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Joining movie legends Sylvester Stallone and Robert De
Niro in Warner Bros.’ new comedy “Grudge Match” are three character actors who
are at the peak of their game. They are Oscar-winner Alan Arkin (“Little Miss
Sunshine,” “Argo”), Kevin Hart (“Little Fockers”) and Jon Bernthal (TV’s “The
Walking Dead”).
That was
just the beginning of what producer Bill Gerber calls “a fantastic cast.”
He says, “The great thing about this movie is we got every first choice that we
went after for each role.”
In “Grudge
Match,” De Niro and Stallone play Billy “The Kid” McDonnen and Henry “Razor”
Sharp, two local Pittsburgh fighters whose fierce rivalry put them in the national
spotlight. Each had scored a victory against the other during their
heyday, but in 1983, on the eve of their decisive third match, Razor suddenly
announced his retirement, refusing to explain why but effectively delivering a
knock-out punch to both their careers. Thirty years later, boxing
promoter Dante Slate, Jr., seeing big dollar signs, makes them an offer they
can’t refuse: to re-enter the ring and settle the score once and for all.
Kevin Hart: It is
Hart’s character, Dante Slate, Jr., who is the catalyst that sets the story
into motion. Hart was perfect for the role of the fast-talking son of the
flamboyant, late boxing promoter Dante Slate, Sr. Dante Jr. didn’t
inherit any money from his father, but he did inherit his famous name—and hustler
instincts.
Kevin Hart
says, “What made me say yes to the opportunity to work with these
legends? It was a no brainer: Robert De Niro, Sylvester Stallone, Alan
Arkin, Kim Basinger. Look at the company I’m in. And I’m watching
‘Rocky’ fight ‘Raging Bull.’ What movie fan, what boxing fan, what actor
is not going to want to see that, or be part of it?”
Alan Arkin: Director
Segal says Razor’s relationship with his longtime friend and former boxing
trainer, Louis “Lightning” Conlon, played by Arkin, was adjusted to nurture the
father-son elements. The director, who had worked with Arkin on the 2008
film “Get Smart,” reached out to the actor to see if he would be interested in
the role.
Surprisingly,
during his 50 years as an actor, Arkin had never met nor worked with either De
Niro or Stallone before. “It’s always a surprise. Every time I
think I know somebody from looking at their work twenty times, I end up having
my mouth down to my knees. I had no idea what to expect, working with
icons like Sly and Bob.”
The veteran
actor was duly impressed. “I’ve never seen anybody work so hard in my
life,” says Arkin about Stallone. “He’s 150 years old,” he jokes, “and he
doesn’t stop! He just doesn’t stop.”
Stallone
loved working with Arkin, whose stories and jokes kept him laughing on set and
off. “Alan Arkin can be hysterical with just a look, but when he talks
he’s even funnier,” says Stallone. “He’s such a talented, intelligent,
interesting guy. I wish we could record what we talked about away from camera.
I get his humor, he gets mine and we’re just shameless. We have
fun. If you got nothin’ nice to say about anybody, sit next to
us.”
Jon
Bernthal: As Kid struggles with his diet and workout routine,
he quickly finds no one at the Killshot Gym believes in him. No one is
really helping Kid, until a young man comes in and starts offering some
advice. When he introduces himself, he tells him, “I’m your son.”
Actor Jon
Bernthal reveals that at first, the filmmakers “weren’t exactly sure about what
they wanted from BJ. Did his estrangement from his father mean that he
couldn’t be like him? I thought it would be interesting to put energy
into having BJ be the same kind of a guy as Kid, with the same sense of humor
and aggression, and the same way of handling himself. But the fundamental
difference between these characters is that, where Kid had a son and bailed, BJ
sticks around and raises his son on his own. That’s the role of his life,
being a father, and it’s something that he believes in very much.”
BJ proved to
be the film’s only casting search. Not only did the actor need to
resemble De Niro, but the character had some of the most dramatic scenes in
what was otherwise a comedy film.
Gerber
discovered Bernthal while staying in Washington, D.C. and visiting a hotel
gym. As he tells it, while passing by a table, the cover of one of the
city’s local glossy magazines caught his eye and he thought casually, “‘It’s
Robert De Niro in ‘Raging Bull.’ But then, I looked closer and realized
it wasn’t. And not only did Jon look like a young De Niro, he’s a really
great boxer. He’s been a revelation. It was a real score to find
Jon.”
Bernthal
says he was aware of the familiarity. “I had heard a few times before
shooting that I looked like him, and I’m just glad the powers that be agreed.”
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