Guillermo del Toro, who directed "Blade II," recently revisited Wesley Snipes’ defining impact on the character during an installment of IGN’s "IGN30 Icons" interview series. According to the filmmaker, the "Blade" movies worked largely because of Snipes’ irreplaceable star power.
“At least 50% of what makes Blade feel like Blade comes from Wesley Snipes. He wasn’t always the easiest actor to work with, but every time he stepped in front of the camera, I thought, ‘That’s a movie star.’”
Del Toro also shared a behind-the-scenes story about a special gun the crew designed for Blade, complete with a blade mounted on the front. Snipes took one look at it and immediately rejected the idea.
“That’s not for Blade. It’s a cool gun, but it’s not for Blade.” When del Toro asked why, Snipes replied, “Because Blade is the weapon. I don’t want those toys. I want the man himself. The man is already dangerous. Give me too many toys and it becomes the Batmobile and the utility belt. That’s not Blade.” In that moment, del Toro realized, “This guy gets it.”
Del Toro even joked that Snipes was not merely 50% of Blade, but “100%” of the character’s soul. He also credited original director Stephen Norrington with giving "Blade" the sharper, more rebellious edge that would reshape superhero movies.
“Without Stephen Norrington’s ‘Blade,’ I don’t think there would be ‘The Matrix.’ I don’t think there would be ‘X-Men.’ What they did was monumental,” del Toro said.
The filmmaker also revealed that "Blade II" and "Pacific Rim" were the two movies he had the most fun making—and his recent discovery of Red Bull may have had something to do with it. At the time, del Toro admitted, he had no idea how much was too much.
“So I was drinking about 40 Red Bulls a day. I’m not joking,” del Toro said. He even ordered the energy drink by the case and handed cans out to extras on set.
Del Toro joked that he was so wired, it felt like he was living inside a “cocaine movie,” constantly yelling, “Come on! Let’s go!” It was not until he returned to the United States that a doctor warned him, “You can’t drink more than four a day.” Looking back at how much he had consumed, del Toro could only marvel, “I was drinking 40 a day. My veins, man!”
via： IGN