Kevin Bacon

Emmanuel Itier: So what made you want to do this movie–just to unleash the rage within, or also do a movie with a message?

Kevin Bacon: Both! It’s true that lately I had done lots of “cerebral” work, and so I thought it was time to have some fun and get physical and kick some ass! Given that, I thought the script was incredibly emotional. I thought it was something that had many layers of understanding and that I could sink my teeth into it. In this genre of action, there is lots of emotion. Also, as an actor, you like the transformation process–take a character and bring him from one point to another.

EI: We both have kids, and the movie is about revenge–about a father who wants to seek justice in his own terms. What would you do if this would happen to you? Would you let “justice” handle it, or get into the war?

KB: I would hope I would let justice handle it! But again, who knows. When you have children, the feelings of losing them could be so intense that this is really hard to know for a fact what you would do in the same situation. What you see in this movie is that there is a price to pay when you answer violence with violence. My character is totally messed up and his family totally destroyed by the end of the film. His life is ruined, and so I think we are not glorifying the vigilante aspect of it. There is a price to pay.

Kelly Preston: This is why I took this film, because there is such a question about what you would do in the same situation. What is unique about this movie is that it doesn’t glorify violence. It forces you to look morally at what decisions you would make. And when you see someone like that who has lost his moral compass and what he does, it does affect you. We live in a difficult world and we are sometimes faced with difficult decisions. I think this movie explores this in a unique way.

EI: What do you think about our society that has gone totally mad and lacks completely of communication and genuine, loving relationships?

KB: I guess so…I think there is a frustration that people feel about the world spinning out of control and not being able to do anything about it. There is certainly a level of anger out there, and I can understand it.

KP: This is true, it’s a difficult society to live in, but at the same time, the movie shows that violence is not the solution to your problems. Violence does not work–”an eye for an eye makes the world go blind!” One of the other characters played by Aisha Tyler says, “Everybody in a war thinks they are right.” And that can be true. Yet communication is the key to solving a lot. Maybe it does not solve everything, but it’s a beginning.

EI: Can a film like this help people think and act differently? Or is it that we need a new kind of leadership to lead the world?

KP: It’s both. We need both. A film like this can help a little bit and reach people and show them there is a different way to act on your anger than use violence as an answer. Also, for sure it’s about leadership, and we need to be responsible for the people we vote for. In a war, there is no winne,r and the movie shows that we all pay the price in a war.

EI: The movie is about having your life disrupted. When was the last time this happened to you–to have your life upside down?

KP: Well, for sure when I had my kids, but this was in a good way. But recently, a couple of years ago, I lost my father and it did affect me a lot. It was very difficult. We were very close. But it was an incredible experience because at the end, it made me realize there was something beyond death, and I gave him permission to let go–it’s okay to go. It was beautiful in a way, but it did change my life totally.