Q: Let’s go over the scene where you and (Bruce) Willis (who plays Frank Moses) duke it out in Cooper’s office. Can you give me an idea about how much personal prep you had to do in terms of participating in scene choreography, physical regimen to make it believable and how you established the distinct fighting style differences between the two characters?
Urban: He (Willis) and I had seen a lot movies where the fights became almost like these karate matches that take away from what’s going on between the two characters and you forgot about what it was they were fighting for, so we looked to movies like the “Bourne” series or the “Transporter” series or even the new “Bond” films where it’s a much more technical way of fighting. They’re going at each other because it’s two guys who want to kill each other.
So we spent three weeks preparing for the scene, doing training and the choreography, and we spent ten days in this little room just going at each other. There was bloodshed and there were cuts and bruises for sure, we really went at each other. We really wanted to make it so that you’d be excited and that it was cool to watch but, at the same time, you’re never taken out of the movie and out of the characters because of it.
Q: Can you give me an idea about how you stylistically tried to differentiate between the two character’s styles of combat?
Urban: There’s a point where Moses says to Cooper that he trained the guy who trained Cooper, so their styles are very similar in how they fight, and it’s how Moses is always able to stay one step ahead.
Q: Did you get an opportunity to read the source material for “RED,” or was the aim to keep the movie separate from its entity?
Urban: (Director Robert) Schwentke never made us read it, he gave us the script, but I went back to the book to try and get a grasp of the character, and I read through it to get an idea of who Cooper was, and in the book you find out he’s pretty spare. There’s not a lot there, it’s a much darker tone to what’s happening with these characters in the film.
In the book he’s not really well-rounded, he doesn’t have a whole lot for him, but in the movie he’s got a wife and kids, and that adds this dimension for him that you don’t find in the book, and you find out what his wife and kids mean to him as a person in the film.
In the movie Cooper’s taking these orders while being kept in the dark, and he gets to question why he’s doing the things he’s doing. He’s working for the CIA but he’s doing these bad things, and as a result he has that development that comes with it. The Hoeber brothers (screenwriters) were really able to take a character and make him something more.
Q: Why were you drawn to Cooper as a character?
Urban: Cooper is the type of character where, there’s no doubt, he’s an antagonist at the beginning of the film, no doubt. He works for the CIA, he is a trained killer, and his job is to kill Frank Moses. What happens, though, is he faces this arc, and as an actor, that’s what you’re looking for, you’re looking for that journey for that character. Cooper is faced with these dilemmas of if he wants to take orders from the CIA the rest of his life, or if he’s going to be somebody who’s not afraid of making his own decisions, and at the end of the movie he’s in a very different place than where he began.
Q: How did the aspect of you being the younger actor playing the younger character amidst these older acting icons factor into the dynamic of the film?
Urban: When everyone else, like Bruce (Willis) and John (Malkovich), kind of have that room to have fun with their characters, Cooper is kind of the one who has to keep things serious. He’s kind of a balance to the other characters and is able to act as this force against which the other characters have to act against. There’s a conflict there, and while he keeps the chase going after Frank, he’s the one who’s stopping Frank and, in some ways, he keeps their part of the story from moving forward.
Cooper’s kind of at the center of everything that’s going on, he’s really the one who’s making these wheels turn. He’s in charge of hunting down Frank, and he’s going to do whatever he must to get that done. As the younger guy, it’s this other way of laying the differences between how he is and how Frank is.
Q: How did working with Schwentke on his first real foray into action and operating on a bigger scale compare to past experiences with directors like J.J. Abrams or Paul Greengrass?
Urban: As an actor, you look for somebody who is able to put the pieces of the puzzle together, somebody who’s focused and who’s able to keep everything together. Schwentke, he really saw the potential of this production, of where these characters could go, of where their stories could progress and what that would mean to the overall film. You need someone who is able to put the pieces together in his head, and reading the script I had trouble knowing what was going on, but Schwentke never let the potential get lost. He was at the front of the ship always steering us in the right direction.
Q: Certain sets can be demanding, but was “RED” a little more laid back and fun in making it, or surprisingly intense and more serious than the movie would suggest?
Urban: Of course there was room for improv here and there, and obviously with the cast at hand you’re going to have a certain degree of fun with what’s going on, just look at the poster! But when it comes down to getting to business and making it happen, we were on a tight schedule with not a lot of time to mess up, and we had to focus on what was going on, and yeah, you know, film sets can be fun, but when you’re working and everyone is keeping the production moving, filming is trench warfare, and you’re on the frontlines.
Q: Where do you see Cooper kind of going from here?
Urban: Hm… you know I think that we leave Cooper in a spot where he has a lot of options. Again, without really giving anything away, he and Moses leave with this understanding of each other, this silent sort of agreement between the two with what they’ve been through throughout the film. I think that Cooper is tired of taking orders and, at the end, he takes control of who he is, of where his life is going and what he wants to do. He’s in charge, and I think that’s a very exciting position to be in, with a lot of potential for where he’s able to go from here.
Contact the reporter at vburnton@asu.edu
