Victor Webster (5/04 Rick Hansen: Heart of a Dragon)
Excerpt from The Spinal Cord Injury Zone 5/22/04: Victor Webster | Heart of a Dragon
Roll chair, roll film ... action
RICK WESTHEAD BUSINESS REPORTER Published 05/22/2004
A Hollywood movie producer clears the path for a big-screen retelling of the Rick Hansen story Calgary native Victor Webster is Mark Gordon, the American producer of Saving Private Ryan, Speed and the upcoming The Day After Tomorrow, is famous for two things Hollywood covets: finding stars and crafting movies that make money. While Gordon's focus has been on large-budget blockbusters, he's optimistic his latest project will become one of the few overtly Canadian motion pictures to become commercially successful in the United States. Filming is scheduled to begin in China this September on Rick Hansen: Heart Of A Dragon, the story of the Vancouver Paraplegic who, from 1985 to 1987, pushed his wheelchair through 34 countries on four continents to raise money for spinal-cord injury research.
...
The Hansen film has been nearly a decade in the making. Paramount Studios initially acquired the rights to Hansen's life story in 1997, with the intention of luring Tom Cruise or another A-list Hollywood star to the project. But Cruise, who appeared as a paraplegic Vietnam vet in Born On The Fourth Of July, declined the role, and in 2001 Paramount let its rights expire. Cruise's replacement is Victor Webster, a Calgary native whose movie credits include the Steve Martin comedy Bringing Down The House. Newfoundland-born Natasha Henstridge, who appeared in The Whole Ten Yards, will play Hansen's wife, Amanda Reid. "These are not household names, but remember that Mark Gordon has a track record of finding young actors on the verge of breaking out," said Michael French, the project's executive producer. "He did the same thing when he cast Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves in Speed."
....
Webster is training for the role at a veterans' hospital in Long Beach, Calif., for the next several months. "This isn't an easy role to play," said Mike Jacobs, a paraplegic who is teaching Webster how to more accurately portray Hansen. "He needs to be introduced to the frustrations of using the chair, like opening doors or changing a flat. If one wheel, for instance, is low on air, you have to correct that with every turn of the wheel or it'll constantly pull to the side."
© SCI Zone
Excerpt from About.com Movies 2005: Victor Webster
Victor Webster on "Must Love Dogs," Internet Dating, and the Rick Hansen Movie
"It’s about a great Canadian hero who went around the world in a wheelchair. It took him two years to do it and he really inspired a lot of the changes that we have in regards to the handicapped. He’s just an incredible person. It’s in the works right now. I would love to start tomorrow but you know this business. We’ll see what happens. It could be a week, it could be a couple of months. Hopefully sometime by the end of September. It’s something that is a labor of love that we really, truly believe in that’s going to get made. We just want to make sure that all of our ducks are in a row first."
© About.com
National Ledger 12/9/05: Victor Webster
Canadian Victor Webster To Play Real-Life Wheelchair-Bound Hero
By Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith Dec 9, 2005
Talk about an inspiring story! "Mutant X" actor Victor Webster is preparing to play Canadian hero Rick Hansen on the big screen, recreating the paraplegic's amazing journey around the world in a wheelchair.
Playing Real-Life Hero
"He pushed himself the circumference of the earth to raise awareness and money for spinal cord research, and this was back in the '80s, when there was no wheelchair access," says Webster. "It took two years, two months and two days. Can you imagine pushing yourself in a wheelchair, head on through gale-force winds, sandstorms and snow? He overcame a shoulder injury, sickness, almost died from carbon dioxide poisoning, was run off the road … think about the determination it took and the physical strength."
Hansen lost use of his legs in a truck accident as a teenager, but, Webster notes, "he did not take it as a defeat and went on to play wheelchair basketball, and to win world championships in wheelchair marathons. He has the Rick Hansen Foundation in Vancouver, Canada, and I think they've raised $100 million for spinal cord research from when he first started till now."
Webster says the pinnacle of Hansen's journey was when "he pushed himself up the Great Wall of China. That was his ultimate goal, and the Chinese government let him do that. So the main part of the movie is about his going to China and takes place on the Great Wall, and we've got approval from the Chinese government to shoot there. It's going to be pretty amazing." For his part, Webster says he'll have to do "a whole different kind of training and workout. I'll be in a wheelchair through the whole movie, and your shoulders aren't made to be working like that, so just to avoid injury I'm going to have to do a lot of special exercises."
He says the Hansen biopic will be "directed by Michael French, Mark Gordon is going to be one of the producers, and David Foster's doing all the music." He adds the script they're using has been personally approved by Hansen. "People tried to do his story for years, but they made it all about his disability. And that's not what this is about. It's about his heart and his courage, and hopefully it will inspire other people to go after their dreams and their goals."
© The National Ledger
Excerpt from The Vancouver Sun 9/23/08: Victor Webster
Man in Motion Picture
Jeff Lee, Vancouver Sun Published: Tuesday, September 23, 2008
BEIJING - It's taken 10 years, multiple scripts and two movie companies for Vancouver filmmaker Michael French to tell his story about the crucial moments when Rick Hansen's Man in Motion tour turned into an international sensation. Along the way, he turned down a Hollywood script he says would have turned his movie, Heart of a Dragon, into a sure-fire moneymaker, but would have destroyed Hansen and his family in the process. Instead, French, who was with Hansen on the day he assaulted the Great Wall of China, brought the script back to Canada and spent a decade polishing it, finding the money, and eventually shooting it in China. Now, French and his partners, including executive producer Mark Gordon, are preparing to release the film this fall.
But before doing so, they felt they had to pay homage to China. French, Gordon and their Chinese partners arranged the screening as a toast to the 2008 Paralympics, which in their own right are one of the legacies of China's move towards more accessibility and better treatment for people with disabilities. "We knew this was the right place to show this film for the first time to an English-speaking audience," French said in an interview from Vancouver. "The Paralympics in China have so much symbolism that we knew we had to show it here first."
....
The title character is played by Canadian Victor Webster, and Sarah-Jane Potts plays Amanda Reid, Hansen's physiotherapist (and eventual wife).
© Vancouver Sun
StarNews Online 1/3/10: Victor Webster
Heart of a Dragon Film to Premier as fundraiser
by David Morrison January 3rd, 2010 02:03pm
Wilmington is often referred to as “Hollywood East” due to it’s active film community. Honestly, though, how often does a film get a chance to premier locally? Thanks to DisAbility Resource Center, Associated Film Producers Limited, and Carmike Cinemas, the documentary Heart of A Dragon is getting that chance. Director, writer, and producer Michael French brings us this inspiring true story of Rick Hansen, who, at the tender age of 16 suffered a spinal cord injury that left him unable to walk.
Rick, like myself, has never let his disability stop him. In fact, I must say that even before I have viewed this film I consider Hansen a hero. Why do I dare make such a bold statement so soon? Well, because this documentary follows Rick as he completes his very own Man In Motion World Tour. This personal journey takes him wheeling across 34 countries, and 4 continents in 2 years! He travels the equivalent of 3 marathons in a single day! All of this, while battling the elements, the terrain, and personal health issues simply to increase funding and awareness for others with such injuries. Hard to believe? Find out for yourself: Screenings will be held at Carmike Cinema Friday or Saturday January 15th and 16th both at 7p.m. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased in advance or the day of the show while supplies last. ALL proceeds will benefit DisAbility Resource Center and are to be used strictly for life enrichment activities for those with disabilities in our area. To purchase tickets in advance please call dRC at 910-815-6618 or stop by their office located at 140-A Cinema Drive in Wilmington. Office hours are Monday-Friday 9A.M 4:30P.M.
© Star News Online
Excerpt from Heart of a Dragon Production Notes 8/10: Victor Webster
“Heart of a Dragon,” The Mark Gordon Presentation of a Thunder Bay Film Production with Assistance from The China Film Group, is directed, written and produced by Michael French. Executive Producers are Mark Gordon and David Foster. Starring are Victor Webster, Chinese actress/model Yu Na, James Thomas Byrnes, Sarah-Jane Potts, Andrew Lee Potts and Ethan Embry.
....
Of crucial importance was the casting of Rick Hansen, a man of strength, commitment and perseverance yet one who in the end understands his emotional needs and vulnerability, and has an epiphany that he can’t do it alone. The filmmakers found that strength in Victor Webster. The filmmakers saw Webster’s tape and immediately were captivated by his screen presence as well as particular qualities he had that very much resembled what they had in mind for the character of Rick. “It was very obvious at the first viewing that Victor Webster seemed to have so many of Rick’s attributes physically and emotionally,” recalls French. “When I met with Mark and April Webster (one of Hollywood’s top casting agents), it was quite apparent to all of us that Victor was it!”
....
VICTOR WEBSTER (“Rick Hansen”) recently was cast in the recurring role of Josh Davidson as Beckett’s mysterious boyfriend in ABC’s hit crime drama “Castle.” He also starred as Caleb Brewer in “Melrose Place 2.0” and appeared in episodes of “Bones” and “Criminal Minds.” He also starred in the motion picture “Burning Palms,” “Coming & Going” and “Surrogates,” directed by Jonathan Mostow and starring Bruce Willis. Victor began his acting career in Los Angeles landing a role in the Aaron Spelling NBC-TV series “Sunset Beach” followed by daytime television’s “Days Of Our Lives” as Nicholas Alamain. He then joined the cast of the Emmy® award winning series “The Lot” and went on to star in the number one rated syndicated action series “Mutant X.” He had recurring roles on the series “Related” and “Charmed” as well as many notable guest appearances on “Reba” and “Sex and the City,” Lincoln Heights” and “Harpers Island”. In motion pictures, Victor starred in “Bringing Down the House” with Steve Martin and Queen Latifah, and “Must Love Dogs” with Diane Lane and John Cusack.
Born in Calgary, Alberta, Webster moved with his family to California when he was 13 years old attending San Clemente High School. After graduation he attended Saddleback Junior College and later went on to become a stockbroker. Growing up, Webster was always very active and played on a variety of sports teams throughout high school and college. More specifically, his passion for martial arts and weapons training became apparent at a very early age leading led him to an undefeated fighting record in the heavy weight black belt division. He appeared in People Magazine and was named one of the "50 Most Eligible Bachelors.” In his spare time, he participates in many charities including the Special Olympics, the ARK Trust (an animal rights organization) and charities for abused women and children.
© Heart of a Dragon
Showbiz Monkeys 9/13/10: Victor Webster
Interview: Victor Webster, star of Heart of a Dragon, the new film inspired by Rick Hansen's journey
Posted by: Mark McLeod // September 13, 2010 @ 8:44pm
Canadian actor Victor Webster has been quite busy in the dozen years or so he's been in the business. Since breaking out as Brennan Mulwray on the Marvel series Mutant X, Webster has jumped between featured roles on television (Charmed, the new Melrose Place) and smaller roles in films (Must Love Dogs, Surrogates). Now he finds himself promoting an iconic role he filmed a couple years ago, that of celebrated activist and wheelchair athlete Rick Hansen. The film, Heart of a Dragon, covers Hansen's time in China during his 1985-1987 Man in Motion World Tour (in which Hansen raised $26-million for spinal cord research while travelling across the globe in his wheelchair). The film was written and directed by Michael French, who was on location in China over 20 years ago filming a TV documentary on Hansen and saw first-hand the millions who gave the wheelchair-bound athlete a hero's welcome. We spoke with Webster last week about what it was like playing someone as well-known, celebrated, and inspirational as Hansen; what he looks for in roles in general; and how he enjoyed filming the movie on location at the Great Wall in China. We also asked him about working in television, as he's going to be showing up this season for several episodes of the ABC crime dramedy, Castle, which stars fellow Alberta native Nathan Fillion.
Mark McLeod: First off, I'd just like to ask you how you became involved with the Heart of a Dragon project.
Victor Webster: Just through the regular audition process. They called me in to audition and apparently the director, Micheal French, had heard my name from around and someone had said that he should meet me for this part. So I came in and read for it and we just clicked. I thought he had a great story that needed to be told, and I wanted to be a part of it, and he thought I was the right type of person to play the character.
MM: Once you got the part, what sort of research did you do to get ready?
VW: I went to a lot of hospitals for disabled people, read a lot of books, watched a lot of movies on the subject. I was in the chair as much as I could, basically went to a shopping mall and lived in the chair -- just to see people's reactions and feel what it was like to get a sense of living that life.
MM: Were you nervous at all about playing such a well-known figure?
VW: Yes I was, actually. I was told that I was given the opportunity to play such a great character that inspired so many people, so I felt that I really needed to do the best that I could to fairly service the story and the theme of never giving up and having intolerable spirit. It's something that people should live with, and that people should go after their dreams. I felt that this character really really lived by that. I think that it's somehow an inspiration to me in my personal life and that it was a great opportunity for me.
MM: Now the film was shot in China. How was that experience?
VW: It was a really interesting experience. It's a completely different culture over there. I had never really heard of any stories of anyone having been over there, and I wasn't really prepared. It's a fast-paced place, and being in the rural parts like the Great Wall, just the energy that was there, the wall felt alive and that it was moving underneath me. It was an inspiration to know the history of it and that it was completely man-made without any machinery, and that people put their heart and soul into building it. It seems to still maintain the energy and vibrations of who built it.
MM: The film was shot a couple years back and has taken awhile to get to the big screen. Do you think audiences are ready to be receptive to this kind of film?
VW: I think this is really a timeless film. I think that any time you can inspire people to go out and live their dreams and their goals, I don't think there's any sort of time limitation on that. I think that especially now, with everything that's going on in the world, we need some hope, a light at the end of the tunnel.
MM: Why should audiences choose this film over some of their other choices at the box office?
VW: You really come out of this film realizing that you can pretty much do anything if you work hard enough for it and put your mind to it. Any goal is achievable. I think people need to have that feeling. It's a great movie with great characters. I mean, you can go see a movie where a bunch of stuff blows up or you can go see this movie and hopefully have it change your life.
MM: What do you look for when you pick a project?
VW: I look for a strong character that has some kind of an arc, a story that is interesting to watch and something that will challenge me and cause me to learn something about myself by doing the project.
MM: Now, I like to ask everyone I talk to this question: If you had to describe your character in one word, what would it be and why?
VW: That's a really difficult question... The best word to describe the character would be inspiring, I think what he did was such an inspiration to so many people and we'll continue the story of his journey and inspire people for years to come.
MM: You've done a lot of TV and you've done some movies. Do you prefer working in one or the other?
VW: I really do like doing both. I love the beginning, middle, and end of doing a film, and I love television and playing arcs of a specific character and the stability of TV. But there's a lot more freedom in film.
MM: Now you're going to be on Castle. Can you talk about your role at all?
VW: I don't really know much about it. I know that they are bringing me in as Beckett's new boyfriend on the show. I'm not sure what direction they are going to go with it, but I'm sort of the motorcycle-riding bad boy and the opposite of Castle's character, so it's a bit threatening to him. It's a recurring role and I'm doing a handful of episodes.
MM: Well, best of luck with the project and thanks for your time this morning. Sorry about the early hour.
VW: Nah man, it's no problem. I appreciate it. Have a great day!
Heart of a Dragon opens in BC theatres Friday, October 29th.
© Showbiz Monkeys
Westender 9/15/10: Victor Webster
ON THE COVER: Victor Webster researches ‘Dragon’ role the hard way
Posted By: Steven Schelling 09/15/2010 12:00 AM
This is the first time that I’ve actually played a person who exists,” says Victor Webster, seated on a seawall tree planter and staring across False Creek to the towers of Yaletown. Blessed with a tall, athletic build, a deep voice, and a chiseled jaw, the Calgary-born 37-year-old actor is used to playing larger-than-life characters. He’s known to fanboys as Brennan Mulwray, the brooding mutant who shoots lighting bolts from his fingertips in TV series Mutant X; remembered by Sex and the City fans as Samantha’s glistening stockbroker neighbour, wearing just a towel and a smile; and, most recently, he upended stereotypes as the commanding, cigar-smoking, sports-loving, happens-to-be-gay Caleb Brewer on the failed Melrose Place reboot.
But it’s Webster’s latest role, as a young Rick Hansen in the upcoming Heart of a Dragon (opening Oct. 29), that, for many reasons, may be the most challenging of his career. Although Dragon is, as they say in the business, “inspired by true events,” and isn’t a biopic or a proper documentary, there was still some trepidation on Webster’s part in playing the role of an international hero - especially one that could conceivably call him up and voice his displeasure about the actor’s onscreen portrayal. “I wasn’t trying to portray Rick; I was trying to portray the character in the movie that did these amazing things that Rick did,” Webster explains. “I didn’t go after it as a character study. I wanted to make sure that I got the struggles and the emotions and the trials and tribulations that he went through - to show that on the screen.”
The Man in Motion Tour, Hansen’s 26-month-long, around-the-world wheelchair trek in support of spinal-cord research, began 25 years ago in the parking lot of Vancouver’s Oakridge Centre. From humble beginnings, his 40,000-kilometre odyssey took him to 34 countries on four continents, and turned the young paraplegic into an international celebrity. Heart of a Dragon follows Hansen’s journey to his triumphant arrival in Beijing, where more than one million people gathered to cheer him on.
To prepare for the role, Webster, an accomplished martial artist, had to learn to live as a wheelchair-bound paraplegic. “You’re only using half your body,” he says of the painful process that saw him bulk up his upper body with both rigorous training sessions and everyday chores. “Because of the stress on your shoulder joints and the toll it takes on the body, I had to work with a physical trainer so that I wouldn’t get injured doing it. I would push myself up hills where I lived. If I went to the mall, I’d be in the chair. I’d go to a coffee shop or a restaurant in the chair.”
Equally important to Webster, however, was understanding the psychology of living in a wheelchair. “I wanted to be in the world not only physically, but also understand what it’s like mentally to be there. I went to a few hospitals and worked with paraplegics [to understand] the mentality of when somebody first has an accident and what that must be like, and trying to go through the steps in the life of somebody that’s put in that position to see what they have to go through emotionally as well as physically.”
Much of the emotional cost, at least for Webster, came from the people around him. “Some people would look at me and I could see in their eyes they felt sorry for me,” he says, noting that situations like that made him angry. “I was like, ‘Just because I’m in a chair doesn’t make me any more or any less of a man. I can do things for myself. I drive around in my car. I can open my own doors.’”
His adopted hometown of Los Angeles was bad enough, but when he was on location in China, Webster’s sense of angry helplessness increased. “There are no cut-outs on the curbs and no ramps in China,” he says. “Sometimes people would come and help, and I eventually got to a place where I appreciated the sentiment. But I had to do it every day, and I didn’t need the help. I didn’t want the help.”
Webster’s brief life in a wheelchair wasn’t always a negative experience, however. The actor says he inadvertently stumbled across a strange benefit: increased female attention - no small feat for a man who’s already been romantically linked to some of the most beautiful leading ladies on television. “There’s a scene [we shot] for the movie about the attention the character would get from women because he was in the chair,” he explains. “It’s true. I would get people coming up and talking to me who probably normally wouldn’t have. The one thing with that was I felt that I was deceiving them, in a way. I felt a little bit guilty.”
Webster believes it all came together for him a week prior to filming, when he came across a flight of stairs. “I was like, ‘How am I going to do this?’,” he recalls. “I wanted to get out of the chair and just walk up the stairs, but that wasn’t an option. I had to actually climb up on my butt and my hands and drag the chair up with me. It probably only took 10 minutes, but it felt like decades. In my mind I said, ‘I’m going to do this; I’m going to conquer this.’” It might have only been a flight of stairs, but Webster found a new level of determination.
“Rick pushed himself through two marathons every single day, through shoulder injury, through carbon-monoxide poisoning, and he still continued,” Webster continues. “I’ll get up sometimes with a headache and not feel like doing something, and then I think, ‘WWRD: What Would Rick Do?,’ because he wouldn’t let that stop him. There are some points in his journey where his hands were bleeding and he couldn’t hold the wheels and he couldn’t push, and yet he found a way to continue to do it. And he was overheating and getting to the point where his body was failing, and he still continued to push. That was the biggest thing for me: your body completely breaking down and your mind and your spirit jumping in and saying, ‘You’re not going to stop.’”
In spite of the grueling conditioning, the psychological readjustment, and the sheer difficulty of getting around locations in China in a wheelchair, Webster says the most daunting part of the role was living up to the legend of Hansen himself. “It’s such an inspirational story that I wanted to make sure that I affected people the way he affected people.”
© Westender
Stay Fit Anywhere 10/26/10: Victor Webster
Victor Webster Trains to be Rick Hansen in Heart of a Dragon
Josh Neumann, BHK, PTS, TSCC-1 Oct 26 2010
Victor Webster is an actor from Calgary and will be playing the role of Rick Hansen in the movie Heart of a Dragon which premieres around British Columbia this Friday October 29, 2010 for more information visit http://heartofadragonmovie.blogspot.com/. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to interview Victor and find out how he prepared physically and mentally for the role. The interview is below.
Q1. You studied martial arts growing up and went undefeated as an amateur kick boxer so you know what it is like to learn and master a skill. Did your background in martial arts help you when learning to use a wheelchair?
Coming from an athletic background I learned many things, a few of which are dedication, perseverance, hard work and the ability to learn and adapt to a situation - all of which I believe helped me tremendously in learning the physical part of being in a wheelchair. The mental part was the most difficult.
Q2. Tell our readers about your fitness routine to prepare for “Heart of a Dragon”.
I knew I’d be putting a lot of stress on my upper body specifically my shoulders, triceps and chest. I talked to my trainer and we worked out a program to strengthen these areas to prevent injuries and provide power and endurance. Rick’s upper body was so well developed and powerful that I also had to put on size. I did a lot of heavy lifting on 1 day and the next I’d do execrises that are used for physical therapy patients with shoulder injuries. The next day I would do steep hill pushes in the chair and take day 4 off. There would be days that I would push hills as well as working out but not usually on heavy lifting days.
Q3. Both learning to master a wheelchair and display the physique of a man who wheeled 40,000 kms in just over two years takes a great deal of commitment and discipline. Explain to our readers the mindset you had to take when accepting this role.
I knew that it would require a tremendous amount of physical and mental endurance. There would be no giving up and going home or taking days off when I didn’t feel like working, which mirrored Rick’s journey. I had to prepare myself for a grueling adventure, I read Rick’s book to get an idea of the obstacles and struggles that he went through and tried to imagine any additional ones that may come up in our world and decided to leave the rest up to chance and just tackle those obstacles as they came. I took “hope for the best, be prepared for the worst” mentality.
Q4. How familiar were you with Rick Hansen’s Man In Motion tour growing up?
I remember my parents following it on TV and it being in the newspapers. I was 12 at the time and was never in the house, I was always outside, usually getting into trouble
Q5. Did you get a chance to spend time with Rick Hansen while filming the movie?
I had the pleasure of meeting with Rick before we shot. We went out on a boat and tagged and released sturgeon, he’s heavily involved in the sturgeon conservation society. We had lunch and I went to his house for a bit, met his children and Amanda. I just wanted to get a sense of the man that he is in his normal life and not the man that was able to conquer the world in a wheelchair. The real Rick.
Q6. After watching the trailer for “Heart of a Dragon” on www.heartofadragonmovie.com and seeing pictures of you on your website - www.victorwebster.com - your body went through some noticeable changes. How did you achieve these results?
As actors we have to transfer ourselves mentally, emotionally and physically for a role. Knowing what was in store physically and seeing the pictures of Rick on his Man in Motion Tour made me realize I had to bulk up to play this part. I ate a ton of healthy food, having small meals every three hours and followed the training routine that I described earlier. I took about 6 weeks to get to the point you see in the movie.
Q7. The trailer eludes to a rotator cuff injury Rick suffered during the Man in Motion tour. Did you suffer any overuse injuries in preparation or during filming?
I didn’t suffer any injuries but had a lot of soreness and inflammation initially until my body became used to it. Then I believe the training that I did helped to keep me injury free for the shoot.
Q8. Nutrition is an important aspect of achieving body transformations. What does a typical day of eating look like for you?
Right now I’m training for another movie so I’m on a very healthy diet again. Besides a bad day of course where all bets are off, for the most part. I start the morning with a pre-workout meal replacement shake with a banana and greens. After workout I have eggs with toast and peanut butter, some fruit and a yogurt. Another shake a few hours later then have lunch. Chicken or beef with steamed veggies and brown rice. Wait a few hours and have another shake. Then a meat with steamed veggies and brown rice again for dinner. Not that exciting but it’s doing the trick.
Q9. You were a stockbroker before you pursued acting full time. Were you able to maintain your physique while working long hours behind a desk?
Being a stockbroker made it much easier because I had a set schedule. I knew when I’d be working, I wasn’t travelling so I had a gym around me at all times and had a workout partner that I worked with. This business is a lot different, living in hotel rooms with no gyms, on set 14 hours a day and far too much access to the craft service table. It’s very difficult after a 14 hour day to find the motivation to wake up at 5am to work out the next morning.
Q10. Training for this physical role must have been challenging. Did you run into any mental “blocks”? What did you do to stay motivated?
There are always blocks. “I don’t feel like doing it today, I’m sore, I’m tired, I don’t have the time, etc”. Training is a luxury for most and there is a reason only certain types of people are very dedicated to doing it. It takes a strong mind, dedication and you have to hold yourself accountable. When I got into this mindset I thought about what Rick went through. How many times did he feel like just taking a day off and not push 2 marathons that day? That thought got me motivated pretty easily.
Just for fun: You were born in Calgary, I was born in Edmonton… who is going to win the Battle of Alberta in the NHL this year?
I gotta go with the Flames, man!! Come on!!
© Stay Fit Anywhere
Excerpt from Georgia Straight.com 10/28/10: Victor Webster
Heart of a Dragon tells Rick Hansen's inspirational story
By Ken Eisner, October 28, 2010
In Heart of a Dragon, Jim Byrnes plays a skeptical journalist who follows the character of Rick Hansen to China and questions whether the athlete is exploiting his disability. Heart of a Dragon wears its you-know-what on its colourful sleeve, and if the Canada-China coproduction is ultimately more instructional than artful, it does bring some key B.C. history-and outsized personalities-to life on the big screen. The movie, opening here Friday (October 29), is also something of a breakthrough for Calgary-born Victor Webster, who plays Rick Hansen at the height of his fame, when the paraplegic wheelchair activist took his around-the-world Man in Motion mission to China and captured the world’s imagination. Up until now, the hunky Albertan, who segued easily from modelling into the acting game (after a short stint as a stockbroker), has been a soap-opera regular and had small parts in action shows and comedies, often as a bad guy or handsome rival to the lead. Here, he literally drives the story, and he had to do it-much like Hansen-without the use of his legs. “It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,” says the dark-haired 37-year-old, talking to the Georgia Straight at a gallery near Granville Island. “The amount of training was incredibly intense. I come from a sports background, where I always think I could have done better. But I’m really proud of this movie.”
He got the part in an audition for writer-director Michael French, who took a small crew to record Hansen’s exploits back in 1985 and who got to use pieces of that footage here, in his fictionalized recollection, shot roughly two years ago. “It just clicked. We really saw eye to eye. I believed in him and the story he was telling and wanted to be a part of it. He saw a lot of potential in me, and we put a tremendous amount of work into making this project happen. With people like Michael and [executive producer and composer] David Foster pushing it along, it had to be perfect.”
Of course, neither wheelchair exercises, period research, nor location shooting could make it easier to play a figure so well known to West Coast Canadians. “I met Rick Hansen, of course, and studied his story, but I was very conscious of not doing a biography. The movie is certainly not a documentary; it was inspired by him, and this Rick Hansen is a character who travels around the world to prove what people are capable of.
“I went fishing with Rick once, and he’s incredibly strong, physically; more than that, he has this commanding presence, and you can just feel his determination. He really does have the heart of a dragon. You know, we see a dragon as a fierce creature, but the Chinese see it as a powerful ally, even as a kind of friend. And I think that really conveys Rick’s never-give-up attitude.”
Webster, who reportedly has the lead in the next Scorpion King movie, definitely stepped up his own presence in Dragon.
© Straight.com
Market Wire 12/13/10: Victor Webster
Dec 13, 2010 09:53 ET"Heart of a Dragon" to Screen for Vancouver Inner City Youth
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Dec. 13, 2010) - On December 16, 2010, 12:30 pm at Pacific Cinematheque in Vancouver, BC…Thunder Bay Films and DAREarts, a non-profit charity that ignites change in young Canadians through the arts, are joining forces to present a special screening of the feature film "Heart of a Dragon" for east Vancouver students in Grades 6 and 7. DAREarts founder, Marilyn Field, has dedicated the past fifteen years to bringing the arts to children who are academically, socially, economically and emotionally at-risk, helping them to discover their own inner strength, creativity and passion. She has chosen to present "Heart of a Dragon" to these students because it aligns well with DAREarts' mission to empower children by building their self-confidence, courage and leadership skills.
"Heart of a Dragon" tells a touching story inspired by wheelchair athlete Rick Hansen, and is about hopes and dreams - it's the story of a man who, in a test of his own self endurance, discovers the true meaning of love, loyalty, friendship and the strength of the human spirit. To further inspire the youth, editor and associate producer Chris Ainscough and Britt French will meet the youth and answer questions following the screening. Media are invited to attend. "The story of 'Heart of a Dragon' is a story of struggle in order to survive and how each one of us has his or her own physical or emotional obstacles to overcome, our own great walls to climb," says Michael French. "The film's story has a universal theme which I believe will resonate with people anywhere in the world where people have hopes and dreams, and the courage to meet challenges and obstacles that may come their way. Through hard work and perseverance, and the support of people you love and trust you can achieve anything."
Over twenty years ago, something quite extraordinary happened in China. A young man in a wheelchair, accompanied by a few of his closest friends, entered Beijing half-way through their Man in Motion World Tour with over 1 million Chinese heralding his arrival as a hero. Starring in the film are Victor Webster, Sarah-Jane Potts, James T. Byrnes, Yu Na, Andrew Lee Potts and Ethan Embry.
"Heart of a Dragon" is written, directed and produced by Michael French, and is executive produced by David Foster, the 15-time Grammy® Award-winning producer and songwriter, and Mark Gordon, whose numerous film producing credits include 'Saving Private Ryan,' 'The Messenger,' 'Speed,' 'The Patriot' and TV's 'Grey's Anatomy'.
© Market Wire
Excerpt from Fay Observer 6/6/14: Victor Webster
Special screening of 'Heart of a Dragon' to benefit Wounded Warrior Project
Posted: Friday, June 6, 2014 12:00 am | By Rodger Mullen Staff writer
Nearly 30 years ago, paraplegic Rick Hansen embarked on a 26-month trek around the world in his wheelchair, culminating in a triumphant entrance into Beijing, China. Now, the story of Hansen's ride to China's Great Wall is being told in a movie titled "Heart of a Dragon." The film is scheduled to be shown Wednesday at 5 p.m. at Cameo Art House Theatre. The screening is a benefit for the Wounded Warrior Project.
....
"Heart of a Dragon" was directed, written and produced by Michael French, whose credits include "Un-Natural Act" with Jim Carrey and "Reelmadness" with Will Ferrell. It stars Victor Webster, Sarah-Jane Potts and James T. Byrnes.
© Fay Observer