FRANK GRILLO
Film quotes pose as questions. Film stars try to cope.
The tough-guy Marvel and Purge star is talkin’ to us…
Are you talkin’ to me?
The reason why I’m an actor has a lot to do with Robert De Niro. Growing up, and being able to relate to him as an Italian New Yorker who was not that archetypal movie star. He was something else, and something scary. So a big influence.
Do you feel lucky, punk?
The one thing that I really want to do in my film roles, whether they’re little or whether I get to be in big movies, is be cool. For who my audience is, I think it’s important. If it’s not in the dialogue, I try to look cool. I try to walk cool. I try to sound cool, if I can. But the coolest guy in cinema is probably Clint Eastwood.
How much can you know about yourself if you’ve never been in a fight?
Absolutely nothing. I grew up wrestling and boxing and doing martial arts. I continue to do it. It’s part of who I am. I have three sons, and we live in a world where… I know it seems brutish, but I think it’s important to know how to handle yourself.
Do you have an off switch?
No. And one of the one things that turns me off about people is laziness, especially when it comes to working. People will say that I’m difficult sometimes, and I’m like, “I’m not difficult. I just don’t tolerate laziness.” That’s why I make so many movies. You know, Body Brokers and No Man’s Land were little movies where I just found the filmmakers to be interesting. They were both based on true events. One of them’s kind of political, but they’re both very steeped in the human struggle.
Why don’t you tell me the story of your life?
The story of my life is I never found real mainstream success until I was into my late forties. The lesson I often tell people is: there are no rules. If you’re out there, and you’re working hard, and you keep doing it, there will be a level of success that you have. You won’t be denied that.
We all go a little mad, sometimes. Haven’t you?
I’m trying to find sanity [laughs]. I’m always in a state of madness. I’m a mad hatter, and I’m surrounded by madness. My partner is mad – in the best of ways. I think to be a good artist, you need to have a level of insanity.
Do you ever have that feeling where you’re not sure if you’re awake or still dreaming?
Yesterday I was on the Hollywood Boulevard, in front of the Chinese Theatre, and there’s a big animated billboard, and it was my face. It was my trailer [for Boss Level]. It was my name, and then Mel Gibson’s name, and then Naomi Watts’ name, and then The Rock posted some beautiful things about myself and Joe [Carnahan]. Sometimes I’ve got to pinch myself, because I’m still being surprised and childlike about this stuff.
If you could change something in your life, anything at all, what would it be?
That’s what Boss Level was about. That’s why these time-loop movies are popular. It’s to relive the mistakes that you’ve made. Can you fix them? I would probably make some smarter decisions about my career much earlier. But you know what? If I were to change those things, I might not have the three children that I have today. So there’s the danger [laughs].
Only two kinds of men get shot: criminals and victims. Which are you?
[laughs] “Are you one of the strong, or are you one of the weak?” It reminds me of that quote from [Grillo’s show] Kingdom, and it’s true. I think it’s a question that specifically men are challenged by every day. It’s an existential man thing: where do I fit in the hierarchy of manhood? Twenty-year-old Frank Grillo had the wrong answer. Maybe even 36-year-old Frank Grillo. But 55-year-old Frank Grillo knows the answer.
What would you do if you knew you had less than one minute to live?
[laughs] I would chug a beer.
Why are we here? Are we here to win this fight?
Career-changing role. Life-changing experience. Nick Nolte changed the way I saw myself as an actor, changed the way I started to work as an actor, and that movie changed the way that people in the business accepted me as an actor. It changed everybody’s career in that movie. It got Nick Nolte an Oscar nomination. It’s the most important movie I’ve ever done. JF
ETA | 31 MAY / NO MAN’S LAND RELEASES ON DIGITAL PLATFORMS NEXT MONTH. BODY BROKERS IS OUT NOW. BOSS LEVEL IS TBC.
‘I’M NOT DIFFICULT. I JUST DON’T TOLERATE LAZINESS. THAT’S WHY I MAKE SO MANY MOVIES’