Standing outside a nice hotel room in Knightsbridge on a sunny September afternoon shouldnt be intimidating.

But beyond that hotel room door is Benicio Del Toro.

And this is Benicio Del Toro the morning after Ive just seen him in Oliver Stones brilliantly-titled new filmSavages.

And those homemade cookies are way behind me now, too far gone for a comfort snack.

The truth, of course, is that Del Toro isnt anything like the character he portrays on screen.

Another time, perhaps.

Savages is a pretty intense film.

Have you had many journalists come in today feeling a bit intimidated because of your character?

Yeah, a few people have given me some money [laughs].

How much does this kind of film take out of you, then?

Because watching it isnt always easy.

Theres a chainsaw scene in the opening seconds!

And once you throw yourself out there and you start moving then it ceases to be cold.

And perhaps at the beginning it was a little like, Well, here we go!

And then once you throw yourself out there you have to paddle or sink.

At the beginning it was a little bit like I might have been timid.

Because you just dont want to make him boring.

Thats the thing he isnt a boring character.

I think hes one of the least sympathetic villains Ive seen for a long time.

And usually bullies, once you confront them they are the first ones to crumble.

There was something about that.

Hes a bully, a bad guy.

And there is that one scene where you face off with Salma Hayeks drug lord.

Then suddenly shes the one youre scared of!

Its almost like the elephant thats afraid of the mouse.

This beautiful woman slaps him and he bows down and becomes so submissive.

Two minutes later hes back to the bad guy.

And I like how that played in the film.

I happened to see the movie with an audience, in a little screening.

There was this feeling like… people at the end they were really not forgiving.

They wanted to forgive him and everything was It might go this way, it might go that way.

But the moment he does this one thing, we dont care.

Going back to your analogy, then, about this being like a cold swimming pool.

Do you ever want to dive into a warm swimming pool?

Do the romantic leading man, for example?

Theres no warm swimming pool [grins].

Even if youre playing that… its always cold.

Because you have to create a reality, you know?

You seem to be more selective in your film roles now.

Is that deliberate on your part?

Ive always been kind of selective.

I have to work, you know?

But Ive always been kind of selective.

But Ive always been selective with projects.

And there are quite challenging directors you have worked with over the years.

Running through your work,The Funeraland…

The Funeral,yeah!

I remember seeing that a long time ago…

Thats a great movie.

Yeah, I saw it as a double bill withThe Addiction.Incredible.

But that was a tough night out.

Are those challenging films the kinds of films you like to watch?

Im attracted to watch all the filmmakers Ive worked with.

For the most part I watch any other movies, whether Im in them or not.

Ive been very lucky.

Ive worked with some of the best directors, contemporary directors, in the world.

You know, Ive worked with really good filmmakers, Ive been very lucky that way.

And even now you have talked about moving into directing.

Youve directed one of the segments in7 Days In Havana.

How did that come about?

And I said, Well, why dont you send me one of them?

And he sent me a story and I said Yeah, okay.

And it was really cool.

They gave me this and I said, Okay.

So it was kind of like old school.

Heres the story, get it out.

So that was the approach on that.

But if I was going to direct again, it would be a little bit different.

Not like, You have something for me?

Boom, okay, Ill do it.

Are there dream projects you have, then?

Are there other films on your wish list?

The first director couldnt take it and that put the whole thing kind of like in a weird situation.

If that situation came about now would you think about taking charge of that, being that director?

Sometimes you have to do that.

Maybe it would be the same approach but it was really an off-balancing situation.

And I think withThe Wolfmanwe were very limited because it was an R-rated movie.

So it should really appeal to kids.

They really liked the movie that came out.

But the original director had a different take on it, like it was more psychological.

But at the end of the day itsThe Wolfman, you know?

How far along did that get?

Is that something that might resurface?

Well, Chris is directing again.

Hes directed a movie which I havent seen and hes actually here working on something.

And theres another movie he is doing right now, I dont know.

But you seemed to have a close working relationship.

Could that Western ever come about?

Well, Ive only ever worked with one perfect script, and thatsThe Usual Suspects.

And like that… hes gone.

A grin from Del Toro and our time is up.Benicio Del Toro, thank you very much.

Savagesis out in the UK today.