Given that its about two mightily proportioned men kicking and punching each other, its certainly possible.
Joel Edgerton:You could see how fit we were when we finished.
I always kept myself fairly fit.
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Tom Hardy:Yes.
JE:…which would have been weird.
TH:No, not really.
JE:You sort of plan properly, in a way.
But leading up to the blocks of fighting, when we were fighting…
TH:Shirts off day.
There was a shirts off day, wasnt there?
T-X minus 30 minutes is, like shirts off day.
It was, like, three, two, one, go!
It was a definite shirt off day.
Tom, your characters quite hunched over and aggressive, for example.
Was that just something that came about naturally?
I did a lot more wrestling and ju-jitsu than Toms character, so our regimes reflected that.
Do you pay any attention to it?
TH:Well, the thing is, thats… got to be normalised, hasnt it?
What does that mean?
And at the end of the day, Ive been doing this job for twelve years.
I havent noticed anything else.
I think theres not been any fallout or paparazzi chasing me, or hitting reporters or anything like that.
Im ultimately quite boring.
Do you still live in the UK?
My sons here, and he lives with his mum and her husband.
And Im not going anywhere, because my little boys here.
So the bottom line is, how am I handling it?
Im just as lairy as I always was.
Speaking of hitting reporters, did either of you get injured while making the film?
JE:My shining moment was getting my MCL ligament torn on a grade three tear.
I had six weeks of rehab for that.
Apart from that, the odd elbow or punch in the face.
Everyone was getting knocked around.
You couldnt really be an actor in this process without getting knocked around.
TH:There wasnt any room to act, was there?
It was so annoying.
[Laughs] I want to act, but he keeps hitting me!
As Gavin said, Its a fuckin MMA movie!
Its not a fuckin kite flying movie, now man up!
[Laughs]
JE:He literally said that, one day.
JE:It was definitely the brief.
Gavin said, going in, I expect this, this and this.
TH:But you say yes, dont you?
Its like, when someone asks you, Can you ride a horse?
youll always say, Of course I can.
And later, theyll say, Heres a horse.
And youll just go, [high-pitched shriek].
[Laughter]
Were you familiar with MMA before the film?
JE:No, I didnt know much about it all.
Through the eyes of any film, you get to learn and enter a world.
That was our introduction to MMA was this crash course in becoming a fighter.
[Nervous titters all round] OnThe Wettest County In The World.Apparently.
Thats not true, though?
TH:No, he did.
He, he knocked me out sparko.
Knocked me out cold.
Hes a bad, bad boy.
But anyway, previous to, err… [Laughter]
….he did.
Hes quite intimidating as well.
Hes a scary dude.
Why were you fighting Shia LaBeouf?
TH:He just attacked me.
But anyway… [Raucous, baffled laughter] He was drinkin moonshine.
I was wearing a cardigan.
I woke up in [personal trainer] Pnuts arms.
He was concerned for me.
I was like, What was that?
It was lightning fast!
He was like, That was Shy.
Can we go home now?
No, weve still got three weeks to finish.
When we were doingBlack Hawk Down, we used to watch it on TV.
We used to laugh about it, because it was so fuckin brutal.
But I never really trained.
But you had a black belt in something, didnt you?
JE:Yeah, I had a black belt in Shotokan as a kid.
TH:Didnt help you, though, did it?
At the same time, when you get into the ring, its a completely different gig.
JE:Yeah, totally different.
What was the training process like?
JE:Eight weeks of seven AM until about three or four in the afternoon everyday.
JE:A bit of pulled pork!
Pulled pork jokes never get old.
[Laughs] And its true!
Pulled pork jokes neverdoget old.
JE:Chicken, like, clean chicken and broccoli.
Then in the afternoon wed lift weights.
So it was a full day dedicated to our bodies and our skillset.
That got us prepared for the beginning of filming.
And filming was a whole new challenge, because then youve got to figure in a 12-hour shooting day.
But a movie like this was good, because youve got two cars racing against each other.
Tomd shoot and Id go and train, and then Tomd train and Id go and shoot.
But still, trying to keep the regime.
Im just going to do scenes from the waist up for a while.
We had to book the stadium again six weeks later and resume the fights.
[Laughs] Look, I dont really think about it in those terms at all.
Im very glad, in hindsight, that he did.
TH:They wanted Jake Gyllenhaal and Hayden Christensen.
JE:Yeah, thats who the movie should have starred.
TH:No one wants them.
No what Im sayin [Laughs]?
Good God, no.
You have a quite touching scene with Nick Nolte.
Was that harder than the physical stuff?
TH:No, because thats where I come from, that kind of background.
That was me doing the bit Ive done years of training on already.
Living with addiction isnt something thats difficult for me to access.
But I know people whove died, so thats a territory I feel responsible for being a part of.
Do you think its important to talk about that?
TH:I think its relevant.
Its not to be taken for granted, its not a fashion accessory, alcoholism and addiction.
Its a really serious illness.
It fucking kills people.
If you have it, you need help and the help is there.
To talk about it is one thing, to promote it is bad taste.
But its important to be part of where youre from, and addiction is part of my story.
Itd be futile to pretend it doesnt exist.
Those scenes with Nick Nolte, I thought were brilliant, and I really enjoyed doing them.
When I watched it I cried, actually, because Ive been in places like that.
The scene by the slot machine, with Nick, I thought was good, too.
What was that like to do?
TH:Nick Noltes carved from the rock of actors.
He is as prevalent in my life as a digestive biscuit.
He just quintessentially exists, you know?
Hes a staple part of a diet a brand, like Marmite.
He is as wonderful to work with as he is to watch.
He was the most exciting thing about working onWarrior.
JE:Whos Nick Nolte?
[Laughs]
TH:He worked with Eddie Murphy.
JE:Oh yeah, that one.
[Laughs] Everything Tom said.
I dont think I could put anything as eloquently as Tom has.
But there are a number of privileges that come with being an actor special lights and everything.
JE:Yeah, yeah, Im getting there!
Im trying to make a big…
He, er… One of the great privileges… [To Tom] Look, fuck you.
Im taking my shirt off again.
[Laughs]
TH:Youre lucky enough to work with Nick Nolte, now say something nice.
JE:Part of the privilege of being an actor is the people you get to work with.
This film proves that.
TH:Six in the morning.
Tell em about the six in the morning.
That was part of the acting component.
The non-punching component, I call it.
TH:Six pages long.
JE:Six pages long.
Six PM until six AM.
Nicks close-ups were shot as the sun was coming up next morning.
TH:And hes almost 70 years of age.
Including when the camera was away from him and onto me.
Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton, thank you very much.
Warrior is on general release now.
