WWE star Rousey leaps for secret operative role
LOS ANGELES — Ronda Rousey is taking a break from her WWE professional wrestling career to co-star in Friday’s “Mile 22.”
The violent thriller follows a secret CIA squad on a near-suicidal mission in an unnamed Asian city. They must transport a high-priority asset (martial arts star Iko Uwais) 22 miles to an extraction point.
Rousey’s Sam Snow is one of two women in the elite group.
“What I loved about this is so many women were involved . ... That’s what real progress is — when it becomes normal,” Rousey, 31, said.
This isn’t the first time the Olympic medalist in judo has stepped in front of movie cameras. She was featured in “Expendables 3,” “Furious 7” and, most crucially for “Mile 22,” “Entourage” in 2015.
“Mile 22,” it turns out, is a movie she’s been circling for years.
“It was really cool to see a movie from the day it was thought of to the day it’s released. Initially Pete (Berg, Mark Wahlberg’s frequent collaborator) was thinking of producing a martial arts movie like ‘The Raid.’
“It was after ‘Entourage’ (where Wahlberg served as executive producer) that he approached Mark with a script.”
But nothing happened — “I hadn’t heard about it in years” — until Wahlberg committed.
“Now it’s a completely different story when someone of his caliber will star. Then Pete came on to direct (instead of simply producing),” Rousey said.
The cast, except for Wahlberg, were given a real-world-style immersion before filming began in Atlanta and Bogota, Colombia.
“We trained with a Navy SEAL and an Army Ranger in an abandoned hotel for a few weeks,” she said, learning tactical operations, how to clear rooms and, crucially, how to operate as a unit.
“It was great walking to the set the first day and knowing we had our group and had bonded already,” she said.
“I prepared for this as I prepare for a fight, the hours of effort and time spent is still the same. I worked with my acting coach to create a whole life for Sam Snow.”
Rousey laughed, saying, “I could bore you for hours with details about her life.”
As for their team captain, “No one needs to tell Mark Wahlberg what to do. We just tried to keep up with him. He stepped in Day One ready to go.”