Frank Grillo is a soldier with a troubled past who must fight to rebuild his family inLong Gone Heroes. Following his breakout roles inWarrior, The GreyandKingdom, Grillo has become one of the most recognizable faces in the action genre over the past decade, having starred in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Brock Rumlow/Crossbones, the time-looping action-comedyBoss Leveland indie thrillerCopshop. Grillo’s talents have also extended to a variety of other genres, includingthe more horror-drivenPurgefranchiseand the crime dramaBody Brokers.
Grillo stars inLong Gone Heroesas Gunner, the leader of a special operations team who has been grappling with the death of his brother over the past 10 years, especially as his sister-in-law has kept him from seeing his niece. When she comes to him to ask for help with saving his niece, who’s now an investigative journalist, after she’s kidnapped in South America while investigating an illegal private contracting operation, Gunner must assemble his team of specialists, and the son of one of his former team members, to go south and rescue her in the hopes of salvaging his family.
Every Movie Coming To Theaters In September 2024
September 2024 will see the return of Beetlejuice, a new Transformers movie, Francis Ford Coppola’s latest project, and a lot more.
Alongside Grillo, the ensembleLong Gone Heroescast includesFive Nights at Freddy’s' Josh Hutcherson,Yellowstone’s Eden Brolin,Lights Out’s Mekhi Phifer, Oscar winner Melissa Leo, and Oscar nominee Andy Garcia. Hailing from co-writer/director John Swab, the movie proves to be more than a routine military extraction thriller, instead following in the footsteps of classics likeApocalypse Nowby being just as much about a character-driven saga as an exciting action blockbuster.
In honor of the movie’s release,Screen Rantinterviewed Frank Grillo to discussLong Gone Heroes, how he brought John Swab onboard to salvage the movie’s original script, the speedbump they encountered when production was shut down halfway through, getting to reunite with many members of the cast, and a brief tease of his DC Universe future.
“…we didn’t know what was going to happen.”
Screen Rant: I’m really stoked to get to chat with you forLong Gone Heroes, it felt so different from so many action war movies we see, in that it’s far more introspective and far more character-driven. I’d love to hear what it was about the script and your character that really drew you to want to be a part of it?
Frank Grillo: Well, it’s an interesting journey with this movie. I got my buddy John Swab, who I’ve made five movies with, to direct it and come in and fix the script, because it was a little wonky. And we were in Puerto Rico shooting the movie, and then the movie got shut down because of a money situation, and we didn’t know what was going to happen. And four or five months later, we got the call that it was back up, only in Columbia, and then we went and we kind of cobbled the movie together. And this is how amazing this guy is as a director, and my buddy Kevin, who edited the movie, who’s Joe Carnahan and I’s editor, it was a tough road to put the two parts together and make it kind of seamless and have it shift some scenes. To hear you say you watched it, you dug it. What was it like? You have no idea. It means a whole lot more than the average movie. So, that being said, it was an amazing thing. Once John got his hands on it and fixed the script, and we created these characters. It was an amazing thing to then go and shoot this movie, because it was so much more than just an extraction movie. You know what I mean?
Grillo’s Familiarity With His Cast Made Build A Rapport Easy
“…I think they did a great job of some comic relief…”
I love the rapport that you have with your main cast of characters, and I’d love to hear what it was like building that dynamic with everyone, especially since there was such a crazy schedule with the shooting?
Frank Grillo: Yeah, another great question. I’ve worked with Beau Knapp, and I’ve worked with George Carroll before, also with John Swab, Josh Hutcherson, came in, and I think killed it. And it was really great, because my job was not to be their friend. My job was to be their captain, the leader, so the other stuff was left to them, and I think they did a great job of some comic relief, because it’s a heavy movie. It’s kind of a heavy movie. Specifically, Beau Knapp and George Carroll, they had a good banter. And Hutchinson came in, and I gotta tell you, he’s got a place in this action world. I believe everything he does, he’s got a vulnerability to him. So, it was really fun finding all that, and creating this together, and then, pulling off whatever action we need to pull off. All the while, half the time, not knowing what we were going to do, because we were kind of fixing a movie that was in trouble. It’s a great story. I wish people who saw the movie knew the story to the movie.
We’re gonna get that story out, because I think people are gonna be extra intrigued to see how the movie turned out.Last we spoke was forLights Out, and I love that you get to reunite with Mekhi for this, and you get an outright fight this time, instead of being friendly. I’d love to hear how closely these two movies were when they were shot, and about putting that fight together.
Frank Grillo: Yeah, so with Mekhi, it was a smaller role, but a pivotal role. And in the first part of the movie that we had to rewrite, because it went down, Mekhi’s role was a little different, a little bit bigger, but I think it was more impactful in the second half of what you’re seeing. And it was great doing that fight. It was all me and him. My stuntman, Greg Fitzpatrick, went over the table, but for the most part, it was Mekhi and I, and we had such good fun playing with that. I think it came out great. Again, John and Kevin, Kevin Hale was a super editor. He’s cut, like, five of my movies. He fixed the whole movie, and he made that fight fast and furious and raw. And I’m happy with it, it really came out great.
I’d also love to hear about working with Melissa Leo in this film, because there’s a lot of animosity between those two characters, and I’d love to hear about exploring that relationship with her, as well as just getting to the heart of it yourself.
Frank Grillo: Yeah, Melissa and I had worked together on a John Swab movie, Ida Red. I love Melissa. She’s one of the best actors out there, Oscar actress. She’s the real deal. We talked a lot about, again, part of the movie that we shot in Puerto Rico didn’t make it on the screen, and we had to kind of finagle the story and why we were there. So, some of what you’re seeing, again, is cobbled together by John Swab, and we had to fix it. And I know, they’re going to probably say, “Why’d you have to tell them?” Because it’s an important part. This is the narrative of how we got the movie made. It’s an important part of the movie. It was so great, then, to banter with her, and she’s got a vulnerability about her, and she’s come to me with this. She’s kind of swallowed her pride and come to me with this dilemma about my niece, who I have not seen. So, there’s a lot of history that we have to get out to the audience without spending too much time doing it. But the way, I think, it lands in the film, you kind of understand that this family’s been broken apart, and now there’s a chance for it to be brought back together, if I can save a life. So it’s fun movie stuff, it’s why we go to the movies.
Long Gone HeroesIs A True Tale Of Redemption For Multiple Characters
There Was Once An Alternate Ending For The Movie
Do you feel that animosity came because she didn’t let your character see his niece after his brother died? Or do you think it was there even before that?
Frank Grillo: No, I think what happens is, my brother dies. My brother went down, and I’m a special ops guy. I lost my s–t a bit, and my brother went down, and I wasn’t in a good space, and she didn’t want her child around me. Probably a good idea, right? Probably a good idea. I’m a dangerous guy who’s off kilter, so once the separation starts, it just kind of builds, and 10 years go by. Now, I can follow her, because she’s a senator, but I’ve not seen my girl, and there’s a lot of guilt, and there’s a lot of shame on my part, and it’s tough to get all of that across, but that’s what’s happening. That was the baseline of our relationship, when she comes to me, and you see her in my garage.
It’s such a great tale of redemption for both of your characters as, like you say, she has to swallow her pride, she has to try and take accountability for her actions, and then you have to really help mend this family back together.
Frank Grillo: You know, there was a version of this movie where, at the end, she’s got the tape, and we’re on the river, and we don’t know what happens. And then John kind of figured, “No, that’s not good enough. The audience has earned this, and Melissa needs to come clean.” So, I love the way he pulled that together, and he’s such a great filmmaker. He’s got a movie with Ben Foster and my buddy James Badge Dale, that was just in Venice. It just shot him out of a cannon. I think he’s having meetings right now in LA with CAA and William Morris and Netflix and all the agencies. So, you’re going to hear a lot about John Swab.
James Gunn Is Keeping The DCU Timeline Even From His Actors “By Design”
“Guardians is a small thing compared to what this guy has in mind for DC.”
I see I’m almost out of time, so before I let you go, I did also want to ask really quickly. I love that you are popping up inso much DC Universe stuffcoming up, but they’re all very different projects. I don’t want to get you in trouble, but I’d love to know, can you tell me how the timeline is going to work out for those three different appearances?
Frank Grillo: I know, as far as timeline, Creature Commandos hits in December, and then as far as Superman and Peacemaker, that’s out in 2025. They haven’t told us anything by design. James Gunn is cutting everything right now, I’m about to go finish the last couple of episodes with James directing on Peacemaker, and that’s about as much as I could say. It’s all Rick Flag, it’s all the same character throughout, which I love. I could not be more appreciative to James and Peter Safran. These guys are running DC now, and they’ve brought me into this fold in a big way. I think fans are going to be blown away by the mind of James Gunn. He’s been let free. Guardians is a small thing compared to what this guy has in mind for DC. So stay tuned.
AboutLong Gone Heroes
Gunner, a special forces soldier who has witnessed the darkest side of country and combat, is forced back into the field of battle to save his niece, who is being held in South America. As the fight intensifies, Gunner and his team discover that her disappearance is part of a corrupt private operation that hits way too close to home. Acclaimed actors Andy Garcia, Melissa Leo, Josh Hutcherson and Frank Grillo star in a non-stop action thriller that will leave you breathless.
Long Gone Heroesis now in theaters and on digital platforms and VOD!
Long Gone Heroes
Cast
Gunner, a battle-hardened special forces soldier, returns to action to rescue his niece in South America. He and his team uncover a corrupt private operation linked to her disappearance, revealing ties that hit close to home.
