Imagine a Steven Seagal movie where he foils the bad guys’ plans simply by being in the right place at the right time.
Sound familiar?
Seagal‘s newest action thriller Half Past Dead definitely has his stamp on it. The story pits prison inmates, led by the resourceful Russian car thief Sascha Petrosevitch (Seagal), against some corrupt cops who break into a new, high-tech Alcatraz to spring a death row prisoner who knows the whereabouts of $200 million in gold.
Hollywood.com talked with co-stars Morris Chestnut, the head honcho of the bad guys code-named “49er One,” and Tony Plana, the tough-nut prison warden, and got the skinny on what it was like making this action flick, working with the ever-mysterious Seagal and the appeal of prison movies.
The Thrill of It All
Tony Plana, a Latin actor best known for the hit Showtime cable show Resurrection Blvd. and films such as Lone Star and An Officer and a Gentlemen, says he was excited to do an action film.
“I’ve never done an action picture of this nature before,” he says. “It’s a whole different sensibility. It’s not a character-driven piece, which I am used to, and I wanted to experience the feel of that. It’s almost like being in a cartoon in many ways.”
Plana‘s prison warden is tough but fair, qualities that appealed to the actor. . “That’s one of the reasons I liked [the part],” he tells us. “It wasn’t the stereotypical, imperial, condescending, sadomasochistic warden that you see in all these prison movies. Here’s a guy who came from the same environment but who just happened to take the high road.”
Most of the prison inmates, however, tower over Plana, who is an actor of shorter stature. “Stature is a question of will power,” he jokes. “I love that and have always loved that. I’ve always done these kind of characters, sort of Napoleonic. But my characters are always right in their faces.”
Bad to the Bone
Morris Chestnut, who until now has portrayed more suave, good-looking romantic leads in films such as The Brothers and Two Can Play That Game, gets to explore his evil side in Half Past Dead. The good looks are still there, but he’s bad to the bone.
“When you are the lead in a romantic comedy, you have to worry about people really liking you,” Chestnut reveals. You don’t want to say or do anything that would offend someone. But when you are the bad guy and offend someone, great! There’s no restrictions on what you can do or say ’cause people should really want you to meet your demise.”
“I just felt like it was something I really wanted to do,” Chestnut adds. “You can become really pigeon-holed in this industry. Some people make a career out of doing one thing, but I wanted to diversify my body of work.”
Talking Trash and Kicking…
Chestnut‘s one complaint about his role in Half Past Dead is that he couldn’t cuss. “I couldn’t use any profanity,” he says. “They wouldn’t let me. I wanted to punctuate some of my thoughts and feelings, but they wanted the PG-13 rating.”
Plana thinks it works to Chestnut‘s advantage. “Somehow, it makes it more powerful that he doesn’t [curse] because he doesn’t need it. He has enough personal power he doesn’t have to curse about it.”
“I love the fact that [director] Don [Michael Paul] depicted the violence they way he did,” Plana continues. “He took all the blood out of it–all the gore–and stylized it. So a lot of those fights are like watching dances. And when you add the music, it’s an action-thriller combined with a music video. I think young people are going to dig it.”
“I’m taking my 12-year-old son to the premiere. He told his mother, ‘Forget it, Mom, I’m going.'”
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Working With Seagal
As for the elusive Mr. Seagal, well, he certainly made an impression on both actors.
“[Seagal] kept to himself mostly, but he was warm to me,” Plana says. “He’s a Latino-phile. The first thing he said to me was in Spanish…. [He] loves Latin food, Latin music. He is actually an accomplished guitarist…and heactually did a benefit concert during the filming, in Germany.”
Plana, however, knows little else about Seagal. “He’s very mysterious. He’s always telling people different stories about where he comes from–Japan, Mississippi Delta, the south side of Chicago, the hard-knock streets of Detroit. He likes to keep people on their toes. He’s a legend in his own mind, Mr. Seagal.”
Chestnut sums it up. “When you talk about action, that’s what he personifies. A lot of people respect him. He really, truly does know his stuff in regards to martial arts. He isn’t one to get with a fight choreographer and learns the moves.”
What’s With Prison Movies?
Chestnut explains the prison movie phenomenon this way, “It’s like a window to a world most people have never seen,” he says. “To be able to experience it without actually living it in real life makes it appealing. So many different characters in prison. Rapists, murderers, embezzlers. So many different varieties. People you don’t come across in everyday life. And I guess, wouldn’t really want to. But in the movies? Yeah.”
Plana continues this train of thought. “I think part of it is experiencing a world that’s dangerous, that’s undesirable, that’s forbidden in a way you’d never want to be exposed to,” he says. “I think people are also fascinated by the relationships in there, the characters in there. These outcasts, these non-conformists, that don’t fit into normal life. People are fascinated by the microcosm of this world.”
Half Past Dead opens in theaters Nov. 15.
