'True Blood' star saddles up for Aussie western

LOS ANGELES  - Ryan Kwanten loves westerns, so it didn't take much for him to sign on to first-time feature director Patrick Hughes' "Red Hill," a thriller that pays tribute to the genre and was filmed on location in Kwanten's native Australia.

The actor plays a dedicated, diligent yet innocent small-town cop, almost channeling Kwanten's small-screen alter ego, Jason Stackhouse of "True Blood," in the process.

He recently discussed "Red Hill," which opens on Friday; his burgeoning feature film career, which will include playing Charles Manson; and filming in Australia.

HOW DID "RED HILL" COME TO YOU?

It's been one of those Aussie surprises. It was the first time I'd worked back in Australia in about eight years. It wasn't my intention to go back there. What I liked about it was the throwback to the classic-style western. The character that I play, Shane Cooper, is very flawed, and I thought it was interesting to play a hero who was fallible.

SHANE'S BACKSTORY -- HE'S UNABLE TO PULL THE TRIGGER -- AND THE WHOLE CHAIN OF EVENTS THAT TRANSPIRES AFTERWARD COMES UP HUGE AT THE END.

That to me was almost like watching Clint Eastwood or John Wayne before they turned into Clint Eastwood and John Wayne. It was what led them to that place.

DID YOU WATCH A LOT OF OLD WESTERNS TO PREP FOR "RED HILL"?

I was a huge fan before this, and in having many conversations with Patrick Hughes before signing on, we shared our love for that genre. It's a different style of acting and a different style of making a western. If you're going to make an ode to it, you have to do it well.

DID THE FACT THAT "RED HILL" WOULD FILM IN AUSTRALIA DRAW YOU TO THE PRODUCTION?

Absolutely. I could have been shooting it in Antarctica, because it was so far removed from civilization. It was sort of a one-horse town that was a good couple of hours from any other town. It was a town of probably about 100 people, but I swear, on any given night they all turned out to watch us. I was standing outside the local pub, and if you had moved the cameras to the left, you'd see 80 guys watching each take. It was a really good community feeling that they embraced us, and we were the best thing to happen to that town in maybe 100 years, since the gold rush!