Interview with Scott Adkins

Scott Adkins, of course, is a man who needs no introduction. His abilities in martial arts are never anything less than incredible, and now, he and action filmmaker Isaac Florentine are at it again in their latest collaboration, “Close Range”, which has just been released through Video On Demand platforms. Click here to read our thoughts on the film.

We’ve already had the pleasure to interview Scott previously (click here to check it out), but today, he stops in to speak with us about “Close Range”. He also shares some behind the scenes info on “Hard Target 2”, the upcoming sequel to the 1993 Jean-Claude Van Damme actioner, and also teases the upcoming “Boyka: Undisputed IV”, which sees him return to his iconic role of the Most Complete Fighter in the World, Yuri Boyka!

Hi there, Scott, thank you so much for your time today, great to have you with us again! How are you today?

Hi Brad, I’m doing great.

Awesome. Let’s talk a bit about your latest film, “Close Range”. Okay, so, the fighting style you adopt in the film is somewhat different from what you’ve done in the past. How did you decide what approach to take to the action and your fighting style in the film?

We wanted to play off of the title “Close Range”, so we based the action around a lot of close quarter combat. So, it’s very much up close and personal, and we predicated it would draw a lot from Judo and Jiu-Jitsu and different close-quarters combat styles.

Yes, that’s exactly what it seemed like with the style of the action and the title of the film. So what fight sequence did you enjoy the most?

Well, all of them required a lot of hard work, but I think the one I’m proudest of is the opening sequence that unfolds over one shot. It really started the movie off with a bang.

It most certainly did! Did you experience any injuries in filming it?

No, not this time. I’ve been okay this year in not being injured, but of course, you run that risk whenever you do a fight scene. 

Definitely! So, what would be some fun or memorable things you experienced in making the film?

I think the best one was riding the motorbike, I didn’t actually know how to ride one before. That was really great to learn, because that’s carried over into “Hard Target 2”. I also really enjoyed just hanging around with the stunt guys and talking about martial arts and UFC fights.

Fantastic. So what would you say was the most technically demanding feat you had to do in making “Close Range”?

The fight scenes were all very technical, and also a lot of the gun fighting was very technical because I had to be very conscious of the DP and where the camera was. There was always debris being shattered and exploding, so we had to be very careful to make sure it didn’t hit me or anyone else.

Definitely safety first! Moving ahead now to “Hard Target 2”, what can you tell us about that film?

It’s the follow-up to the original film with Jean-Claude Van Damme, of course, and we’ve got a great cast, people like Robert Knepper, Temuera Morrison, and Rhona Mitra, and Roel Reine as the director, he really knows how to make action films. There are a lot of martial arts fights in the film, more so than in the first one.

We’re all definitely looking forward to seeing it. Well, to move ahead now, you of course also have the highly anticipated “Boyka: Undisputed IV” set to be released next year. What can you tell us about your return to your iconic role of Yuri Boyka?

I’ve seen the rough cut of the film, and I’m really happy with it. If you’re a fan of “Undisputed 2” and “Undisputed 3”, you’re going to love this one, and I’d say that the action is superior to the second film. I think we’ve delivered a really good movie, and fans of the first two have a lot to look forward to in this one.

It’s most definitely one of the most anticipated movies of next year for the team and our readers I’m sure! So, where is Boyka in his life after the end of “Undisputed 3”?

Well, he’s a free man now, and he’s in a country and a situation where he cannot be extradited back to Russia. He also can’t return to Russia or he’ll be sent back to prison, but something happens to him at the beginning of the film that changes everything for him. The trailer for the film will be dropping in about two weeks, so watch out for it!

Awesome, we definitely look forward to seeing it and the film itself. Thank you so much for the pleasure of speaking with you today, Scott!

Thanks a lot for the opportunity to speak with KFK, Brad, I appreciate it very much. Cheers, mate!

CLOSE RANGE is now out on VOD and iTunes, and will be in US Theatres today Friday 11th December!