Author: Moviefone

Opening in select theaters, On Demand and digital platforms on June 13th is the new action thriller ‘Diablo’, which was directed by Ernesto Díaz Espinoza (‘Redeemer’) and based on a story created by the film’s stars Scott Adkins (‘John Wick: Chapter 4’) and Marko Zaror (‘The Killer’s Game’).

Related Article: Actor and Martial Artist Scott Adkins Talks ‘Accident Man: Hitman’s Holiday’

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Scott Adkins about his work on ‘Diablo’, creating the story with Marko Zaror, his role as a producer on the project, the short shooting schedule, his character, working with actress Alana De La Rossa, executing the action sequences, what he learned from working on ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’, why he’s happy the Oscars will soon offer a stunt award, and what it was like working with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon on next year’s ‘The RIP’.

You can read the full interview below or click on the video above to watch our interview.

Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about how this project came together and your roles as an actor, co-writer and producer on the film?

Scott Adkins: I was working on ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ with Marko Zaror. We spent a lot of time together because we’re good friends anyway and we started talking about a potential movie that we could star in together. We came up with this idea and then we got Ernesto (Díaz Espinoza) involved, who’s the director, and he does a lot of films with Marko in Chile. So, the three of us came up with a story and then we brought in Matt Samson and developed the story some more and got him to write it. My manager, Craig Baumgarten, also produces movies. So, we took it to him. He took it to some people like Clay Epstein, and we found a place to shoot it in Colombia because we wanted it to be in South America. Originally, we were thinking Chile. So, we ended up in Colombia shooting it with a great production team. We got a lot of support and had a fantastic stunt team behind us that really wanted to work with me and Marko because they’re not used to doing as much fight-based stuff. But we got some great stunts in there like car hits and high falls and all the rest of it. They were fantastic. We ended up with an amazing actress, Alana (De La Rossa), who’s Colombian, and she’s the heart of the movie. It’s a great cast. We didn’t have a lot of time to shoot it, but we’re very happy with the result.

MF: Is being a producer on projects you appear in something you want to pursue moving forward?

SA: Honestly, it’s a massive headache that I could do without. I’m a creative producer. I like to create my projects. But when it comes to dealing with the banks, the finance and the day in day out of dealing with all of that … Ignorance is bliss. I’d rather not know what’s going on behind the scenes because sometimes it’s stressful. So really, I’m a creative producer. But it’s nice to be in a position where if there is a problem and something needs to be addressed, I can pull the producer card out and go, “Hang on a second.”

MF: How would you describe your character Kris Chaney, and did he change from development to production?

SA: Well, honestly, as simple as it sounds, me and Marko were just riffing on an idea of ‘No Country for Old Men’ and how we could do our version, where I’m like Josh Brolin and he’s Javier Bardem. You can see that now. You see the movie and you’d understand where I’m coming from. We just wanted a chase movie where I’m pursuing him, he’s pursuing me, and what is it? Is it a bag of money? We ended up coming up with the idea for it to be the girl, and everything came from there. As far as my character goes, he is a bit of a blank page, and you learn about my character through the eyes of Elisa. The audience learns about me the way that the story goes, as she does. So, the film’s very much from her perspective. That’s where we went with it. I think the film’s got a lot of heart and really, we were very lucky to get Alana to play the part. Without her being such an amazing actress, it would not be what it is.

MF: Did you have time to rehearse with actress Alana De La Rossa or did you have to dive right in due to a short production schedule?

SA: Well, this is it. She doesn’t know me, so we didn’t need a bond. But we did get some rehearsal time and she quickly proved that she was the best actor in the room. So, I was like, “Okay. Just do that.” But there’s not a lot of backstories because to do that, the way the story is, it would be too expositional. We just got to talk about it and it’s just a lot of talking. It’s more about who these characters are and how they relate to one another on the journey that they’re on. We discussed having some flashbacks to flesh out the backstory, but we just felt it didn’t need it. These characters, that’s who they are. This is the situation they’re in, and this is the journey they’re going on.

MF: Does having a compressed shooting schedule give you a feeling of urgency on the set, and does that translate onto the screen in the action sequences?

SA: You can’t second-guess yourself. If you decide something, you’ve got to go with it because there’s no time to do anything different. You’ve got to hopefully turn up with a tight script that’s ready to shoot if you start making a lot of changes. You always do, but you don’t want to make too many. As far as the action goes, it must be structured. There’s no room for rehearsal, there’s no room for improvisation. Marko designed the action, and it’s pre-vised in a gym. It’s pre-vised in a gym when we’ve got time and we’re not spending as much money to do it. Then we get to the location and then time is money. So, you’ve just got to shoot those pieces, and you want to stick to the structure of what that is, really.

MF: Can you talk about coordinating and shooting the action sequences with Marko Zaror?

SA: We wanted it to be gritty and realistic, to a degree. We want to put a bit of flash in there sometimes, but we didn’t want people flying around on wires or doing somersaults because it would take away from the tone of the movie. It’s important to know what the tone of the film is and stick to it with the action. So, the camera work fits in with that. It’s got a high shutter frame rate and gives it that gritty ‘Saving Private Ryan’ feel. It’s important to us to just let the camera show the action and not just turn into an edited mess. We’re quite good at that. We know what we’re doing. The one thing we don’t have and that we need is time, especially with the action sequences, because it just takes time to get the various angles. You can always do better, but it’s knowing on a budget like this, that, “Okay, that’s the best we’re going to get. Can we live with it? Okay, let’s move on.” Because we want quality action, but we also want a lot of it. When you’ve only got 22 days to shoot the movie, you can’t have everything the way you want it. But me and Marko are obviously very used to doing that sort of stuff.

MF: Can you talk about how action sequences and fight scenes have changed since the ‘John Wick’ series, and having worked on that franchise yourself, do you feel pressure to enhance the action and fight scenes that you are involved with?

SA: Yeah, it’s got better and better. Hollywood’s got better at making actors without martial arts experience look like they have martial arts experience. So, you can’t get away with just being a badass and not really being able to act anymore because that can make Brad Pitt look like a badass these days. Fight-wise, it’s hard not to copy people. When somebody comes along like Gareth Evans and creates a new style, you want to lean into that, ‘John Wick’ comes along with that style, and you want to lean in. It is hard to reinvent the wheel, but sometimes guys do it. Then when it does happen, it’s hard not to copy them because anything less looks dated. I’m really impressed when people find a new style, which I can’t say that I’ve come across yet. It’d be interesting to see what the new style is, whatever that will be.

MF: As someone who works closely with the stunt team, how do you feel about the recent news that the Academy Awards are introducing a stunt category in the future?

SA: It’s about damn time. These guys put their lives on the line. Obviously, they try to be as safe as possible. But nobody ever died sewing a costume as far as I’m aware. So, I think it’s high time that it happened. I’ll be interested to see how they structure it, because there’s so many different facets of stunt work. I think maybe that’s why it hasn’t happened for a bit. But yeah, I’m looking forward to it and these guys, they deserve it.

MF: Finally, you also have ‘The RIP’ coming out next year with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. What was it like working with them and making that movie?

SA: Wow, what a thrill. Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, incredible actors. Extremely smart guys. I played Ben’s brother in the movie. Joe Carnahan‘s the director. He wrote an incredible script. I don’t want to say too much about it, but it’s just a thrill to be working with the caliber of talent that I was able to work with. I’m looking forward to seeing the finished product.

Editorial Note: Don Kaye conducted this interview and contributed to this article.

What is the plot of ‘Diablo’?

After his release from prison, one man makes it his mission to right a terrible wrong by revealing a secret that could end his life. Scott Adkins stars as Kris Chaney, a warrior who seizes the daughter of a Colombian gangster to fulfill a noble promise to the young girl’s mother. When her father enlists both the criminal underworld and the terrifying psychotic killer El Corvo (Marko Zaror) to exact his revenge, Kris will need to draw upon everything he has ever learned — in and out of lockup — to stay alive and keep his word.

Who is in the cast of ‘Diablo’?

• Scott Adkins as Kris Chaney
• Marko Zaror as “El Corvo”
• Alana De La Rossa as Elisa
• Lucho Velasco as Vicente

List of Scott Adkins Movies:

• ‘The Bourne Ultimatum‘ (2007)
• ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine‘ (2009)
• ‘The Expendables 2‘ (2012)
• ‘Zero Dark Thirty‘ (2012)
• ‘The Legend of Hercules‘ (2014)
• ‘Criminal‘ (2016)
• ‘Doctor Strange‘ (2016)
• ‘American Assassin‘ (2017)
• ‘Accident Man‘ (2018)
• ‘Deadpool 2‘ (2018)
• ‘Ip Man 4: The Finale‘ (2020)
• ‘Day Shift‘ (2022)
• ‘Accident Man: Hitman’s Holiday‘ (2022)
• ‘John Wick: Chapter 4‘ (2023)
• ‘Lights Out‘ (2024)
• ‘The Killer’s Game‘ (2024)
• ‘Diablo‘ (2025)
• ‘The RIP‘ (2026)

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