EXCLUSIVE: Regé-Jean Page, Julia Butters, and Dhanush Chat The Gray Man
We got the chance to hear from Regé-Jean Page, Julia Butters, and Dhanush about their new movie, The Gray Man. Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, the movie is set to be released to Netflix tomorrow, July 22.
During the chat, the trio talked prepping for the movie, their incredible cast mates, action scenes, and so much more. Check out what they had to say below.
Regé, how did you prep for your part in the film?
“It was very similar to the prep that you put into any role. I try to come at each script like a duckling that’s never seen a script before in my life, and you start fresh. I always make sure that this guy had a background, he had a reason to be the way he is. I wanted to give him a bit of depth, I wanted there to be something kind of interesting and blue-collar in his background. Something east coast, something aspirational into why he’s pushing himself so hard, why this enfant terrible has risen quite so high so quickly and pushed so hard.”
Was there a particular American accent you were aiming for with your character?
“Nah, nothing in particular. It’s always a collage effect, you steal little pieces, but also you never say where you steal from, that’d be [telling?].”
Julia, for you, you get the chance to work with Regé, Dhanush, and a slew of other impressive actors and actresses, what was that like?
“Well, working with these folks here was a delight because I’d seen half of them on SNL [Saturday Night Live] before anything else. Like, Ryan [Gosling] and Rege were from SNL, and then I was fans. It was amazing working with these people. I respect them so much and I think they’re so incredibly talented.”
Did you learn anything from them?
“I’m more of an observer than someone to ask for advice, and, I mean, whether that was watching Chris [Evans] twitch into Lloyd, literally physically like… or watching Billy [Bob Thorton] just take seconds to calm down and think. I honor them so much in their process. And, for me, taking notes by watching what they do is my form of learning, and just really seeing how professional they are and growing up seeing that through everyone I work with, I really try to get as much as I can with observance.”
Dhanush, this is your first Hollywood blockbuster, what has this experience working with the Russo Brothers and this cast been like?
“It was amazing. I had great time understanding how Hollywood works. I’ve done about 50 films, 22 years of work in Indian film industry. You often don’t get chance to feel like a newcomer because the first time it all happens in a blur, you don’t realize what’s happening but this time, I had an opportunity to, like, look at myself like a newcomer.”
Your character finds himself front and center in a number of action scenes, how did you prep for those scenes?
“They started from the basics. “The stunt crew, like, if your left hand is here, this is where your right leg should be. It was amazing, right from the basics. And then they take you through, and then it gets intense, and it gets intense to the point where it feels dangerous. It’s very quick and very fast. But it was fun. It was very challenging, but it was fun. Towards the end, you feel like you’re a pro. They make sure you’re so good before you go on flows. It’s funny, because, you know, just one week before the shoot, I sprained my neck.”
You’re kidding!
“And [LAUGHS] so, like, a month, month and a half training, and then one, just one week before you start filming, you sprain, and you’re, ‘I’m not able to move this side, this side.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, damn, how am I gonna do this now?’ And then the physio just had a week’s time to get me ready and somehow, they found a way to make me fit for the stunt sequence. But it was amazing. It was a great experience.”
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How did you keep your character’s emotions and energy at the forefront of those scenes?
“Avik San’s supposed to be very calm, and mysterious, and composed. I didn’t know how to do it. It was a bit challenging. And it was fun and great to always have something that keeps you thinking all the time, it’s always really great to do something like that.”
Julia, back to you. This film is filled with extremely strong women, how important do you think it is for this film to showcase these women this way?
“It’s very important that women in action movies aren’t presented as, you know, women wearing high heels, and beating the guys, and oh, they’re so sexy. You know, it’s very important that you represent them also in a way where they’re doing a job, and it doesn’t matter if they are, you know, found attractive necessarily. Even though this is a gorgeous cast. But yeah, I think it’s very important to represent women as women instead of just high heels, long hair, long nails, whipping the boys, you know”
For you Regé, did you enjoy playing a character who had such an openly dark side?
“Immensely. It’s hugely freeing. The difference between villains and heroes, generally, is that villains are not burdened with a conscience in the same way as heroes. So, they just don’t have any barriers between themselves and their goals, or at least not the same barriers. My job was just to bring some relish to being unrestrained. My favorite villain in literature is Iago in Othello. People enjoy watching him enjoy himself be bad. I feel that Denny and Lloyd [Chris Evans] are kind of cut from a similar cloth in that way. They enjoy themselves, just in different ways. And so, I just tried to bring some relish to the deviousness.”
*This interview has been edited for length and clarity