Posted in: Exclusive, Interview, Movies | Tagged: dolph lundgren, exclusive, interview, kelsey grammer, Michael Pare, quiver distribution, Wanted Man

Wanted Man Star Dolph Lundgren Breaks Down Immigration Action Thriller

Director and star Dolph Lundgren (Aquaman 2) spoke to Bleeding Cool about his immigration action thriller Wanted Man for Quiver Distribution.

Dolph Lundgren is not slowing down as soon as an action star with 104 credits to his name in a career nearly reaching 40 years, taking international audiences by storm since his debut in 1985 films A View to a Kill and Rocky IV. At times, he's even expanded his role on certain productions, occasionally writing and directing his features, including his latest passion project in Quiver Distribution's Wanted Man, which follows Travis Johansen (Lundgren), an aging detective whose outdated policing methods have given the department a recent public relations problem. To save his job, he is sent to Mexico to extradite a female witness (Christina Villa) to the murders of two DEA agents. Once there, he finds not only his old opinions challenged but that bad hombres on both sides of the border are now gunning for him and his witness. The actor-director-writer and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom star spoke to Bleeding Cool on the film's inspiration, writing with Michael Worth and Hank Hugues, casting, indie vs mainstream work, creative favorites, and more.

Wanted Man: An Action Thriller 15 Years in the Making

Bleeding Cool: What's the inspiration behind 'Wanted Man?'
Lundgren: I came up with an idea about 15 years ago about transferring a prisoner from Mexico to America, a bit like a Western, then I was caught up in 'The Expendables' universe, 'Creed II,' and a bunch of other movies I did. A few years back, immigration became such a hot topic I decided to look at the script again. I came up with the idea of making the main character somebody who's perhaps not likable and has a preconceived notion about immigration and immigrants. He's a guy who sits in low anger and bitterness and then tries to change him throughout the movie. I thought, "Okay, I can make an interesting film, so that's how it came about.

How did Hank Hugues and Michael Worth get involved creatively with you on this?
Michael Worth was the guy who initially worked on it with me, and Hank Hugues did a little rewrite. Michael came back on again after we decided to tweak the main character. I worked with both, and then I did. I wouldn't say I like writing that much. I do rewrites, especially on location; you must rewrite stuff because the location doesn't fit the script or vice versa. That's why most of my writing came in.

How did the cast come together for you?
I was suggested Kelsey [Grammer] by a mutual friend of ours. I know him socially from working with him on 'Expendables 3', and I thought about it for a while; I figured, "It could be an interesting idea because his delivery is very light, and he plays kind of a dark character." I decided to go that way, and then Michael Paré I knew him and worked with him. I always thought it'd be fun to work with him again. Rosa is a hard character to cast because I wanted somebody who spoke fluent Spanish. Plus, I wanted somebody who could do all the emotional, different beats in the story, so I found Christina [Villa], and she felt good about that. Aaron McPherson is a good friend of mine, and most of the cast came together that way.

Creatively speaking, when you do these indie films versus more mainstream work, how do you compare the experiences? What are the advantages of having the autonomy of indie work?
You're freer. There's less of a corporate committee overseeing everything and ensuring that you do an area, checking all the boxes, and you can be a little more creative and make bolder choices. Doing one of these indie movies in 20 to 30 days, you're experiencing the whole film more intensely in one way than if you work on a superhero movie. DC picture is something we are shooting for six months, and you can be shooting each scene for a week or two and longer, and you're doing like one little big piece of it for two or three days, and then you're doing another piece of it three months from now with another actor. It's not the same experience. I enjoy both. The indie world is satisfying in that respect. You have more control, and it feels more real when you're making it.

Is there a higher degree of satisfaction when you get more involved creatively with multiple hats, or is it easier when you're dedicating yourself to one aspect, like acting?
It does. I'm sure if you're an actor and collaborating with the same director repeatedly, like, I've worked with [Sylvester] Stallone a few times as an actor-producer, so we have an understanding. You also have Robert De Niro, who works regularly with Martin Scorsese. That's one thing, but if you're getting hired for acting. You don't have anything to say or not much to say about the editing, music, and the way it's put together, then it can be frustrating because you may end up looking at something at the end that you're not happy with or that didn't live up to expectations. Whereas when you're in control, as an actor-director, you have control and can only blame yourself if you're not happy with it.

Was there a particular sequence in 'Wanted Man' that stood out for you and took maybe a little more time to develop than others?
The end sequence had to be changed many times because of location, safety, and budget issues, so it took time to develop it. It ended up the final confrontation with the other cops in turn. It returned to where it was in one of the original drafts, and then it had other versions. Physically, the hardest thing for me was the shoot out on the desert road, where I was in the sun. It was over 105 degrees or something, and we were out for several days when I was either acting or crawling around on the ground in the dust. That was quite tough physically.

Wanted Man, which also stars Roger Cross, comes to theaters, on-demand, and digital on January 19th.

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