Charlize Theron and Kiki Layne star in The Old Guard, a Netflix original film based on the graphic novel by Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernandez. Theron plays Andy, leader of a squad of immortal soldiers who have the inexplicable power to keep on fighting, even after sustaining mortal injuries. Together, the team fights in conflicts around the world, hoping to make a difference while maintaining their secret.
Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Secret Life of Bees, Beyond the Lights), The Old Guard prides itself on its impressive action sequences, courtesy of fight coordinator Danny Hernandez, who is best known for staging the battles in such high-profile action films as Avengers: Endgame, Birds of Prey, and xXx: Return of Xander Cage.
While promoting the debut of The Old Guard, Hernandez spoke to Screen Rant about his work on the film, from the creative freedom of an R-rating to getting to work with such an athletic performer as Charlize Theron. He talks about putting together the film's various fight sequences and working alongside director Prince-Bythewood to use the excitement to propel the story forward. He also discusses the thrill of getting to play Thanos in Avengers: Endgame's extensive battle sequences and shares some other stories from his long career as a stuntman.
First of all, your movie is awesome. There's some sick action and John Wick-level headshots!
(Laughs) I love it! I'm really happy to hear that you enjoyed it, that makes me really happy. It's awesome. We definitely put a lot of hard work in there. And I hope everybody else will enjoy it. I think they will. I've seen a couple of things of it and I was really impressed. And to have, you know, an Oscar-winning actress to perform and do all those spectacular things is incredible. You don't get that often. And for the world to watch it, I believe it's going to be a treat!
Is Charlize as awesome of a physical performer as the legends say?
Yes. She's athletic. She already had, I believe, a dance ballerina background already, which is a really good basis for a lot of things, especially when it comes to martial arts and choreography. So, her ability to memorize moves is great! She's a hard worker, for sure. The way I like to do things, I really drill them and really push the envelope for them to really push hard. And her attitude coming in, her willingness to learn the different kinds of movements... And a lot of different movement styles, too. It wasn't just one martial art she had to learn. She had to learn a multiple of different things when dealing with weaponry, with axes and sabers, it's not easy! But her hard work and determination really shines, for sure. But to answer your question, yes, she is a badass. (Laughs) For sure. Her energy and her demeanor is amazing. During the training, she was getting bumps and bruises here and there, but she would still come in, no matter what, and do it! She was definitely a treat. One of my favorites to work with of any actor. I had such a great time.
And you've been around the block, too! You've been stunt coordinator on a lot of different movies over the years. When you're doing something that's rated R, do you feel like you have more freedom? Are you like, "Hell yeah, we're ripping that guy's arm off in this scene, and it's gonna be nasty!"
Oh, absolutely! I'm a fan of action. When it comes to rated R, yes, the book opens up and we're able to do things I wouldn't be able to do for, like, The Avengers. I have to hold back on those a little bit. I would love to see Captain America get to throw someone on the ground and punch their face so you can see the power of his punch to really demolish someone's face! But we can't do that. So we wanted to put some reality into this. And getting an R rating enables us to put the reality of the cuts and the gunshots. I can tell the story better, of what's going on. I feel that way.
Do you work with the director on the fights? Or do they say, "There's a big fight here, let me know when it's done?"
No, it's a director's vision. There's always a director's vision. It's her story to tell. My job is to help her tell that story. So Gina and I definitely worked hand-in-hand. We talked about what she was looking for, what she liked, and I'd come back to her with different options. It's like a buffet of movements and action sequences. I'd show her and she'd pick what she likes, what she doesn't like, and we can build forward from there. Everything I do is greatly involved with the director, for sure. And also with actors as well. They are playing these characters, and I like to talk to them and get their sense and feelings of how their characters carry themselves. Some characters might be a little more submissive in a fight, so I have to convey that with their movement.
Have you ever had an idea for a character in a fight, and then once you're on site, you realize the actor can do other things you didn't anticipate, or maybe can't do the things you wanted?
I try to gauge their attributes, and you have to cater to their physical ability, for sure. What makes them look good? What can tell a story? What can I do to make them look good? I don't like using doubles. I think doubles should come in for certain things when they're necessary, but for fight scenes and certain things, I try to use the actors. They're the ones on whom you can hold the shot longer. There's no cheating involved. What you're seeing is what you're getting. You're getting Charlize doing everything. She did everything. There's no hiding, no camera tricks, or any of that. It's just her doing everything.
Did you read the graphic novel? Did it have any influence on the fights?
Of course I did! I definitely read the graphic novel. When I'm showing Gina the buffet of action, what I do is, I do a pre-viz, a pre-conceptual. We'll get doubles and stunt players, and I'll talk to the director about what she wants. Then we'll put our spin on it, what we think is really cool and tells a story. We film it, present it to her so she can see it and how it works from point A to point B. We picked pictures from the graphic novel and then incorporated them into the choreography. Reading the graphic novel was definitely a big thing. We wanted to stay true to it for all the fans out there.
I want to step back a little bit. You've been doing stunts for over 20 years. Have you ever injured yourself on set? Anything where you had to call it an early day, or even had to go to the hospital?
Yeah. I got knocked out on Ninja Assassin. I had to go to the hospital there. But luckily, it was just a concussion. I was in a show, The Unit, where I blew my knee out, but I was able to finish the day. It put me down for a while, though. What else? In The Expendables, I got knocked out in a fight scene with Jet Li, but I ended up fine. I didn't have to go to the hospital or anything, they just kind of sat me down for a little bit. It kinda comes with the territory, you know? A lot of times, being a stunt player, you kinda push through the injuries, you know what I mean? For me, I always wanted to just finish the day, finish the gag, or just do the stunt again, you know? It's what they say, "film is forever," so you want to make sure they got the shot. It's just one of those things that we kind of do. We lick our wounds and then go back out there so we can play hard again. (Laughs)
Do you still do stunts yourself, or are you more of a behind the camera guy these days?
I'm more behind the camera now. I do some things, though. On Avengers: Endgame, I actually put on the motion capture suit and played Thanos for, like, the last three months of that shoot, which was fun! (Laughs) That was really cool. I got to do all the fight scenes and the action parts of the Thanos stuff. That was really cool. That's one thing that was, like, the highlight of my career, growing up a comic book fan.
Every year or so, the conversation keeps coming back around, the idea of a Best Stunts Oscar. Do you have an opinion on that? Do you feel your work should be recognized by the highbrow Academy, or are you like, "Whatever, man, who cares?"
It's a weird situation. Stunt players are always known for playing a secret part. We're behind the scenes, the secret thing of Hollywood, which is kinda cool, in my opinion. But I think it should go to maybe the stunt coordinator or maybe even the fight coordinators and stuff. To actually come up and develop these sequences of storytelling, they work hand-in-hand with the director and the actors. There's a lot more than just figuring out how to do a gag. They actually come up with the ideas and the imagination to put out there in the picture. I think that's something the Academy should recognize. I believe that. But that's just my opinion, for me, it's cool to be the secret part of Hollywood. But I think the stunt coordinators, you know, have a much bigger role than people know about. That's my opinion about it.
Awesome.
Wait, can I ask you a question now?
Sure!
Which action sequence did you enjoy the most in the movie?
I think it was the one fairly early on in the plane, where it's just the two of them in what was basically a really intense, impromptu sparring session. I also liked the very first fight, where they all have their weapons, because it introduces you to everyone and it has lots of really cool takedowns. But I really like how all of them serve a purpose in the story beyond, "Okay, here's a really cool fight, then we'll get back to the movie later." I'll give it to the one on the plane, that was my favorite. And the whole thing with the set moving back and forth, that must have been crazy, right? Or was it just camera tricks?
We had a little rocking when the plane was flying, but when it did the bit motion when the pilot got shot and the plane really tilted, that was on a gimbal. And they were doing the sequence as the gimbal was being pulled and pushed. It was on a moving gimbal that they were doing the fight scene on. And it was all KiKi and Charlize doing the fight. That, for me, was exciting, to do that. Having those two actresses go at it and make it look believable and strong. They worked really hard. Especially KiKi, not coming from any kind of action. She just came in and worked her ass off! She really came through. She had done no stunts when she came in. No boxing, no nothing. And then, all of a sudden, she became, like, the MMA fighter we wanted her to be. In the story, she is a marine, and they use close quarters combat with MMA and stuff like that.
I hope she gets to do more action movies, even aside from a sequel to this, which I hope gets announced at some point in the near future!
Yeah, dude! For sure, man! We're just hanging tight right now in this whole Covid thing. I'm going to do some fight stuff for Doctor Strange 2, but we'll see. Originally, how it was supposed to happen, I coordinated Shadow and Bone, and then I was going to come back home, hop on a plane, go back to London, and do Doctor Strange 2. But then the whole Covid thing happened, so everything shut down. Who knows, now? Nothing is really for sure until I sign that contract. We'll see!
Key Release Dates
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The Old Guard
Release Date:2020-07-10
