Matthias Schoenaerts on ‘Far From the Madding Crowd’ and eminent female stars

TORONTO – Flemish actor Matthias Schoenaerts has made a splash in Hollywood in recent years by taking on some heavyweight roles opposite formidable female stars.

In the 2012 film “Rust and Bone” he starred alongside Oscar winner Marion Cotillard, and in last year’s “A Little Chaos” he worked with another Oscar winner in Kate Winslet.

Then there’s his role opposite Carey Mulligan in the new film “Far From the Madding Crowd,” and his upcoming turn with Tilda Swinton in “A Bigger Splash.”

“It makes you want to bring the best out of yourself. It just triggers you. It just keeps you awake,” Schoenaerts said of working with some of the best actresses of today.

“You’re like, ‘OK, now I’ve got to bring it on.’ There’s no way in between.

“It’s like getting in the ring with Mike Tyson — you better be prepared, man, or you’re going to get knocked the (hell) out,” he added with a laugh in a phone interview, using an unprintable expletive.

In “Far From the Madding Crowd,” which opened Friday in Toronto, Schoenaerts deviates from the tortured souls he usually takes on. He play a simple shepherd who holds a flame for independent budding businesswoman Bathsheba Everdene (Mulligan).

Tom Sturridge and Michael Sheen play her other hopeful suitors in the film, which is based on the literary classic by Thomas Hardy. Thomas Vinterberg directed the screenplay by David Nicholls.

“I think this guy is an example on many levels,” said Schoenaerts, 37, who became a household name in Belgium after starring in the Oscar-nominated 2011 crime drama “Bullhead.”

“He’s so consistent, this person that is permanently on the path of righteousness. He’s loyal, he sees things in a bigger perspective, he’s selfless, and that’s an interesting chap to mirror yourself to when you’re in the movie theatre.

“He’s a big challenge. He’s quite a confrontation.”

Asked what it was like working with sheep, Schoenaerts was very matter-of-fact.

“Everybody asks that like it’s some crazy outrageous thing. It’s not so crazy,” he said.

“You learn the stuff: I do a boot camp, I shave them, I wash them, I do this, I do that. I love to do it. It’s fun.”

Schoenaerts is set to star as American explorer William Clark in the miniseries “Lewis and Clark,” which is scheduled to start shooting in Alberta in the next month.

And he’s interested in doing a project with an actor he’s constantly compared to, both in their acting styles and their looks — Canada’s own Ryan Gosling.

Schoenaerts said the two haven’t met yet but have a friend in common, Belgian film editor Nico Leunen, who worked on Gosling’s directorial debut “Lost River.”

“We almost met,” says Schoenaerts, who lives in Antwerp, Belgium.

“The last time I was in L.A., I think it was a year and a half ago, we were trying to find a way to meet up. But I hope that eventually it might happen someday and eventually I hope we get to work with each other. That would be even more fun.”

“Far From the Madding Crowd” opens in Vancouver on May 8; in Calgary, Edmonton and Montreal on May 15; and in Halifax, Kitchener, Ottawa, Quebec, Victoria and Winnipeg on May 22.