Hollywood Central: 'Red' Stars Bruce Willis, Karl Urban Trained To Look 'Brutal'

Sunday, October 17, 2010

'Red' Stars Bruce Willis, Karl Urban Trained To Look 'Brutal'

'We represented the graphic part of the graphic novel,' actors say about fight scenes in 'Red,' opening Friday.
By Kara Warner, with reporting by Josh Horowitz

Bruce Willis and Mary-Louise Parker in "Red"
Photo: Summit Entertainment

Judging from the various "Red" clips and trailers, it seems as though Bruce Willis and co. had a great time making the film, particularly with all the action scenes involving gunplay, CIA training, etc.

When MTV News caught up with Willis and his co-star Karl Urban recently, we asked them about the training they had, and for details about a particularly intense fight sequence between their two characters. (In the film, Willis is a retired black ops agent forced to get back into the game after being targeted for assassination.)

"We had an opportunity to talk to a guy who actually worked in the CIA, and was alive and worked during the time that you were allowed to kill.' Willis explained. " 'A license to kill'. [It was a] very special time, and ... we got to talk to him, and he told us some things that were shocking — shocking."

Given Willis' general reputation for portraying bad asses, we wondered if Urban learned any special tips or tricks from his co-star.

"There are many things," Urban admitted. "I have to say I had a really great time working with Bruce on this.

"We had a fight scene that was probably the most gritty, arduous, difficult, intense two weeks of my life. We gave each other a really good crack; we really did. It was all done within the bounds of safety, but I felt very grateful to be working with him. The most fun I've had was throwing Bruce around an office, smashing stuff up."

Willis added that during the pivotal scene, the room was overrun with testosterone.

"We were in a room full of guys that all had the same like mindset," he explained. "We all wanted it to look brutal and be brutal. No one came in on those nights we were working and said, 'Now, look you guys, this is too brutal.' ... We represented the graphic part of the graphic novel."

Based on Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner's 2003 comic book, "Red" hits theaters Friday.

Check out everything we've got on "Red."

For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com.

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