Posted in: Lionsgate, Movies | Tagged: Diablo

Diablo Star Marko Zaror on Embracing Action Labor of Love with Adkins

Marko Zaror (John Wick 4) spoke to Bleeding Cool about why Lionsgate's action thriller Diablo is a passion project, Scott Adkins & more.

Chilean action superstar Marko Zaror has always embraced every opportunity he could get ever since he saw Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon (1973) as a child. He knew he wanted to at least embrace martial arts, which eventually also took him on a path to the screen like his hero. Along with his childhood friend, director-writer Ernesto Díaz Espinoza, co-star/friend Scott Adkins, and Mat Sansom, the trio set out to make Diablo for Lionsgate. John Wick: Chapter 4, The Killer's Game, and Fight or Flight spoke to Bleeding Cool about the inspiration for the film, collaborating with Espinoza and Adkins in the writing process and creating characters, pushing himself and Adkins to the extreme during their scenes, and his influences.

Diablo follows an ex-convict, Kris Chaney (Adkins), who makes it his mission to right a terrible wrong by revealing a secret that could end his life. He is a warrior who seizes the daughter (Alanna De La Rossa) of a Colombian gangster to fulfill a noble promise to the young girl's mother. When her father enlists both the criminal underworld and the terrifying psychotic killer El Corvo (Zaror) to exact his revenge, Kris will need to draw upon everything he has ever learned — in and out of lockup — to stay alive and keep his word.

Diablo Star Marko Zaror on Forging His Path as a Martial Arts Superstar, Scott Adkins & More

Bleeding Cool: What is the inspiration behind 'Diablo?'

'Diablo' is a co-creation between the three of us, me, Scott, and Ernesto. We wanted to do a movie together and create a story or a type of movie that we would love to see when we were kids. Basically, that's what we wanted it to do.

What's it like working with Ernesto and Matt creatively?

With Ernesto, we've been friends since childhood, we grew up together and dreamt about making movies. Working with Ernesto in a Hollywood movie with a budget that is much different from what we used to work with in our country [of Chile] is amazing. Also, being able to share this with Scott and collaborate in this crazy, beautiful movie that I'm so happy for, it's a blessing.

What resonated you about playing El Corvo and was it something that was always in the discussion that you would do or did you also consider Scott's part of playing Kris?

We created the characters and the story. From the beginning, we created the character [of El Corvo] around myself; it was the same with Scott's character.

What was the most difficult sequence for you to film?

They were all difficult, man [laughs]. It was a challenge, all the scenes. We tried to take it to the next level, and we pushed ourselves hard in each take, so it's a difficult question.

Was there a stunt that took a little longer to pull off, perhaps the climactic battle?

Yeah, of course, the final battle was a big challenge, a big scene and has a lot of elements. We wanted to make very complicated shots, so that one was a very big challenge for sure.

How do you describe the process, you know, working with Scott and all the scenes and the rapport and chemistry you guys have?

Working with Scott is always amazing. He's a very talented martial artist. We've been friends for many years, and it's always an honor for me to work with him. I'm grateful to have the opportunity to share, work with, and learn from him. It's like…you always want to work with someone who has the same passion as you and shares this thing since you were a kid. I see a lot of myself in him, dreaming about martial arts, training, and now being able to be…we're like big kids doing what we love to do. It's always that connection that we have on set, doing what we love, pushing ourselves, and trying to do a beautiful movie for the new generations to see, and get inspired as we were inspired by the people we grew up watching. It feels so blessed, and I'm grateful for that.

Are there other genre-type projects you want to work on that you don't always have that opportunity in your career to do, perhaps flex more of your range?

I love horror movies, for sure. In 'Diablo,' my character explored that a little bit, so I love that.

Would you want to play like the monster, do you prefer to play like a hero, or a mix?

Whatever, but I love the atmosphere. I love Asian cinema. I love like the Takashi Miike-kind of world. One of my favorites is 'I Saw the Devil' (2010), all these type of movies with that atmosphere, I would love to play like that, so that's a lot of inspiration for where my character came from.

What is your biggest influence in being a martial artist and actor?

Bruce Lee is such an important energy and human being in my life. Since I was a kid, I saw him in 'Enter the Dragon' (1973) and I understood this is what I wanted in my life. I wanted to follow this martial arts path. I didn't know it was going to be in movies, because in my country, it didn't exist. There was no movie industry, but I knew my life was going to be related to martial arts, somehow.

How do you compare saying working in an American project versus something more in your own wheelhouse in Chile? Are there dramatic differences?

Just the budget [laughs]. The budget, but at the same time, it's different in terms of you having more time to do things. There are bigger teams, but it is just budget at the end, the movie language is one language: universal. It feels the same with fewer zeros or more zeros, and with more people around who can help you, or you have to do things yourself. At the end, it is very similar.

Diablo is currently in theaters, digital, and on demand.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!