Strait from the past!

doweshowbellyad=0; Past perfect: Steven Strait in a still from 10,000 BC and with wife Lynn Collins (left). (TOI Photo)He���s barely a few movies old, but young heartthrob Steven Strait���s already making waves in movieland. An actor, fashion model, and rock singer, all rolled into one, this new kid on the Hollywood block made his debut as a teenage superhero in Sky High.
Undiscovered and The Convenant are some of the other movies the actor starred in. In Roland Emmerich���s pre-historic epic 10,000 BC, Steven���s cast opposite Camilla Belle, where he plays a young mammoth hunter travelling through unknown lands on a quest to rescue his people from extinction. Here he talks about his character and the film
Tell us about your character in the film?
My character���s name is D���Leh. He falls in love with the matriarch���s daughter. And when she���s taken away he embarks on a journey to get her back. The growth that comes out of it really mirrored where I was as an actor. It was that in my life too. The growth and the arc was really wonderful for me to work with because it gave so much ��� from being an outsider to the leader of an army. It was wonderful for me to play.
What was it like playing these people from ancient times?
It was really great. I think for me and I know for all those involved, the title 10,000 BC is meant to invoke more of a story before the great mystery of fantasy and myth, a legend, and an oral tradition. It was great. There���s no template for it. We���re doing everything happily made from scratch. The filming was exciting in one way and incredibly challenging in another way. For me, being able to work with Roland and with such great people was a dream.
How did you do fight scenes with CG mammoths?
Once you get over the initial phase of feeling absolutely absurd in front of about 500 people, acting with a blue head or nothing, it���s actually kind of fun. It���s kind of like a kid in a park playing with an imaginary friend.
How is the story related to the modern times?
There is something really beautiful about how the human condition really doesn���t change no matter how, what time period it takes place in. I think what makes human beings human is that there is love, compassion, conscience and sympathy. I thinks that it���s a story that anybody can relate no matter what time period you live in.
Tell us about some of the locations where you shot?
It was unbelievable. I���m from New York City. The most nature I saw was Central Park for a long time. Going to New Zealand and South Africa and Namibia, going from mountains that are snowcapped to the deserts and dunes that are hundreds of feet high is spectacular. I think so much of what we do is really about the environment and where you are and feeling connected to it. And it was amazing for me. It really threw me right into it.