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Agent Recon Star Marc Singer on Action Sci-Fi Film, Mentoring & More

Marc Singer (Arrow) spoke to Bleeding Cool about his latest action sci-fi thriller Agent Recon, Derek Ting, Chuck Norris & more.

Marc Singer has had a storied career working in Hollywood for over 50 years since his debut in 1973's Columbo. Since then, he's become a staple on film and television with 94 credits to his name with memorable roles as the lead in the fantasy franchise Beastmaster and the TV sci-fi franchise V. Singer is still active with appearances on Netflix's AJ and the Queen, The CW's Beauty and the Beast, and Arrow. In 2024, he's had many films, including The Undertaker's Wife, Team of Two, and Quiver's Agent Recon. The film follows a covert military task force that tracks a mysterious energy disturbance at a secret base in New Mexico suspected of experimenting on alien technology. Once there, the team encounters an unknown being of extraordinary strength, speed, and the ability to control an army of mindless warriors. The trio must fight through the unstoppable hordes to prevent humanity's demise. Singer spoke to Bleeding Cool about working with director Derek Ting, who also wrote and stars in the film; the responsibilities of filmmaking, and if he and Chuck Norris shared their wisdom from their decades in the industry with their younger castmates.

Agent Recon Star Marc Singer on How the Film Achieved "Synergy"

Bleeding Cool: What intrigued you about Agent Recon?
The thing that always gets me interested has two aspects to it. First, is it going to be a good movie? Does it look, read, seem like a movie that you can see in your head when reading the script? If it does and if the pictures it draws for you on the page are interesting and convincing enough, then you say, "I'm interested." The next step is looking at the characters and how they interact. If my character has enough weight and enough complexity, I'm going to get to invest myself in some deeper sense in the revelation of who this person is and what this person is about, and that convinces me.

How do you describe the type of set that Derek ran?
It's funny with filmmaking. It's like the old metaphor of peeling an onion. There's always another layer, and everything is with everything else. The making of the film and the filmmakers are the same. The experience you have with one is a mirror of the experience you have with the other. The third aspect is that it's usually translatable to the audience, like a house of mirrors. Everybody's reflecting on the experience of everybody else and every aspect of what went into it. When we worked on 'Agent Recon,' all the action and adventure, we had Chuck Norris and me but primarily had Derek Ting, the writer, director, producer, and star. That's a big weight, a heavy lift for any human being, and he earned the title of leading man because he led us in a great way. Everybody gave it their utmost and was as deeply involved as people could be as serious about their intent, on the one hand. On the other hand, everybody had a great time. We laughed through lots of that, even though we worked at a maximum.

What was the atmosphere like with your younger co-stars and Chuck on set?
It's an interesting synergy between veteran actors like me after so many decades in the industry because I can't help but represent in the eyes of younger professionals and a great deal of experience. There are tricks of the trade and insights into the process that we're all engaged in together. Sometimes, there's a willingness to use me as a text from which they can read and figure out things in their professional lives and careers and their performance techniques. At the same time, I'm feeling the same thing in reverse because I'm seeing their youth, freshness, and invigoration as they approach the script, their careers, and the longevity that lies before them. A great deal keeps me inspired and informed because actors today, by and large, on film are more sophisticated than they used to be in the past. There's also a great deal more opportunity for them to display themselves and to learn from to have the chance to practice their wares. Synergy is interesting in how we give and take between us.

Did your younger cast mates seek you and Chuck out to learn the craft?
Absolutely. It's a responsibility and the measure of what people you're working with and the response that they're working with. There were many times when I felt that it was not out of line for me to demonstrate some film techniques that can be used in front of the lens to clarify the point of the scene or the point that an actor was trying to embody by including some emotional or intellectual idea, mark, or intent at the moment they were playing. At the same time, you must be careful not to transgress because of the creative process, especially in the performing arts, where it's all like the expression is and capturing lightning in a bottle. You must be careful not to interfere with their process. As hearty as a person must be, to endure as a performing artist is, at heart, a delicate process and personal to each individual.

Agent Recon is available on digital and on-demand.

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