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Brock O’Hurn: way more than just eye candy and totally worth seeing in ‘The Resort’

Earlier this week, I had the privilege of chatting with Brock O’Hurn who stars in The Resort, a 2021 horror movie written and directed by Taylor Chien starring Bianca Haase, Michael Vlamis, and Michelle Randolph, a new movie release out now in select theaters and available On Demand.

In The Resort, four friends head to Hawaii to investigate reports of a haunting at an abandoned resort in hopes of finding the infamous Half-Faced Girl. When they arrive, they soon learn you should be careful what you wish for. 

Watch The Resort trailer here:

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In the movie, Brock O’Hurn plays Chris, boyfriend to Lex, who wants to write a paranormal book about the “Half-Faced Girl.” Most of the movie is filmed on location in Hawaii at an actual abandoned resort that was set to be demolished in just a few months. Locals claim that the resort was built on Hawaiian burial grounds and many of the horrifying moments in the movie are inspired by real stories shared.

So, who is Brock O’Hurn?

You may know Brock O’Hurn as the guy who popularized the man bun a few years back. Maybe you remember him from TLC’s Too Close To Home series, or Tyler Perry’s BOO! A Madea Halloween (he was the Horse). Or maybe you recognize his face when he made an appearance as “The Super Hot Warrior Man” in Season 1 Episode 3 of Euphoria

Brock O’Hurn’s 2.4 million Instagram followers love him for his workout tips, man bun goals, and inspirational overlanding camping trips in his truck.


 
 
 
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My interview with Brock O’Hurn made me realize he’s way more than just eye candy. There’s a bright future ahead for this Hollywood actor.

Brock O’Hurn on filming at an actually abandoned resort: “It felt like anything could happen at any moment”

When asked about what it was like to film at an actual resort, Brock O’Hurn says it “was equal parts beautiful and enjoyable and then creepy and dark.” 

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Since many of the shots take place after dark, the crew was oftentimes on set until 5 in the morning. “It felt like anything could happen at any moment,” Brock O’Hurn recalls. “You wake up, and you look outside and…you’re in beautiful Hawaii, the weather’s perfect, and then you go to the resort…and you’re like, this place is creeeeepy! Like what is going on right now?!”

Still, Brock O’Hurn and the rest of the crew felt that shooting on location added a lot to the movie. “I think it made the story that much better too…we weren’t CGIing some full set, that was really the place, and we got super lucky to find somewhere like that.”


I asked if he was ever scared while filming. “Oh yeah. I wanna be a tough guy and say no but yes, definitely.” 

Honestly, it’s tougher to admit you’re scared than lie about it in my opinion! Brock O’Hurn recalls how for some scenes, he had to run halfway across the resort, hiding in a dark alley or hallway until someone yelled “cut.” He was left completely alone in a dead quiet deserted area in the middle of the night. 

“Please don’t let anything come behind me, I don’t wanna feel anything, I don’t wanna see anything, it’s getting real cold over here,” he recalls thinking while waiting for the shots to be complete. “Like get me outta here!”

When asked if he was ever truly scared while filming, he said there were “definitely some scary moments,” going on to say “You know I’m tough, I wasn’t really scared,” with a touch of sarcasm.

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Brock O’Hurn’s personal encounters with the paranormal helped bring his character to life

In The Resort, Brock O’Hurn plays Chris, whose girlfriend Lex is all about the paranormal, with plans to write a book about the “Half-Faced Girl.” Chris seems onboard with the whole thing, but what about Brock O’Hurn’s own beliefs about the paranormal?

Turns out he’s a total believer. “I like to say there’s so much that science can prove but there’s also so much that science doesn’t even understand or can’t even comprehend yet…there’s just too many accounts of seeing paranormal activity.”

Brock O’Hurn has his very own paranormal story from the very first place he rented in L.A. on Hollywood Boulevard, which he says “was for sure haunted.” He remembers that two of the upstairs doors would randomly shut, the deadbolts locking from the inside when there was nobody inside to close them. They had a locksmith come to fix the doors, duct-taping the locks so he could work on the doors while trying to fix them, but they ended up shutting and locking through the duct tape. 

“I was like, yeah, that’s time for me to go guys, nice living with ya, I’m gonna find another place,” he recalls about the spooky situation.

When asked if his own paranormal account impacted his performance as Chris, he said “definitely, because it’s something I already believe in.”

Brock O’Hurn wasn’t the only believer on set. Hawaiian locals, security guards, and crew members saw “weird things here and there” that made it all feel more real. “By the time you get to the point where something crazy’s happening in the film…I think we can get through these scenes right now and you’re gonna believe it,” he explains.

It really did seem like Brock O’Hurn and the rest of the cast were truly scared at times!

Do you have your own scary story? Share it with us on TikTok.

I don’t know what’s scarier, The Resort itself or having to film everything in under 3 weeks

Since the resort was set to be demolished at a certain date, the crew had a very short amount of time to get everything shot. 

“There was so much we had to achieve in such a small amount of time that even the days off became our on days,” Brock O’Hurn recalls. “The coolest thing is that…everybody was so fun, so collaborative, so kind, and so easy to work with that were like look, we all know that there’s no coming back from this. Let’s get it done now, whatever it takes.”


Despite the short window of time to film, the four main actors had really natural chemistry right away. “It’s not always the case, but the fact that we came together not knowing each other and immediately had chemistry? It was so cool,” Brock O’Hurn says. He recalls that he and fellow actor Michael Vlamis (who plays Sam) had a lot of fun behind the scenes, so much so that he claims that their “brotherly love” could be its own entertaining show.

“I might be physically big everywhere, but [Michael Vlamis’s] claim to fame is his calves,” Brock O’Hurn says while laughing. “He won’t stop talking about those things!”

(stay tuned for a follow up with Michael Vlamis about his calves, lol)

Brock O’Hurn is not just an actor – he can produce, too

The Resort is Brock O’Hurn’s first movie with associate producer credits. 

“It was a lot of fun not just being an actor,” he says. “I do love producing and that’s something I’m going to continue to do for the rest of my career.”

Producing gave Brock O’Hurn a chance to creatively think beyond his role, “bringing things to light that maybe somebody had missed…thinking of things in a new way,” or simply trying something because they’re shooting at “this crazy place” where there’s room for experimentation despite the tight timeline.

“It wasn’t just acting,” he says. “It was…how do we make it the best it can be?”

We’re curious to see what else Brock O’Hurn might help produce in the future.

So, what’s next for Brock O’Hurn?

Brock O’Hurn is staying busy, with aspirations to keep making movies and TV shows and three projects coming out later this year. One of the projects is a movie called Desperate Riders, a Western film, which is a genre that has always interested him. He also thinks he’ll fit into action “just fine” and I have to agree. Brock O’Hurn would be the perfect fit for a superhero or some other action-packed blockbuster.

“[I’m] just gonna keep the train rolling, you know? See what opportunities come, what opportunities I can create, and hopefully, you know this time next year we’re interviewing again for a film that I made!”

I hope so too, and I was also super curious about the implication of a film written by Brock O’Hurn himself. Apparently, he’s been working on his own psychological thriller with a “massive horror side to it.”

“I put a lot of heart into it as well, for me, it’s got a very deep underlying meaning, but it’s gonna have a lot of craziness in it too,” he says.

It seems like Brock O’Hurn puts his heart into everything he does, saying he wants to focus on projects “that tell stories that need to be heard… about topics that need to be talked about…and if we can shed a light on things that really matter, I think that’s what it really is all about, while entertaining at the same time, being captivating,” he says. “Those are things that I truly want to be a part of.”

We can’t wait to see what Brock O’Hurn does next, and he can’t wait for other people to see The Resort!

This interview has been edited condensed for clarity.

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