Fans of"True Blood"will likely remember Australian actor Ryan Kwanten from his time playing Jason Stackhouse.
He’s now taking on the role of action hero in the dark indie thriller “Section 8.”
In the film, Kwanten plays Jake Atherton, a former soldiersuffering from PTSDafter coming home.
During an exclusive interview with The List, Kwanten discussed what it was like to work on the film.
What was that like for you as an actor?
It was actually a combination of losses.
It was something that was on his watch that he could have affected the result of.
Then, several years later, he’s still carrying that PTSD.
How does one deal with that grieving of the human condition?
That was the hardest part, staying in that psychological zone.
It was like an open wound that could never heal.
That was the mentality.
How did you prepare for that role?
What kind of things did he do?
I wanted specific details on that.
How do you maintain a bond with your wife and kids while you are deployed?
How do you carry on once they’re gone?
You’re not supposed to outlive your kid.
The decisions that you make when you’re in that state …
Were you inspired by any other characters for how you wanted to play that aspect of it?
Yeah more in a Bruce Willis, “Die Hard” punch in of a way as opposed to …
The original “Rambo” was all right.
But after those [sequels] get a little bit more brawn than brain, I check out.
What was it like filming the action scenes?
You said that wasn’t too challenging for you.
Look, it was a hell of a lot of fun.
You’d come up with all sorts of crazy things.
Now we’ve got the finances behind us to make a lot of those dreams become a reality.
I felt well taken care of on that set, too.
We had some great armorers.
Would he be part of a Section 8 sequel?
What was the most challenging aspect of making this film?
On any independent movie, you only have a certain amount of days and money.
This was another race against time, but in a beautiful way.
Fortunately, we were shooting in the director’s hometown.
His family had their heels in the ground there for some time.
I’m really proud of it, actually.
It’s a real powerhouse movie.
The way the film ended seems like there could be a sequel.
Would you be interested in making one if that opportunity came up?
I’d want to be there from the seed of the idea and see what we can do.
I’m not a huge fan of rehashes, sequels, prequels, and all that stuff.
I’ve never really done it before in my career.
I’m a huge fan of original ideas and original thoughts.
For me, it would have to virtually be a new character.
In a weird way, he kind of is at the very end.
I’ll broach it, but a lot of it’s going to come down to the story.
He was someone that, by the end of chapter one, he’d lost his moral compass.
By the end of the movie, he’s found that again.
He’s had the s*** kicked out of him enough to knock some sense into him.
Did this role feel different for you from past films and TV shows you’ve been in?
That’s a pretty star-studded cast.
I worked really well with him.
It was a real guiding effort.
Section 8 will be in theaters, on digital, and streaming on AMC+ September 23, 2022.
This interview was edited for clarity.
