Posted in: Exclusive, Interview, Lionsgate, Movies | Tagged: armor, Dash Mihok, lionsgate

Armor: Mihok on 'Sleepers' Reunion with Jason Patric, Film & More

Dash Mihok spoke to us about working with Sylvester Stallone and reuniting with "Sleepers" co-star Jason Patric in Lionsgate's Armor.

Dash Mihok is one of the most versatile character actors, having worked in Hollywood for over three decades since his debut in the TV series City Kids. He's been a regular across film and television, including memorable roles in CBS's Pearl, 20th Century's The Thin Red Line (1998), the WB's Felicity, Showtime's Ray Donovan, NBC's Law & Order: Organized Crime, and the Payday video game franchise. His latest is the Lionsgate action crime thriller Armor, which follows James (Jason Patric), a father who will go to save what's left of his family and reclaim his own life. He and his son Casey (Josh Wiggins) are armored truck drivers tasked with delivering a suspicious package. After a violent ambush on the road, James and Casey are trapped until they discover the value of what they have been carrying and join forces to outgun and outwit their attackers. Mihok spoke to Bleeding Cool about working with Sylvester Stallone, reuniting with his Sleepers (1996) co-star Patric, challenges, and upcoming projects.

Armor Star Dash Mihok on Working with Sylvester Stallone and Reuniting with Jason Patric

Bleeding Cool: What intrigued you about 'Armor?'

What intrigued me about 'Armor' was it wasn't your average heist movie. Obviously, Sly and Jason intrigued me, as did Josh, the rest of the cast, and the element of it all. What most intrigued me was playing opposite Sly, a character with a history with an old friend, and something has gone awry. They have a rift now and how to tell that story underneath amid a shoot 'em up popcorn movie as well and have the other side to the family story, which is Jason and Josh's story. There's some family of thieves where things aren't going right now and trying to pepper it with things that make people want to know more.

What kind of set did director Justin Routt run?

We shot this movie quickly, so it was fast and furious. We were all working together as part of a huge collaboration. Cale [Finot], the DP, our stunt guys, and the stunt coordinator, everybody was clean and focused. We had to reset and keep that in line when it wasn't. We didn't have much time to do this, so the set had to be shipshape, and I feel like I did my duty in helping it run smoothly.

What was it like working with Sylvester Stallone and Jason Patric?

Who doesn't want to work with them? Everybody keeps talking about how I worked with Jason on 'Sleepers' (1996), and that's true, but I never got to work with them. This was a pleasure because we sort of revisited an old thing and had many close friends. Sheila Jaffe, who cast us, is one of the best in the business.
Working with Sly is "working with Sly," who doesn't want to do that? I am always up for the challenge, and you never know what it will be like working with a legend and how they may be at this stage of the game. From the jump, he was super open to rewriting stuff and talking to me about things. He was interested and wanted to know what we could both bring to it within the backstory. When you get on set, especially on Jason's line, we know how to, everybody did. Everybody is professional, but we've been around the most, we know how to work with weapons in action, and how to get things done in a short time.

What was it like working with the other cast members like Josh [Wiggins], Laney [Stiebing], and Erin [Ownbey]?

I wish I worked with them more. I didn't get to work with Josh much, but I did get to spend some time with him. He's an incredible actor and a great human. I would love to do it again with him, more than most of my stuff with our criminal crew and with Jason and Josh at the end.

I look forward to working with everybody. I'm always interested in everybody's approaches, what they do, and who they are. There's a lot of good people out there.

What was your biggest challenge working on the film?

My biggest challenge working on the film was probably the time constraint, my obsessive brain, and trying to make sure that we could get the days as well and help because it's a family. We had a limited number of days and daylight, which was hard, and then it was incredibly hot. It's like 90-100 degrees, with 90 percent humidity, and we're wearing so much gear. I'm not as young as I used to be, but I enjoy it a lot. It was having stamina, too, endurance, and drive to keep going. The good thing we knew was that the end date wasn't that far, and the bad thing was that we knew it wasn't that far. The way my brain thinks is, how do we get everything we possibly can get? You can edit. It probably was a little more psychological, but the physical aspects of it were challenging.

Do you have a favorite sequence or stunt?

I don't know. I've never been teased before, but I don't know if that was necessarily fun. Getting crazy shooting a car, throwing somebody up against it, and then having Sly put a gun to the back of your head is fun. If I thought I had more time to think about it, it would probably be something that we came up with on the fly at the van and in a pivotal scene where he starts questioning me. I steal myself, stand on my ground, and do what I must do. It was a fun one.

Do you have any projects coming up? What kind of genre would you want to work on?

I have a show on a limited series, 'Long Bright River,' that comes out on March 13th on Peacock. It's a Sony and Peacock. Amanda Seyfried is a Philly cop, and I'm her rookie partner. It's a murder mystery thriller based on a Liz Moore book, and she is the executive producer along with Nikki Toscano. It's got a lot of great actors in it. What do I want to work on? There are a couple of things in the mix, but I have two things I want to direct next, and I'll keep you posted.

Written by Cory Todd Hughes and Adrian Speckert, Armor, which also stars Josh Whites, is in theaters, digital, and on demand.

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