There was one question that everyone wanted to know at the press junket for the new Jason Statham action thriller The Mechanic. Before anyone could ask the question Ben Foster answered it himself. “I did the movie because it sounded like fun. Everybody likes to go to a movie where shit blows up. I was raised on movies like Die Hard. It’s fun. And I hadn’t done anything like it.”
Ben Foster is an actor that discerning film fans have had on their radar for a while. Foster first made splash as the physically handicapped Eli on the cult hit “Freaks and Geeks” and he also had a recurring role on the HBO hit “Six Feet Under”. But the first time I really noticed Foster was when he stole the film Alpha Dog out from under Emile Hirsch, who was Hollywood’s “it” boy at the time. Not that many people saw Nick Cassavetes’s follow up to his hit film The Notebook, but those who did remembered Foster’s stunning turn as the unhinged addict whose brother gets kidnapped by Hirsch and his gang.
But it’s one thing to steal the spotlight from someone like Hirsch who never really lived up to the Hollywood hype, it’s quite another to more than hold your own with a movie star like Russell Crowe and Batman himself, Christian Bale. That’s exactly what Foster did in the western 3:10 to Yuma. He was a scene-stealer in that movie and almost everyone thought Foster was headed for big things after Yuma hit the multiplexes.
That’s why people have been surprised by Foster’s choices since Yuma came out three years ago. It’s almost like he disappeared off the face of the earth even though he’s been working pretty steadily since that time. I’m sure The Messenger seemed like a good choice, what with the timeliness of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I mean, he wasn’t the only actor to star in film about America’s ongoing conflicts. But the Sundance fave about the men who deliver news of fallen soldiers to their loved ones did about as well as all the other military themed films in the last 8 years. His other two films since 3:10 to Yuma were the strictly for gore fans 30 Days of Night and the B-Movie Sci-Fi Thriller Pandorum. All this translates to a situation where very few people have seen Foster on screen over the last three years.
That may change when The Mechanic opens this Friday, another film where Foster steals scenes from a more established star. This time it’s Jason Statham and Statham didn’t seem to mind at all. “It was a pleasure to work with Ben,” the action star confessed and then took it another step further. “He’s a quality actor. I don’t want to name names, but he’s an actual quality actor unlike some of the people they’ve squeezed out for me to work with over the years.”
“He’s a quality actor.
I don’t want to name names, but he’s an actual quality actor unlike some of the people they’ve squeezed out for me to work with over the years.”~ Jason Statham
The junket for The Mechanic was a virtual love fest for Foster. Everyone in and out of the interview rooms was singing his praises including Statham, long time producers Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff (Rocky, The Right Stuff, Goodfellas) and writer Richard Wenk. But no one praised him more than director Simon West (Con Air). Foster was the only actor West wanted to play opposite Statham. He then explained that the producers originally went for “every pretty boy actor in Hollywood” before finally asking the British director whom he wanted to play the hit man apprentice in the film.
“I said I wanted Ben Foster. I don’t know if they were worn down, but they said yes.” West explained.
Considering all the kind words everyone had for Foster, the actor himself seems to have little perception of his popularity. When I mentioned that everyone I talked to told me how much they loved the actor’s work and wanted to see more, he was taken completely off guard. “Really.” He responded without a trace of false humility. “That’s great to hear.”
Hopefully, this film will lead to more high visibility parts for the actor. The Mechanic is a remake of the 1972 Charles Bronson classic and Statham signed onto the film based on the original flick sight unseen. (If you haven’t seen the original I would advise catching it sometime even if you catch this new version first. There is a reason they teach the film at many film schools.) And while I’m not sure that many people know the original at this point, I think this new version could do well at the box-office if Statham hasn’t Cranked out one too many stinkers recently.
After The Mechanic hits theaters, Foster will star in Here (official site). That film, about a mapmaker working in Armenia who falls in love with a local photographer, debuted at Sundance last week. Foster follows that with Nick Cassavetes’s latest film Yellow with Sienna Miller and Hank Azaria, which is still looking for distribution.
Then next year he will be seen in a film he co-produced called Rampart. Based on a story by long time LA scribe James Ellroy (The Black Dahlia, LA Confidential), Rampart covers the Rampart scandal that took place in Los Angeles during the late 1990’s. With an all-star cast including Woody Harrelson, Sigourney Weaver, Robin Wright along with Foster this film could be a good one. No one captures the real LA better than James Ellroy.
But first up comes The Mechanic due in theaters this Friday. Because like Foster says, “Everybody likes to go to a movie where shit blows up.”
You can get more on The Mechanic here or watch the red band trailer below.
