With his outstanding height, actor Ian Whyte was born for the roles of mystical creatures and alien monsters on the screen.
Born and raised in the UK, 2.13 m tall actor Ian Whyte started his acting career in 2004 with the role of Scar in the horror fiction film. AVP: Alien vs Predator . After 17 years in the profession, he has pocketed over 20 roles, mainly the roles of mysterious creatures and giant alien monsters…
In 2021, Ian Whyte plays the Plague Doctor in the TV series The Irregulars released by Netflix. On June 15, the magazine GQ published an interview with Ian Whyte. In it, the actor shared about his life, career as well as his impressive roles. First audition In the early 2000s, Ian Whyte was a famous professional basketball player throughout Europe when his first acting opportunity came. “A director came up to me and said, ‘Listen, can you make time for the audition? Because he was exactly the person we were looking for for this role,'” Whyte recalls. The role mentioned is the monster Predator in the movie AVP: Alien vs Predator . 
Ian Whyte stands with fans dressed as Predator. Photo: RPF. At that time, Whyte had no acting experience. The only advantage he has is that he is similar in height and physique to actor Kevin Peter Hall – the first person to play Predator on screen. After spending an entire weekend scrutinizing the space beast Predator movies, Whyte went to auditions. “It was the hottest day of the year,” he recalls. The audition site was a small studio near King’s Cross Station. They gave me a diving suit with a prop head and a big rope. Then they asked me what I thought. I admit it looks difficult, but I will try.” After Predator, Ian Whyte continued to play many alien creatures, monsters and giants on the screen. He is present in many major Hollywood movie universes such as Alien , Harry Potter , Star Wars and Game of Thrones . “I don’t consider the characters I play to be monsters or beast maniacs. I have always approached them as creatures of character and destiny. They are heroes in their life story,” said Whyte. Roles for a lifetime Sharing about the first role in his career – space hunter Predator of AVP: Alien vs Predator and Alien vs Predator: Requiem – Ian Whyte asserts that Predator is one of the classic, timeless characters. “My wife used to say, ‘You can play as many monstrous roles as you like, I respect that decision. But don’t let it burn you.” Yet one of the first scenes we shot on film was Weyland (Lance Henriksen) burning an oxygen tank and burning Predator alive. In the first week, we had a stuntman to shoot the whole scene. But with the specified angles, they put alcohol on the outfit. So most of the time, I was burning like a torch,” Whyte recalls. 
Whyte as Last Engineer and director Ridley Scott on the set of Prometheus. Photo: Fox. Role in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) is a completely different challenge for Whyte. In the film, he and actress Frances de la Tour both play Madame Maxime, the two-and-a-half meter tall headmistress of one of the magical schools. On screen, Ian Whyte transformed into Maxime, but from the neck down, in full scenes to bring out the most realistic visual effect. In 2012, director Ridley Scott revived the universe Alien on screen by movie Prometheus . In the film, Ian Whyte plays the Last Engineer. Sharing memories on the set of sci-fi works, Whyte said: “I really enjoyed working with Ridley Scott. I think Prometheus achieved an incredible feat in categorizing brand fans Alien with fans of Scott’s movies. The film has more of Ridley Scott’s breath than a prequel to Alien . It is more contemplative.” To play the Last Engineer, Whyte worked with a female linguist from the university in London. “She spent months developing a new language for extraterrestrials based on a 10,000-year-old ancient language. It included a lot of pops and old voices, which made it quite difficult for me to adapt, ”Whyte shared. 
Whyte in his first on-screen Predator role. Photo: Fox. In series Star Wars , Ian Whyte stunts for Peter Mayhew – the actor who plays Chewbacca. He thinks Mayhew is a legend: “He brought Chewbacca from nothing to the screen, not only in form but also in humanity, empathy and relatability. His work has become an icon.” With Game of Thrones , Ian Whyte has the role of transforming into many characters of the massive epic franchise. In the first season, Whyte played White Walker. Season two, he becomes Mountain. From seasons three to six, Ian Whyte transforms into several giants. In seasons seven and eight, he put on the disguise of one of the immortals. Of these characters, Whyte said he liked Wun Wun, the giant that appeared in seasons 5 and 6, the most. “He was the first to have human behavior. One who talks less does more. Everything about him is not told or mentioned, but he has a goal to work towards and a purpose to act on,” the actor shared. “I am pleased with his death. A friend of mine pointed out that the detail is reminiscent of a rather old Japanese work titled Throne of Blood . The hero collapsed in a rain of arrows. When I watched the episode with my wife, she asked if I had checked my Twitter account. I don’t pay much attention to social media. And my wife explained ‘People are going crazy over Wun Wun’s death’. I didn’t know this at all because I didn’t think my character would be so popular,” Whyte concluded.
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