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Bokeem Woodbine spoke exclusively with 24WiredTV about landing the role of "Harry" in Len Wiseman's remake of Total Recall. Woodbine not only discussed the emotional process of getting the part, but also teased a bit about being in the untitled sequel to The Chronicles of Riddick, and confessed his favorite acting role to date. Total Recall is in theaters now.

24WiredTV: How did you get involved with Total Recall?

Bokeem Woodbine: I got a call from my agent telling me that they wanted me to come read for something called Total Recall. So I got excited right away because I was a really huge fan of the first one. I went over to the reading, and it went pretty good I guess, and two weekends later, my agent calls–which he never does–and he was like, “Basically I need you to do [another] reading for Total Recall on Monday.” I said ,”okay great, that’s fantastic.” He said, “Do you want to read with Colin [Farrell], who’s playing the lead? If you guys vibe, then it gets you that much closer to the part.” I said okay.

So I read on Monday, and the reading went well, me and Colin clicked and then I didn’t hear anything for almost two months. So I put it out of my mind. I tried not to think about it, even though after two months, just to show you how excited I was about the project, I was still thinking about it. I’m the type of person who thinks that if I don’t hear back in a week or so, then I just assume that it’s not happening, because normally they’ll let you know within like five days, if there’s some heat or if you have a chance, or if it’s looking good or whatever.

So when the call came up later, it was just a huge thrill. I still had some lingering hope in my mind that maybe it might happen; like I said, normally I forget about it after like five days. When they called it was like Christmas, to tell you the truth. So that was really cool. The whole process probably took about three months or so. I was just happy to have the job.

24WiredTV: Would you tell us about your role in the movie?

Woodbine: I’ll tell you what I can. I think the best way to put it from my perspective is that my character Harry is a great character. He’s a friend. A type of big brother figure. He’s someone who wants to be there for his friend, who’s obviously having a challenging time.

24WiredTV: Can you hint at anything you feel makes this film exciting?

Woodbine: It’s not so much a hint as it is a statement. In fact, from my point of view, the movie respects the audience’s intelligence. There’s an element of mystery to it, so it’s not just a sci-fi action genre. It’s filled with suspense and mystery and all of these aspects to it. It’s a very cerebral, well-thought out picture. We created an environment where we could create these unexpected surprises for people, and have fun doing it.

24WiredTV: What can we expect from you in the Chronicles of Riddick sequel?

Woodbine: That’s going to be a lot of fun. It borrows from elements of the first two, but it has its own thing. It has its own energy, its own momentum.

24WiredTV: And how did you get involved in that project?

Woodbine: I auditioned for [Riddick director] David Twohy for a completely different role, didn’t get it, and I just kind of put it out of my mind. I got the call and they were like, “We want you to take a look at this other character.” It was actually a better character, so it worked out. I was very fortunate to be in that situation.

24WiredTV: So is that the next movie you’re filming?

Woodbine: That’s already shot. We shot that in January.

24WiredTV: Which would you say is your favorite role to date?

Woodbine: I want to go with Harry, man.

Photo courtesy of Columbia Pictures.