It’s not hard to understand why Kevin Grevioux claims his favorite comic book characters are the Hulk and Thor. The resemblance is uncanny. He is an enormous man with a voice so deep you feel it before you hear it.

Writer/actor Kevin Grevioux as Lycan Raze in Underworld: Rise of the Lycans. Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Publicity.

More UFC fighter than movie star, Grevioux got his start as a microbiology graduate student when he decided to combine the science of genetics with the myths of vampires and lycanthropes. The idea turned into the Underworld movies: a trilogy about the battle between vampires and werewolves. The creature-feature plot may seem unlikely to draw popular interest, but in a world where movies like Twilight are making bank at the box office and monsters are an everyday part of American popular culture, Grevioux is doing quite well. This weekend he will be reprising the role that he created for himself as Raze in Underworld: Rise of the Lycans. Before the release, Grevioux sat down to talk about why the public has gone mad about monsters.

What first got you interested in monster mythology?
Hearkens back to when I was a kid, you know, what kid does not like dinosaurs? And from there it wasn’t heard [of] to go to science fiction films, horror films, you know, I guess you really can’t do that for a living as you grow up. And so I guess I sublimated this interest into science, and that’s why I studied microbiology in graduate school.

What were you hoping to do by adding science to the traditional stories of vampires and Lycans?
I never did like the mysticism associated with vampires and werewolves. I felt that if I could use science as a way to explain their existence I could get more mileage out of the story.

Why do you think the mythology of monsters is so pervasive in the American life?
I think to a large extent it’s part of every ancient culture. I think vampires are liked for a different reason than werewolves. Isn’t Dracula a werebat to an extent? But I think for American culture vampires are the one that people have really taken a hold of. And I think as far as monsters go they still retain a huge part of their humanity. I also think, for good or for ill, they’re very erotic. I think people are drawn to the idea of immortality. I think vampires are like us, but more.

What do you think it is that draws people to lycans?
I think that the lycans are looked upon as the people who are more down to earth, who have been victimized. I think most people root for the underdog –- no pun intended [laughs]. I think given my size and my voice it lends itself more to being a lycan.

Do we hope to see ourselves in these creatures?
Yes. That’s kind of a hard question I guess. Given the fact that this whole story is an allegory for race relations. Being an African-American, I can relate to being subjugated with the history of slavery and being treated like chattel. It’s really just fun playing a role that you’ve created for yourself. I get paid for being silly, running around biting people.

Do you feel an affinity with shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, True Blood and Twilight?
Not really. I mean, I will tell you, I don’t like vampires. Vampires to me were kind of incomprehensible and hard to understand. Why is this guy, this vampire, pining over a woman for 200 years? I couldn’t understand why I can see a vampire with my eyes but they don’t cast a reflection. That, to me, was stupid. Why can’t he get on with it? Kill her!

Are you glad that vampires seem to be taking a front role in American popular culture?
It’s cool as a genre, People have always liked vampires. Underworld didn’t necessarily start in the vampire genre, I think it’s a new groundbreaking thing. Twilight’s doing very well, but it’s also focusing on an aspect of the vampire mythos in a different way than Underworld. I think Twilight is meant to be a romantic love story, which is kind of different. In reading the books I think it appeals to a lot of girls, whereas other vampire stories don’t.

You’re planning on turning the Underworld concept into comic books [ed. Grevioux owns two comic book imprints and frequently authors comic books.]. Do you think that the comic book format is friendlier to creatures?
I think they are actually, you know? I think this is old hat. You know, the first horror comics I guess were the EC comics and they were very popular. I think comic books, what they have done is, they have found a way to make heroes out of monsters in a way that television and movies don’t actually do that. They made a hero out of Werewolf by Night, out of the Living Mummy, zombies, the Frankenstein monster, they made heroes out of them.

Who is your favorite comic book character?
The Hulk and Thor. I like them both because they’re both super strong. Thor could travel in a three-realm environment and the Hulk just likes to hit stuff. Who doesn’t like that?

The production notes quote Bill Nighy as saying that the movie is so good because “[writer] Len Wiseman, [writer] Danny McBride and [producer] Richard Wright are more than just enthusiasts, they’re believers?” Do you believe in monsters?
Human monsters, yeah. If you’re talking about whether or not these things are real, not really. I believe in the genre. I think they’re just fun. You know, I mean, who doesn’t want to be something other than what they actually are at times? You know, to play by your own rules a lot. And I think they’re just cool. Sometimes regular life can be so mundane. And I think when you deal with otherworldly things, that makes you very interested.