A Set Visit to Predators: Part Three

Catching up with the cast

Click here for part one of our visit! | Click here for part 2 of our visit!

While visiting the set of Predators in Austin in December 2009, the online press and I got the chance to talk to each of the cast members.

When it was announced that Adrien Brody was cast in the film, everyone’s first reaction was, “Huh?” After all, he’s not exactly Arnold Schwarzenegger. But then once people processed the idea, it became apparent he was a great choice for the role.

Shock Till You Drop: Everyone always talks about getting in shape for certain roles. Was this one of those roles that you feel the need to get in shape?

Adrien Brody: Well look, we’re making a very different movie, but there’s always going to be some expectation, especially because of Schwarzenegger making the original “Predator” and being such a body builder. It is very different. I’m not trying to do anything like that. I feel like in any role that I play it’s important to look the part, but also within a movie like this there’s a playfulness that has to come with it and I think it’s a balancing act. So I feel that if you open up the newspaper and you see any of the myriad of images of GI’s today they are more my build than anything and I think what I’m trying to create is an authentic look for it, but also this is an action movie and you have to kind of look fit. The important thing for me rather than a six pack or anything about being kind of buff is to put on a little size both as a look, but also as what that does for me as a person, how I feel, to feel strong enough to handle myself in a situation that this guy would be presented. I’m 20 pounds basically up from my last role. I eat all day. (Laughs) I eat all day, I work out. It’s part of what comes with it. It’s not the only thing, but it is definitely an important part of it.

Shock: Even saying all of that, were you surprised to do this role?

Brody: No, look, I’m an actor and I think you’re given opportunities and if you do them well and if you do your job well somehow it’s difficult for people to not to identify you with parts you’ve played, but I’m very malleable and this is a dream come true for me. I mean, I’ve been trying to play a role of this nature, to get a heroic character in a film like this and have the ability to play a flawed human being who is also heroic, but not necessarily fall into the mold of what Hollywood has created and kinda do it my own way. To be given that opportunity now is a big honor for me. I love these movies and when I was a kid I loved “Predator.” When I went to see that movie, I saw it with my friends and I was blown away with it. It’s fun. So my objective is to bring as much authenticity as I can with my work, but at the same time be playful and keep it fun and exciting. But no, I’m not – forever it was very difficult for me to get a comedy. People thought I was very serious partially not just because of the roles that I played, but when I had to support “The Pianist” and do the press for the movie, that was my introduction beyond to some people who knew my work from the films I’d done in the past, that was my introduction to the world and the topics that I was discussing were very serious and I take the work serious and I take all that serious, but I don’t take myself that serious. What I guess is conveyed is, “Oh, what a serious young man that person is.” Then it’s impossible to be seen differently. I think it’s very surprising people when I do films like “The Darjeeling Limited,” or even “The Brothers Bloom” has humor. So it’s important for me to just find new challenges and to keep it interesting for me and also people that hopefully want to see my work and see me evolve as an actor.

Shock: Can you talk about Royce? He sounds like a real bad ass.

Brody: He’s somewhat of a bad ass. I mean, Royce is a complicated guy. The bottom line I think is trying not to be complicated. Like, he’s someone who’s done everything in his power to shed an emotional attachment which is the antithesis of me. I’m a very emotional person. I try to have empathy and I think it’s an interesting way of viewing the world, to come at it from an opposite perspective. But, I think deep down within him still lurks the human being. But he’s a survivor and I think ultimately just like a scientist there has to be a level of detachment in order to put survival first. I think that makes him very well suited for the circumstances that he’s found himself in.

Shock: What do you think Nimrod brings to this film that wasn’t brought on the original one?

Brody: Oh, well it’s hard to say. I don’t know what the vibe was there and it’s a very different time. But I think in working with Nim, he’s a got a great enthusiasm as you probably saw. He really is very passionate about this. This means a lot to him and I think his excitement kind of helps motivate everybody else. I mean, we’re all very excited. I think everybody’s pretty motivated to bring something. The look of the film, I don’t know if you can get a sense of it through the monitors, but this looks like you’re stepping out of a Geiger painting. It’s reminiscent of “Alien” and all these kind of movies that I love and the feel is very kind of foreboding and spooky. So if we can create a world with the help of the art director and the DP. Our DP is phenomenal. When we shot in the jungle sequences – you didn’t see any of that – that’s just epic jungle. I’ve never seen anything like that and I’ve traveled a lot. The scale and scope of the jungle we were in was just mind blowing. So if we can create that environment and then live within that environment it should be a fun ride I think.

Shock: One of the things that’s cool about the “Predator” series, or maybe more interesting than cool, at least for the first two movies despite all the violence and horrific action, both of those characters, the Predator and the hero of that movie, come in a weird way to respect and honor one another’s abilities. Is that present in the film and how do you play that?

Brody: Yeah, there is a bit of that. Yeah, I think I agree with you. There’s this mutual appreciation of the mastery of being such a warrior. There was another draft that had even more of that which I really liked, but I don’t think – we’re not gonna go that route, but there is a cool moment. I mean, there has to be, again, there can be a level of understanding or essentially being deemed worth enough not to have my spine ripped out of me and (Laughs) that’s it. But it can’t be, “We’re cool.” So it has to be handled delicately I think where I have to kind of negotiate the situation and have the upper hand and then keep it at bay, but he is still a Predator and I’m a human being and we’re not gonna be pals. But I do think that will be present and that was a really cool part of the original.

Shock: Super Predator is in this film and also the dog-like creatures. How much interaction to you have with the dogs? Also, you mentioned you were fighting a Predator, which of the Super Predators do you fight?

Brody: I get into it. I don’t know if I should elaborate on it, but I get into it a bit with them. The dog sequence is pretty awesome. It was kind of a cacophony of things going on and there was a lot of action happening in that sequence, but I think the kind of battle between the Predators is the most exciting. We’re not all done yet, so it’s interesting to be talking about some. I’m like, chomping at the bit to do some stuff.

Shock: Any close calls or injuries or anything? Or did you stay pretty healthy?

Brody: I’ve been all right. I’ve clobbered myself a few times. Some of these are real. It’s funny ‘cause the guy who’s putting on the nicks and scratches he’s like, “I’m telegraphing all of the places you’re injuring yourself.” It comes with the territory. I actually feel blessed.

Shock: Is this going to be one of those characters and projects you’ll be sad to see go?

Brody: I mean, I feel that way – yeah. I mean, it’s a fun movie to make. You know, this is part of why I wanted to do it. It’s really fun. It’s fun to show up to work and be transported into another world and face such extreme danger and horrible situations and you don’t have to really face that, but you can experience it to a certain level. “King Kong” was an amazing thing. I’m interacting with prehistoric creatures and giant gorillas and I loved that, so it is fun. But, none of my roles ever fully kind of go. The feelings and things you learn about yourself and others, they always kind of stay with you to a certain extent. You forget a lot. You forget a lot of the details. You forget a lot of the discomforts that come with the challenges of making a movie, but those things linger and I think have shaped me and helped me kind of evolve anyway and be a little better or a little worse.

Shock: That said, would you be up for returning to this character if the opportunity presented itself?

Brody: I would be game, yeah, I’m pretty game to do it.

Shock: How has it been with Fishburne?

Brody: Fish is amazing man. He’s so cool. Oh man, telling me war stories of “Apocalypse Now,” it’s great. He brought such a wonderful energy to the movie and it comes at the right spot. I think people get a real kick out of that, but I don’t think they’ll be taken out of the picture. It’ll be really fun. We came up with a funny exchange which you’ll have to wait to see the movie and hopefully they’ll put it in, but some choices that Fish had made gave me an opportunity for something I improvised and they were cracking up. So we’ll see, if I could get them to let me play a little bit, it’ll be in there.

Shock: That’s something very important though, not having one tone for a movie, having some humor mixed in with some violence.

Brody: Absolutely.

Shock: So could you talk a little bit about that with the tone of the movie?

Brody: Well, that’s what I was trying to allude to earlier on that it’s important not to indulge yourself and the joke necessarily over the drama or whatever it is that kind of propels the story and keeps an audience there. But at the same time, those one-liners or whatever are really enjoyable. If they work, they’re really fun and we all love them. “Stick around,” is pretty damn funny and nobody would say that if they just stabbed you in some jungle somewhere in the middle of nowhere. But you see, I’m trying to play Royce in the way that this is the guy I would want to be with if s**t hit the fan, right? This is the guy. This is the go to guy. He’s got an answer, he’s level headed, he does his business, he moves on. But within that we’re making Predators and I’m constantly trying to incorporate some of those things and some elements. I’ve given it a lot of thought. I take this very seriously, but I have a sense of humor about it. (Laughs) I take it seriously, but again –

Shock: Are you saying you have a one liner or two?

Brody: I am hoping there’ll be a one liner or two, yes. I’ve contributed them. We’ll see if they’re be embraced by the powers that are beyond me.

Shock: Are they written one liners or are they strictly all improv?

Brody: I have a few that I’ve asked to put in and some that we’re working on. Well, we’ve yet to do the couple that I’ve thought were pretty funny to me and then I’ve done a couple that were scripted that I think can be deemed one liners. I’d like them to be in there. That’s pretty fun. It’d be good to have on a reel at least somewhere where you have all these serious and you have all these kind of movies and then you have, “Stick around.” (Laughs)

Shock: Is everyone doing them (imitations of Schwarzenegger)?

Brody: Everyone.

Shock: Who’s the best?

Brody: We’re all pretty good at it.

Shock: No one sticks out.

Brody: Well, I’ve done it quite a bit, “Stick around. Get in the choppa!”

We also spoke with the beautiful Alice Braga, the lone female in this boy’s playground. Her character is a sniper kidnapped by the Predators in the film.

Shock Till You Drop: So jumping right on in, can you talk a little bit about who you play in the film?

Alice Braga: I play a character named Isabelle. She’s a sniper. She’s, we can say a tough cookie. I can say that she’s sweet inside, but tough outside, but just to do her craft more than anything. It’s funny, Nimrod, the director, he gave me a little book that talks about snipers. It’s kind of a manual that snipers use in the Army. It talks a lot about how they prepare and what are the qualities that a sniper must have. One of the qualities, like being really focused and you cannot be emotional. You cannot take emotion from your work. You cannot look at the other – to think about the target and not that. So it’s hard to kind of say because specific things about a sniper, but mainly knowing that information, it tells a lot about how a sniper is and that who she is, at the same time, a strong woman, so balancing her career and her personality. Does that make sense, what I just said? (Laughs)

Shock: Can you talk about being the only woman character in the ensemble cast? Then, plus being the only woman on set?

Braga: It’s awesome. (Laughs) It’s really cool. No, I’m kidding. It’s really nice because it’s only eight characters and my character, funny enough, is the one that is always trying to grab everyone together and like, reuniting everyone and stop the fights and saying that we have strength in numbers instead of being alone fighting these creatures, together we can be stronger. It’s really interesting because the boys, I call them my boys, I call them the boys, they’ve been amazing with me. They protect me and we create things together. Sometimes I’m like – I need girls around me because I’ve found myself like, talking about cars and about girls and I’m like, “I need girls around me.” (Laughs) But it’s really wonderful. As an actress it’s been a great experience. I’m having fun. I did different films. Like, “City of God,” there’s a lot of boys around me as well. So it’s been really cool. It’s funny, interesting enough, there are not many girls in the crew. In Hawaii it was even less, it was only me and the script supervisor and here we still have a little bit more, but still a lot of men. It’s fun. I’m loving every second of it. I think we created a unit that is really strong and I think we kind of brought that as actors and as characters I think we got that unity of it.

Shock: Is there any romantic elements in the film?

Braga: Who knows? (Laughs) I’m gonna leave that for you to think about it.

Shock: Are you used to running from creatures and fighting creatures?

Braga: I learned a lot I must say, but the great thing about this one is that we, as you guys can see, the creatures are dressed (in practical suits). So from “I Am Legend,” it was running from Teletubbies which is kind of the guys in suits with dots and I’m like, “How does it work? Okay.” Then I look at the pictures. So that’s the difference, but it’s interesting enough. It’s a different situation. I think “I Am Legend” had a different quality as a drama because it’s something that happened to society and are human beings that mutated into something else. That, I think it brought a lot for me and Will Smith to look on. Different than this one, it’s a different world and it’s a different kind of creatures that we’re running from.

Shock: As a sniper, it’s interesting because it seems like the Predators have captured all these big tough macho guys who are like, military folk are fighters or whatever. But as a sniper you have a very specific tool which is the gun. So does your character sort of have a disadvantage on the planet of not having her sniper rifle with her?

Braga: I have my sniper rifle.

Shock: Oh, you do?

Braga: Yeah, I do all the time. It was 14 pounds during the whole shoot. I’m really strong right now.

Shock: So the Predator is like, you keep it?

Braga: Yeah, we start the film with our own guns and stuff and then from there the stories start developing. But I have, each of us have their own thing as the characters bring, so I was lucky enough to get that. It’s funny that you said that because normally it would be a guy, a sniper and that’s why I like that the script is a girl because a girl, as I was saying about the emotion, girls are really emotional, we have period. Once you have period you get emotional. So it’s like, how come a girl is the sniper of the team? But it’s really nice to balance that. I’ve never done a character like this and it’s been a challenge because you need to find that strength, but at the same time you cannot lose her own being. It’s kind of been interesting to balance that and also as a character, how to stand up and face other seven guys, they are just making fun. Like the first few pages of the film of course the characters are like, you know, calling her, or playing with her, or taking her for granted or all of those things. So I think it’s interesting how to get that strength not for women, but for the character more than anything, just playing it not as a woman or a guy, but playing a strong human being.

Shock: Did you get to use the Predators guns at some point? Did you get a hold of their weapons?

Braga: Who knows?

Shock: Did you learn to really shoot?

Braga: Yes, we didn’t have much time. We didn’t have a boot camp or something. But as soon as we got in Hawaii we had Mike (Hanovitz). He’s a sweetheart and he’s been great for me. Like, I call him my teacher because my relationship with the gun, like, we were talking. He taught me a lot about it, like a sniper, spent hours and hours just crawling, or hours looking for the target and all these little details he gave me. When we got in Hawaii we did a whole day of just shooting. We couldn’t do every day, but that day I kind of learn everything and every time we head off I would like, work with it, especially when I had to train my arm. I did a lot of not weight lifting, but I went to the gym because the first day of shooting I lift and five seconds my hands were like – it’s 14 pounds, it’s really hard to aim at something. The camera is here and you need to aim and then suddenly start shaking. So we kind of built that where the arm goes because they really like, go and it’s there. Sometimes it was off, so we kind of trained that. The shooting we trained not much, but we did train just for us to be aware of the noise and all that. But mainly we focused on being like, looking good at the craft. So I was really worried about looking nice because if a sniper sees it I hope he can look and say, “Okay, she did a nice job. Maybe this is missing, this is that,” but just respectful to what they do. It’s a hard profession.

Shock: Could you talk a little bit about fighting some of these super Predators?

Braga: It’s cool. (Laughs) It’s really nice. It’s interesting. I still have like some scenes to shoot, but it’s interesting that once you feel like, “Oh my god, I’m in a ‘Predator’ film,” everyone knows the Predators and all that, so the first time I saw it I was kind of, “Wow, this is interesting. This is cool.” Especially that I’m short, it’s really scary because I’m a small girl. I’m 5’4″ I think and the creatures are probably, you know, I don’t know how tall they are. So it’s been cool. It’s been really nice. The good thing about being a sniper is I don’t need to have contact with it. (Laughs)

Shock: I was gonna ask you about that. Obviously the setup would be sniper long distance, but inevitably in every movie the sniper ends up very close to the villain and has to engage physically. So can you talk a little bit about preparing? I’m just gonna go out there and say it happens, so could you talk a little bit about preparing for say, a battle like that?

Braga: It’s funny enough, we’re still shooting so I haven’t got into it as much as the other characters did. Mainly the boys did, they shoot a lot with it. I haven’t done much yet, but because of that I really went to the gym for this film. I did a lot of running, I didn’t lift weights, but I just wanted to be strong if I needed to do repetition for a few scenes, or fighting scenes, or trying to kick something and be ready for it, I would, but we haven’t shot many. I think the boys can answer you better.

Shock: You were saying that in this movie not every character, but some of the characters have similarities or threads or counterparts in the original “Predator” film. There’s also one woman in the original.

Braga: No, funny enough, I saw the “Predator” film before doing my audition when they called me to audition for it. Then, I saw that just to understand what they wanted from my character and all that. Then I put it apart and I never saw it again. I didn’t want to keep trying to get something from it. I think it would come on the script, if that boss would write something. (Laughs as Robert Rodriguez walks by the room) But then I just wanted to focus on what we were doing and pretending nothing ever existed because our characters didn’t know, so they don’t know that the boss is. (Laughs) But, yeah, so it’s just I feel like it was great to see it just to get it as an inspiration and see Schwarzenegger doing, “Get to the chopper,” all those, it was really cool, but I think I prefer like, not thinking that I know those creatures because the character doesn’t know much.

Shock: I hesitate to even ask this, but in some of the things I’ve read about your character, there’s something of a secret to her personality. You know what I’m talking about.

Braga: Yeah.

CS: So how much do you bring that through playing it in the rest of the film without showing?

Braga: Without showing, yeah. I always try with my characters always having something inside and kind of understanding where she comes from, I think like every actor. But, hints of it during the film that maybe people are going to say, “Why? Why?” and then suddenly, “Oh, I get it.” I don’t (like) over thinking it too much and I’m not trying to play it all the time, but I just hope I can make the journey. I think in films like this it’s important that the journey gets complete. They say in drama school it’s like the hero journey or something like that. I don’t know I try to. I’m having fun with it, let’s see how it comes out. It’s hard because once you’re doing action films there’s so much going on that we need to put ourselves into it, but let’s see. I hope you guys enjoy.

Shock: It’ll be like a second watch like, “Oh, that’s that.”

Braga: Yeah, I hope so, “Hm, I see it,” great question. Thank you so much guys. Nice to meet you.

Next up was Danny Trejo. Though he had already wrapped filming, he was in the area and stopped by to talk with us. We were actually standing in a parking lot interviewing him as the crew busily worked around us.

Shock Till You Drop: Can we just call you Machete from now on? So if I see you at Ralph’s I can just call you Machete?

Danny Trejo: (Laughs) Everybody else does.

Shock: Okay, I just want to make sure.

Trejo: Yeah, everybody either asks me when “Machete’s” coming out and is it done? So they’re both gonna be great movies man. It was so much fun doing “Predator.” I mean, it was a lotta fun. We were in Hilo, Hawaii for a month and Hilo, all the roots grow on top of the ground, so it was rainy, wet, muddy and the roots and I was in cowboy boots. (Laughs) But it was just a lotta fun working with people like Adrien Brody, he’s unbelievable, Topher Grace, Oleg, who I’ve admired when he was wrestling, when he was fighting. Then Walton Goggins. Alice Braga who is just [hot] (Laughs) Strike that – just a very wonderful actress. Playing with these guys was just amazing. I actually did a film with Alice’s aunt Sonia about 10 years ago who is another amazing, amazing actress.

Shock: Can you talk about who you play in “Predators?”

Trejo: I play one of the hunted. I’m a – okay, now how do you make an assassin drug dealer sound likable? (Laughs) I play one of the guys that the Predator is hunting and I don’t know if I’m supposed to say, but there’s a group of us that they’ve captured because we’re all killers and for sport they hunt us, so we all start coming together trying to fight this predator. So it’s amazing watching this group of all single kinda killers try to become a unit.

Shock: You’ve been working with Robert for so long now. Does he actually incorporate you into the process of developing some of your character traits on even a movie like this, I’m sure with “Machete,” I mean, definitely a lot, but with this one too?

Trejo: Well yeah, Robert had been training me – god, that sounds like, really silly – for “Machete” since we did “Desperado.” Everybody thinks that “Machete” came out of a trailer, but it didn’t. Robert told me he wanted to do this movie called “Machete” when we were doing “Desperado” and that if you look at the character in “Machete,” it is a metamorphosis – that’s a word. I saw Laurence Fishburne (Laughs) and I’m thinking of “The Matrix,” but he kind of like, molded this character of “Machete.” Then in “Predators” he was kind of reluctant to say, “Yeah, okay, go ahead and do ‘Predators,'” because it’s a different character and I wanted to work with Adrien and (Laughs) Alice Braga. I wanted to work with these people so then I went ahead and did “Predators.” But you’re gonna be amazed. I know Arnold was great with his muscles, but Adrien just blows him outta the water with his mind. I watched him act and just even when he’s acting you can almost hear his brain, you know, just doing what he’s supposed to be doing. He’s a fabulous actor and I’ve learned a lot from him.

Shock: Can you talk about some of the fight sequences you have with the Predators?

Trejo: Not really, but he eats you. (Laughs) I mean, it’s like before Adrien and Alice get to him, he’s just boom, boom, killing. It’s like, we’re really out-gunned even though I walk around with these two machine guns and a nine-millimeter and a knife. My name’s Cuchillo in this, right? For some reason Robert always gives me these sharp objects. I was Navajas in “Desperado.” I was Razor Charlie in “From Dust to Dawn.” I was Cuchillo in this and then I was Machete. So he always gives me sharp objects, yeah. (Laughs)

Shock: Can you talk a little bit about – has Robert changed at all? You’ve worked with him a number of times. Is he still crazy enthusiastic every day?

Trejo: I think he’s more, I think he’s more. I think that’s one of the reasons people love to work with him, because he’s just there. Robert is just like, “I don’t like his t-shirt,” you know, “What are you talking about?” But he just, he has an eye for everything that’s going on on the set. Some directors just want to direct actors. He just knows everything and his crew – do you remember the program “Mash?” Remember Radar, how the Lieutenant would turn around and say, “I want the” – and Radar’s, “It’s already there Sir,” that’s the way his crew is. They know him so well that he’ll say, “Let’s” – and then it’s there already. If you’re gonna work with Robert you gotta know how he’s thinking. After working with him for a while, you just kinda know. I’m telling you, he’s the kind of director that’ll tell you, “Put your chin down a little, you know, put your chin down a little. Look a little more to the left.” So he directs you. As an actor I like that. I like that. Some actors always say, “Can I do another one?” Once Robert – Nimrod is the same way – once Nimrod and Robert say, “I got it let’s move on,” well, you don’t have to say, “Can we do another one?” because he’s got what he wants. You’re not gonna do it any better. That’s what he wants and I know that about him. So I just show up and shoot. When he says, “Okay, let’s move on,” it’s like, “Oh, you got it.” That means that’s the one. That’s the one he liked. Actors [are] brats, “Can I do another one? (Laughs) I want to see myself on camera again.” But I’ve learned.

Shock: How much involvement does Robert have on this one?

Trejo: He’s kind of behind the scenes on this one. That’s surprised me, but that literally shows Nimrod’s capability because if Robert didn’t like what he was doing, believe me, he would be there, but Nimrod is a great director. He’s really kind of a surprise. I’ve worked with a lot of directors. I think I got 180 movies now. So I kinda know who’s good and full of s**t. I love directors that know what they want. You have a lotta directors that shoot till they decide what they want, “Well, okay, well let’s shoot another one. Okay, well, let’s shoot another one. Okay, well let’s try this.” But I love directors that already know what they want, so when you shoot two shots and then let’s get one and go, and that’s it. So Nimrod I think, he must’ve read Robert’s book, (Laughs) “Rebel Without a Crew,” I mean, ‘cause he’s that proficient, yeah, that proficient.

We then spoke to Oleg Taktarov. The Russian is a former Ultimate Fighting Champion turned actor and, as you’ll see, he’s surprisingly candid. I suppose if you can kill a person that easily, you’d say what you want, too.

Shock Till You Drop: We heard that you might be having some fun with your stand-in?

Oleg Taktarov: In Hawaii, yeah, my stand-in gets all bruised up and I like the kid. I mean, he is 210 pounds when he started and 195 when he finished. Before, he was just a surfer boy and then I really show him some of my mixed martial arts stuff. He naturally was built very strong and I just showed him that he is not.

Shock: Did you make him cry at any point?

Taktarov: He didn’t cry. I like him, you know, he would like, almost cry but he would not. I just seen him pushing people like, my stand-in would push everybody’s stand-in around. I wanted him to pay for it. That’s pretty much the story, yeah, and I need some exercise of course because we’re in the jungle. I’m wearing like, 100 and something pounds on my back. My stuff is much heavier than Jesse Ventura’s stuff in the first movie, much heavier, more bullets and it’s a much more advanced weapon.

Shock: What do you carry?

Taktarov: It’s also six barrels, mini gun, but my stuff is more powerful. I mean, it could’ve wiped the jungle.

Shock: Is your character sorta similar to Jesse Ventura’s?

Taktarov: I was watching “Predator” – first of all, (Laughs) I want to say that our movie is just so much more interesting to watch already I can tell you. But my character kinda got like, everything from everyone, but mostly from Arnold. I got the lines say like, “What an ugly face you guys. What an ugly mother f**ker you are.” Yeah, I say that in Russian and English, some Jesse Ventura stuff and also [Duke]. So I think from those three characters, yeah, pretty much.

Shock: Did you grow up watching Arnold? I mean, how thrilling is it to be in a “Predators” movie?

Taktarov: You know, it’s so strange to me. I was watching it recently and first I was fascinated with Arnold and then like – I didn’t lift weights, I was just a grapple, boxed before. I would just force myself to lift weights because of Arnold. Now I’m watching the movie and I’m like, “You know what? I love every single person in the cast but Arnold.” Well – anyways, when he doesn’t talk, it was all right.

Shock: Could you talk a little bit about your character in the film, a little bit of an arch?

Taktarov: I mean, I’m very proud to play my character and I have been saying that if I’d been offered the script and somebody would come like, “What part do you want to play?” I would pick my guy anyways even if it was not Russian. It’s just written so perfectly. I guess one of the writers is from Russia, Alex Litvak. I’ve never met him. Maybe he put this in, I don’t know. But my character’s just so [close] to me. He got heart. I mean, he understands what friendship is all about. He will support one guy in the cast, Topher Grace, you will meet this individual in a second. His name is Nikolai, my father was Nikolai, so it’s kind of meaningful for me and a very heroic type of guy I must say in the movie. It’s the first time you give the really, really – I mean, positive, good Russian character in American filmmaking I must say. It’s for the first time I think. (Laughs) It’s the 21st century I guess, that’s the problem. There was a lotta mystery about me getting this part. One and a half years ago I refused [Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull] because my character was kinda too silly, too cartoonish –

Shock: Two dimensional or one dimensional?

Taktarov: It was like the guy, it’s right after the Second World War and he get punched by Harrison Ford, he gets eaten by ants. I mean, I wouldn’t come back to Russia after that. I mean, I would be so embarrassed. The guy who I kind of introduced to Steven [Spielberg] got the part, did a great job. He was more a circus type of guy and he did a great job. He understood what they want to do. In a year and a half he was forcing me to go for an audition. I was in the United States just for a while to bring my kids to school. And, “Oleg, just go there. I mean, what’s the matter?” I said, “No, it’s probably some stupid some ‘Alien vs. Predator’ stuff. I don’t want to go there.” And yeah, what the hell, I mean, just reminded by yourself. So I go there and I see the material and I was working nine months doing a TV series where I’m gonna leave and acting wise and everything. Robert Rodriguez said, I mean, “There was no competition for you.” I mean, “It was really no second choice. The studio wanted some big dude and he was not Russian, it was a local guy.” The director Nimrod said, “All those guys didn’t have both that you have, so we didn’t really have – we were all fighting for you against the studio.” So I was real thankful. I’m going the first day of shooting, we’re going into the jungle in Hawaii and director Nimrod’s saying, “The last time we shot here was ‘Indiana Jones.'” Oh f**k. I’m playing a good character, somebody I’m proud to play and I’m in the same jungle pretty much the same length of time, the filming and I’m really proud to do this movie. I’m really proud to do this job. One thing it’s got, I mean, it’s really mysterious and like I said, the guy who I helped, help me and he didn’t mean to. He also was going for this part. So this is friendship. I mean, his name is Igor Jijikine. I’m glad I also got the chance to do some of my martial arts stuff so since you probably know that I’m an Ultimate Fighting Champion and it’s good also for I guess, producers to get me in ‘cause we’ve got a big mixed martial arts community in the world right now, and especially the United States. Mixed martial arts is three times bigger than boxing. I have the last belt of the Ultimate Fighting Championship with the original rules. UFC number six in fighting.

This cast guys, I not am trying to promote something, this is for real. I have not worked with a cast like this, not in the United States, not in Russia. We got people here like Walton Goggins, mother f**ker just, “Roll the camera. F**ker!” I mean, he gets himself in the character just, “Roll the f**king camera, you know?” So that’s Walton Goggins. We get some Adrien Brody – he had to squeeze his teeth because it was so cold. We’re in the water and he didn’t say like, “I can’t do this.” I remember I did the movie with De Niro and we were cold 15 minutes and we just had to run for four blocks and one of the [stars that’s] no star anymore by the way, that’s life. “Why do I have to run? Or, can you just film it slower then you make it faster so it looks like we’re running?” De Niro didn’t say a word. De Niro’s like, “Yeah, it was good for me. I’ll lose some weight.” This movie, everybody is giving 200 percent. I mean, I’ve seen people falling hard on themselves, blood is like, real blood and they keep going. You can see the little mark here which kinda healed up. I hit the steadycam and I was bleeding. I was like, my face was bleeding sometime and back to Ultimate Fighting. We didn’t stop the camera. I didn’t want to stop. I wanted to continue. I had the blood all over, so why not, so we keep filming. So it was a really great moment when I get this moment, ugly mother f**ker with the Predator. Honestly, I would probably choke him if was in the [fight] ‘cause I could reach for his neck and then it would be over. The Predator over a human, it doesn’t matter.

Shock: Can you talk about one of your battles with the Predator, how that fight goes, or those fights?

Taktarov: Actually, I was more scared. I was battling the Predator with the horns and they were so close to my eyes and I was more worried about this one. Then when we kinda cut those horns down so you can extend them with CGI anyways I feel like, “Okay, now there will be no problem. Now I’m gonna finish the battle.” It was great. It was so emotional. I mean, I would come home, I couldn’t move like, so much inside. My guy’s really hurt and you can tell what he’s doing. When we shot all this and I had to just crawl on my back away from the Predator so we get the coverage shot and I’m like, it was so relaxing like nothing is going to happen and here the Predator stick his hand on my stomach. That’s when I hit the steadycam and almost knocked myself out. So yeah, you never want to say, “Okay, it’s over.” I got hurt on the set more than in the fight business. In the fight business I never got hurt really. In the movie business, after which I had a full reconstruction of my knee and some other problems and I’ve almost been paralyzed on the one movie with some weird guy.

Shock: You were fighting the Predator with the horns. So, do you have scenes with the Predator dog then?

Taktarov: Yeah, I mean, I got a really great scene with the Predator dog. I mean, I wish somebody would show you. It’s really cool. I mean, I was coming up with my own things to say when I was killing that Predator dog body. I was like, basically saying, “I’m gonna show you this, 1943 Stalingrad f**king,” and I’m saying that in Russian and a lot of stuff was really funny and really personal. I’m not sure if they’re gonna leave it in. (Laughs) Director Nimrod will say like, “Oleg’s our raw footage. It can be edited.”

Next up – Topher Grace. Much like Adrien Brody, casting him in a Predator movie might make you scratch your head for a moment. But considering the dark secret that he holds, you can see why he’s a great choice.

Shock Till You Drop: Tell us a little bit about your character.

Topher Grace: I play Edwin. I’ve been singing this song from “School House Rock” where they go, “One of these things is not like the other.” (Laughs at seeing Nimrod Antal walking by) There is one of the best directors of our time. Oh, and so bashful. (Laughs) He’s really, he’s great. He’s doing a really great job with us. But Edwin’s very different than everyone else in it and you’re supposed to wonder why was he chosen if all these other similar types were chosen? There’s kind of a twist and actors live to play twists.

Shock: You’ve got a big secret.

Grace: Yeah.

Shock: It sounds a little bit like Paul Reiser’s character in the “Aliens.”

Grace: Yeah, I’d just seen the longer version which is like an hour longer of “Aliens” just coincidentally when I read the script and I was a little bit dubious when I read the script ‘cause I really liked the first “Predator” and the sequels have been, I don’t think as good. Then when I read it I thought, “This is what ‘Aliens’ was to ‘Alien,’ this is to ‘Predator’,” which “Predator” never really got it’s due. It never really got that sequel. I mean, Nimrod’s such a huge fan of the original and it reminds me of James Cameron in the sense that he had everything that was in the original, but he wanted to go in a slightly different direction and use everything that was in the first one, but also create all of this new stuff where there was more than one alien for instance. This is the same thing. The first one’s more mano y mano and this is more kind of a character piece. Yeah, Paul Reiser did such a great job in that movie and I remember thinking, “Oh yeah, there is room for that kind of a role.”

CS: Were you surprised that they offered it to you? Were you surprised when they gave you the script?

Grace: Not when I read it because it’s like that kinda Paul Reiser role. But, I was psyched that one, that I got to be in a Robert Rodriguez production ‘cause all my friends have done movies down here. I was like, “When do I get to be in that club?” I mean, it’s amazing. He has like, his own little Hollywood down here and I love the product, you know, like “Sin City” and “Desperado.” “Desperado” came out when I was in high school and I actually saw “El Mariachi” ‘cause my mom likes foreign cinema and she didn’t know it was such a kick ass action movie. (Laughs) She thought we were gonna go see some quiet Mexican film. So I remember seeing that even before “Desperado,” so I wasn’t surprised that it was an awesome script and I was really pleasantly surprised that they were gonna ask me to do it, but I was really happy once I read it. There have been a couple of scripts that are like legend in Hollywood but never got made. One of them is like, J.J. Abrams wrote a “Superman” script that’s supposed to be great and you kinda wonder why someone doesn’t just say, “Hey, J.J. like, now that you’re a director, why don’t you make that movie?” I think it was really smart of Fox to say – I don’t know if it’s gone in the exact direction we want it to go in. I think Robert wrote this script before he directed “Desperado.” I mean, it’s great that someone just had the idea to go find him and say, “Do whatever you want and make that film,” ‘cause he had a passion for it.

Shock: What will this be looking like – a Robert Rodriguez movie? What does Nimrod bring to it that’s his own special thing?

Grace: It’s a great marriage. They’re like, really good together. I think Nim is more of a fan of in camera stuff, but certainly there’s a lotta stuff you just can’t do in camera ‘cause we’re in a different kind of world. So, it’s been a really happy marriage of that stuff, plus obviously Robert really understands a filmmaker’s vision, but he was part of the vision in writing this. So it’s not like Hollywood, this experience.

Shock: What about practicals? I mean, it’s very bloody and violent. Do you work with a lot of blood and disarticulated limbs and all that stuff?

Grace: Yes.

Shock: Can you talk a little bit about some of those?

Grace: I actually don’t think I can talk about that last part, but yes, I do – yeah, it gets bloody towards the end. But I’m happy ‘cause this is a genre I haven’t been in as much, but certainly one that I love to watch. So to be in it sometimes, you know, we watch the shots and it’s the (Laughs as Oleg Taktarov walks by) – and also, Oleg’s the best actor in the film. (Laughs)

Shock: That’s what he told us.

Grace: Yeah, that’s what he told you guys? (Laughs) No, it’s a genre I love. Sometimes we’ll be doing it – like, we jumped off a waterfall or something in Hawaii and I thought, “This is awful.” I mean, it was terrible. (Laughs) It hurt. But then you watch the playback and immediately go, “Oh my god, this is the coolest thing I’ve ever been in.” It’s a real Hollywood movie. Like, I’ve been in Hollywood movies, but this is like, what you dream of when you’re younger and you think about being in movies. You’re running through the jungle, you’re swinging on vines, you know, you’re killing aliens. It’s like, a real wish fulfillment.

Shock: Do you get to fight and be bad-ass at all in the movie? Or, are you just running from the Predators the whole time?

Grace: Again, you know, my character kinda operates on a lotta different levels and they’re revealed. Everyone has levels that are revealed as you go through the movie. What’s good is it has that kind of urgency of the first one where it takes place in this jungle over a short period of time. But, it is also, on top of it, a real character piece, so you learn a lot about all the characters in it and there are lots of kind of ironies I guess.

Shock: How much green screen have you done?

Grace: I’ve done zero and that’s the great thing about how they’re shooting this and how they shot the first one. What’s great is because I’m kind of, I’m obviously not military in the film and so, I’m probably the closest to the audience, not you guys, you guys are a tough group, but if the audience was thrown into the picture, probably how they would respond to whatever’s happening. So it’s very little acting on my part in terms of stunts. You know, when I hit the water when we jumped off that waterfall like, whatever expression I made in real life was probably what Edwin would’ve done in his place.

Shock: We’ve been told that all the characters in the film has some resemblance to characters from the first film, some traits or something. Is that true? What character are you sort of similar to?

Grace: Well, when I watched the movie I really looked at Shane Black who went on to be a great writer. But, he did some cool stuff and he’s kind of a funny dude to be in that film. Then, yeah, I guess that’s all I can say. (Laughs) I don’t know, I don’t want to mess it up for anyone, you know?

Shock: There’s a lot of the Topher Grace wit? Your wit and humor gets into the character?

Grace: I hope so. Yeah, a great thing about playing a character that’s similar to the audience or similar to you watching the movie is that you get to have whatever reaction you would have to what’s going on which is all pretty much the same thing. I mean, there’s a lotta like, I mean, just all the information that’s given him in the film is too much. I mean, it starts with them kinda parachuting into this planet, so already (Laughs) he’s kind of apoplectic about what’s going on. So yeah, it’s been really fun to play and not have to go that far and really just say, “What would I be doing in this situation?”

Shock: How are you with energy when you’ve been shooting for a while like this? Is it sort of like, you’re looking forward to the end with a smile? Are you going to be sad to see this character go?

Grace: Well, I certainly don’t have problems letting go of characters, although I love actors who talk about characters like they’re other people or something like, “Getting inside of skin or whatever.” But, I do think I will really miss the group. I’m sure you guys hear this all the time kind of, “We became a family.” But, legitimately I think starting from Adrien who is just really egoless, so there’s no ego in him and it kind of trickled down. Actually, probably starting with Robert there’s just no ego. It’s all best idea wins like, let’s have fun. It’s become a really tight group and what’s cool is that’s kind of what happened – we shot somewhat chronologically and that’s kind of what happened in the film is it’s these people who don’t know each other who have to learn to kinda bond together. Fortunately none of us died. (Laughs)

Shock: There’s still a week and a half to go.

Grace: There’s still a week and a half to go, right. But, I think what I will miss is working with this group. Walt Goggins is a really amazing, committed actor. I was a big fan of his on “The Shield,” Alice Braga was amazing in like “City of God.” I mean, these people really come to play. Adrien obviously is an intense, really great actor. So when you play with people that are better than you, your game gets better. I used to play tennis and I’d play against someone worse than me and I’d lose to them, you know? Like, if you play against someone better than you it kinda ups your game.

Shock: How are you into the online thing? Do you read what people are saying? Do you follow any of the sites? Are you sort of, “Eh?”

Grace: You know, not really to answer your question, but I do think it’s important. I mean, I want to make the film for the fan, the part of me that was sick, home from school in the 80’s and watching “Predator” and loving it. It was great. When I went to Thanksgiving this year, we had a break for that. It was like, all the guys in my family were like, “You’re doing what? What are you doing? What happens?” You can see in the crowd who like, jumps out as being the biggest fans.

Shock: In terms of scale how does this compare to “Spider-Man?” Is this just like old hat doing another big movie like this? Or, is it really different?

Grace: No, I would say the thing that’s really wonderful about this film is it’s all in camera so far. Everything we’ve done we’ve done, so there’s a big reliance in “Spider-Man” on blue screen and green screen or whatever and adding stuff later. Here, it’s always easier for actors when it’s there ‘cause it’s less acting like I said. If you’re jumping off a waterfall and you have to indeed jump off a waterfall, it’s no acting required, whereas if you have to kind of pretend what it might look like to jump off a waterfall, it becomes like, a lot harder. I think it’s harder for the audience to buy it. So I love that Nim and Robert made a real effort. I mean, my body doesn’t like it. I’m like, bruised everywhere, but I think it’ll lend to the realness of the film.

Shock: Are you surprised to see where your career has gone suddenly? You might not be the actor we’d picture in “Predators” and “Spider-Man 3.”

Grace: But I love doing everything. Like I said, I just did “Valentine’s Day.” Ashton’s in that and it was with Annie Hathaway. I mean, it’s endless. Have you guys heard of that film? There’s an insane amount of people. I’m with Annie and Queen Latifah, Adrien Brody and Laurence Fishburne and they couldn’t be more opposite and yet they’re all interesting. It’s like, if you want to get a good meal, you gotta get something from this food group, but something from this food group and I mean, you hope to have that kinda career where you can do a little bit of each. I certainly loved working with Gary Marshall, but there were no jumping off of waterfalls in that film.

Shock: Are you working with Laurence Fishburne today?

Grace: Yeah, Laurence is amazing. I mean, I always want to say in these interviews who’s really nice and who’s not ‘cause you wonder at home like, “What is that guy really like?” I’m sure they’re always really nice to you guys, but like, on the set it’s a different story. That guy is the nicest – you know, he’s Morpheus. You don’t know what to kind of expect when he walks in. All he’s done is talk about, I mean, he blended right in with the crew which is awesome because he’s got so much more experience than us. He’s been the nicest guy. He’ll tell us all the stories you want to hear about “Apocalypse Now” and “The Matrix” and “Deep Cover” and he’s just hilarious too. I haven’t seen him in that comedy where I know he’s as funny as he is. His character in this is so out there, it’s really, really fun to just sit there and watch him. You tune out that you’re in a scene and you’re just watching him kinda do his thing. He’s really great.

Finally we spoke to Walton Goggins. As he spoke with us, he was beaten, bloodied, covered in tattoos, and wearing a prisoner’s jumpsuit.

Shock Till You Drop: Can we talk about the tattoo on your neck?

Walton Goggins: You like the tats? Check this out, you think it’s crazy on the neck, how about this on the arms man? Huh? Check that out. They’re all over the place. We did one. I was working with this company called KNB and I wanted him to have one that he’d get in prison, so we did one with color and it probably took an entire month’s rent to get this one tattoo, but he has it. So he got the rest kind of in prison. Does that make sense? Aren’t they crazy?

Shock: How many do you have on your body all together?

Goggins: Ones that you can see, or ones that you can’t see? (Laughs) About 12 man. About 12. It requires like, an hour of makeup every day to put them on and I’ve requested that they not be taken off like, at the end of every day just so I can kinda freak people out at the 7/11. I find that I have no problem getting a table at a restaurant, you know, when I walk in.

Shock: Are you really going off set with the tattoos on?

Goggins: Absolutely, yeah, absolutely.

Shock: I’ve always thought that with actors wearing costumes or doing certain things it would be a lotta fun to sorta play with your character off camera in real life.

Goggins: Yeah, I mean, I never fancied myself having a prejudice towards people with tattoos. I personally don’t have any and I don’t think that I do. But, I do see that people treat me differently, you know, with tattoos. People get out of my way. More often than not I ride in elevators alone these days. But, I don’t know, I think I’m really gonna miss having them off because it feels like an extension of kinda who I am as Stans. It feels like part of my outfit, my clothing, you know?

Shock: Tell us a little bit about your character. You’re sort of the most accomplished killer of the group, right? What’s the number – 38 kills?

Goggins: 38 kills. He’s a celebrity in his own mind and a famous kind of – I think he just had a bad three days and he went off his meds for three days. Yeah, his name is Stans, Walter Stans as he likes to call himself. He’s a bit of a celebrity. It’s interesting because his crimes were committed, you know, 15 years ago. He’s been on death row for 15 years, so he’s not lonely because of all the fan mail that he gets. So he’s a little more well-adjusted than most serial killers I think. (Laughs)

Shock: Are there certain serial killers that he’s based on?

Goggins: That I modeled him on? Well, not knowing any personally –

Shock: Did you try to meet anyone?

Goggins: No, for me when we started talking about it, I came down here and met with Robert and with Nimrod before filming began and Robert told me this is something they were thinking about doing and for me, it was an opportunity to kind of infuse a little more humor into this movie and to be someone who thinks that people should be asking for his autograph. Like, the seven people on this alien planet should be asking him for his autograph all the time ‘cause they don’t know who they’re sitting with. I’m a big deal. I’m Arnold Schwarzenegger. (Laughs)

Shock: Has he written a book?

Goggins: Yes, I think he has probably written a book actually.

Shock: How much input did you get as far as being able to work with the dialogue and things and add your own sort of spin?

Goggins: You know, I’ve been a fan of Nimrod’s for a long time since “Control” came out and I met him about two and a half years ago and we really hit it off. I feel in some ways I found a soul brother. We see art the same way, and so I had been wanting to work with him for a long time and this opportunity came up. I came down here, like I said, and met with Robert and with Nim and then just started kind of improvising. I think they trust me to kinda go off script a little bit and kinda bring my thing, whatever that is, to this world. So they’ve been very accommodating kinda in that regard. It’s been good, it’s been a lotta fun.

Shock: You were talking about your character as saying endearing things. So what’s endearing?

Goggins: Yeah, I mean, it’s crazy. I think I’ve made a career out of making despicable people likeable if that’s any consolation to myself. But, yeah, it’s been interesting because he’s a guy who kills 38 people, it’s not the guy you’d want to have over at Thanksgiving. But, I think that his humor comes from pessimism, you know, it comes from a cynical worldview and he’s able to say things that are very familiar on our planet on an alien planet. When you hear things like that repeated, it’s really funny given the situation that he’s in. I hope so. I hope it’s funny. I think it’s funny.

Shock: It seems that this character’s a pretty nasty guy and Shane was a pretty nasty guy. What are some of the similarities or the differences between playing those two roles?

Goggins: They both have a similar haircut.

Shock: They’re kind of alike?

Goggins: Yeah, I think more often than not I think the similarities kind of probably begin and end with the fact that they talk before they think. They act before they think. I think this guy is not as bad as he quite thinks he is. And so, his bravado is skin deep. He’s the first person I think that actually calls out for help. He needs people’s help, so yeah, yeah.

Shock: But they’re both nasty and like, Shane was likeable too at the same time.

Goggins: That’s true.

Shock: How are you able to make these nasty guys so likeable to audiences?

Goggins: Well, I sure do hope that that’s the case. I think it’s just a matter of humanizing them, of making them real and kinda making them three-dimensional. Anybody on any given day can be angry, they can be scary, they can be funny, they can be any number of things that we as human beings can be. Stan, his introduction to this movie is quite physical and scary. I think you’re gonna think that he’s one way and then over the course of this experience, by the time that he leaves this film, you’re gonna be rooting for it. You’re gonna say, “Yeah, oh my god, that’s how it happened? Oh my god, that’s incredible!” I hope so, yeah, that’s what we’re trying to do.

Shock: Does your character go hand to hand with the Predator?

Goggins: You could say that, yeah, I think that’s safe to say.

Shock: Could you say what that’s from?

Goggins: Well, there are several different Predators on this planet and they come in several forms. This is definitely an altercation with one of them. They’ve called me kinda Pig Pen. Like, I’ve had like, honestly – I’ve had so much blood on me and dirt throughout this experience that there was a point there where flies were just following me around. I don’t even think they have flies in Hawaii. They flew over just to follow me around.

Shock: So the Predators bust your character out of jail, out of death row?

Goggins: Essentially, yeah, absolutely. Yeah, I’ve got a reprieve. (Laughs) Yeah, I didn’t need the governor. Yeah, they did. They kinda picked everybody out and I was one of them.

Shock: Speaking of the governor, there’s rumors Arnold might put in a little bit of an appearance in this film.

Goggins: Would you put in a good word for us? You know, that would be fantastic. No, none of us know the answer to that question and that’s a rumor that’s kinda been floating around since I think before I even came on board. No one will either confirm or deny that. But god, it would be nice if he would, you know? The movie, I think, impacted a lot of people, especially I was 18 or 16 at the time when this movie came out. So to do something with Arnold Schwarzenegger would be pretty cool.

Shock: Well, he recently did something for “The Expendables,” so –

Goggins: Maybe. This is his franchise, come on Arnold. Please.

Shock: It seems like you guys have been watching the original movie a lot. Have you been doing a lot of Arnold impressions?

Goggins: Everybody does an Arnold impression. It’s interesting because we all have various lines kind of from the original movie and they’re organic to this story, but they do come out and people do say them. You wouldn’t recognize them out of context without the accent. But, then you kinda do. It’s like, “Oh my god, that was a line from the original film.” I actually didn’t – I hadn’t seen the movie since I like, saw it the first couple ‘a times way back when. I didn’t want to see it before the movie began just ‘cause I didn’t want to feel like I was just part of a movie, you know? But, I wanted to be a part of this movie.

Shock: So do you think the audiences demand more layers from the villains these days than they did back then?

Goggins: The villains meaning the Predators themselves? I think what will be really interesting, I think I can say this, there’s no one around. I think I can say this. People are gonna watch this movie for a variety of different reasons. One of the main reasons is to see what the new Predator looks like. I mean, come on, I’m dying to see what that guy looks like. You’re going to be held off from seeing it in it’s full glory for a while. But, I think it’s safe to say that you won’t be disappointed. I’ve seen it and it scared the s**t out of me.

Shock: This is the black Predator?

Goggins: The black super Predator, absolutely.

Shock: The one that takes it’s mask off?

Goggins: Absolutely, yeah.

Shock: Have you seen the face?

Goggins: I have seen the face, yes and it’s scary.

Shock: Who has that Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers handshake and they pull out the muscles?

Goggins: We’re all trying to pull out our muscles, you know? (Laughs) But, I don’t know that the handshake is in here, but maybe we still have time to work that in.

Shock: Were there any lines in this that would compare to the original that might become catch phrases like, “Ugly mother f**ker.” I know that’s in there, but is there a new catch phrase.

Goggins: I think you’re gonna hopefully – Stans is gonna have some catch phrases for ya that you’ll find pretty funny and off color in the best way. (Laughs) But I think if we’ve done our job right, hopefully they’ll be repeating them when they leave the theater. We’ll see, but it’s pretty good. There’s some humdingers in there, man it’s funny.

Shock: We’ve been hearing that most of the characters in the film have some resemblances to the original characters from the original film. Do you feel like, a certain resemblance of your character to one of those?

Goggins: The original “Predator?” You know, I don’t know the answer to that question. I guess that there are on some level, but weren’t there six in the original and there are eight of us? Yeah, so I think it’s a little bit different and I think that the characters in this story, this feels more like an ensemble movie ‘cause I think most of the characters were out of the original by like 16 minutes, 15 minutes or something like that. The last 40 minutes is just Arnold and we’re gonna stick around for a lot longer. I think you’re gonna get to – if this movie is to succeed it’s gonna be because it’s an ensemble group of what I think are really good actors. I’m fans of all of the people in this cast that you’ll get to feel for. You’ll get to care about whether these people live or die and then hopefully you’ll celebrate when they do die, or if they die.

Source: Scott Chitwood