-list superheroes, Sony’s Spider-Man Universe could have done much more with Venom, Morbius, Madame Web, and Kraven the Hunter. Formerly obscure characters like Drax and Groot could have been a total failure if Marvel Studios hadn’t put enough trust in director James Gunn. Similarly, it’s important to remember how Colin Farrell’s unhinged performance as Bullseye in 2003’sDaredevilwasn’t enough to help the film succeed, whereas every element inThe BatmanandThe Penguincame together to make Farrell’s Oz Cobb a standout character.
Thanos (MCU)
Bullseye (Daredevil)
Oz Cobb (The Batman,The Penguin)
The same applies to superhero movie actors like Chris Evans, Michael B. Jordan, and Ryan Reynolds and their respective performances.With the right script and the right vision, compounded by enough freedom and trust from the studio, any comic book character could become a fan-favorite. However, actors can’t do this job by themselves. After a few significant behind-the-scenes changes, aKraven the Huntersolo movie directed by J.C. Chandor and starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson with Alessandra Nivola could have spawned a successful trilogy.
