Posted in: Movies | Tagged: lionsgate, Off The Grid

Off the Grid: Camargo on Duhamel, Kinnear, 'Call of Duty' & More

María Elisa Camargo (Warrior) spoke to Bleeding Cool about Lionsgate's action thriller Off the Grid, Josh Duhamel, Greg Kinnear & more.

Ever since Ecuadorian actress María Elisa Camargo burst into the scene in The X Factor Colombia in 2005, she's embraced every opportunity coming her way, starring in various Latin American shows from dramas and telenovas like Verano de amor, Llenda de amor, Flor Salvaje, and Escupiré sobre sus tumbas. She's even enjoyed some crossover success internationally on the HBO Max series Warrior and lending her voice in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022). Her latest is the Lionsgate action thriller Off the Grid, which follows Guy (Josh Duhamel), a brilliant scientist who develops revolutionary technology his former employer, a morally bankrupt company, tries to weaponize. He goes off-grid to safeguard humanity. When the company sends a strike force to find him, they make their biggest mistake of all – they weaponize the man they are trying to catch. Armed with unrivaled brains and brawn, the wild genius turns guerrilla warfare into a deadly science. Camargo spoke to Bleeding Cool about her co-stars Duhamel, Michael Zapesotsky, and Greg Kinnear; embracing her role as the heart of the film as Josefina, and wanting to do more action like her time on the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II.

Off the Grid Star María Elisa Camargo on Co-Stars, Environment, Action, Future & More

Bleeding Cool: What did you like about having Josh and Michael [Zapesotsky] on set and the chemistry you all had?

It was crazy. That's another part of this whole adventure that I found. Oh my God! I was surprised that Johnny's eye was so accurate in finding this group of people. One anecdote I want to share is that the callback version of this whole process was getting a call from him to talk to you as a human being. I was so scared about our Zoom call, and I was like, "Okay, he's going to make me improvise. He's going to make me cry. He's going to make me jump." And no, he wanted to get to know me as a human being, because he always wants to be surrounded by "real good humans" You know, family, making sure the morals in the right place, like he wanted to make sure since he picked every one of us, he was going to find himself surrounded by a beautiful human group of people.

I feel that's also why we all connected in such an immediate way. Josh's the best; he's like a big baby, and you laugh your way through. Sometimes I had to keep him away, because it was like whatever dramatic scene was with some tension, but he was so funny throughout, like from the first minute, we laughed so hard. With Michael, I felt I needed to work on that relationship, but it didn't happen. I didn't have to try because from the moment we met, it was just no ego. That's what I found so surprising.

Greg Kinnear, the Oscar nominee, was the most intimidating for me because of my image of him and how much I've seen him in my favorite movies. Johnny made sure that there was no dark ego on set. That was a callback to what I was talking about with the cast and crew, like everybody you ran into. Everybody was so kind that it made it easy for me to go for it and tell them. Since I'm strong and I have this strong Latina character, sometimes it can be misinterpreted, but no, everybody was on the same page, so we could be so free and ask for stuff. Even though Josh was so generous, like he was such a big star, this was my first role ever in American fiction, and he treated me like a star. He gave me my place and respected my choices, and that's the most unforgettable part of it.

How did you feel about the action-oriented nature of the film? Was the higher-than-usual volume of stunt work difficult?

Well, to be honest, I wish I had more, because I've been doing a lot of Latino stuff, soap operas, telenovelas, and there's a lot of action and passion involved. I've worked with my feelings to the point of them being super soapy. If anything, my challenge was to tone them down into a more natural rhythm and vibe. With action, I know how to use guns, how to run for action, and everything. This time [for 'Off the Grid'], I didn't have to do that much. I stayed back, and I'm more of an observer of the action scenes. It was so fun to meet all the guys who did this. They're all so badass and all sweethearts, like it's so funny when you see guys like that.

I've also worked in 'Call of Duty' with this digital character, Valeria. I'm also facing these huge guys. I am intimidated by them, and their characters are so strong. When we cut, everyone is so sweet that you want to share a laugh and grab coffee with them, which we also had time to do. I often get involved behind the scenes, but I didn't get to do a lot of stunt work [for 'Off the Grid']. I hope next time I will, because I'm not intimidated by anything. I'm good at it, and I'm excited to do more of it.

Johnny Martin directed and Jim Agnew wrote Off the Grid, which also stars Peter Stormare, Ricky Russert, Ana Golja, Talia Asseraf, and Monya Tebji. It is available in theaters, digital, and on-demand.

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