MANILA, Philippines — Chris Hemsworth was burned seven to eight times to be able to perfect pivotal action scenes for his latest Netflix-exclusive film "Extraction 2", said director Sam Hargrave.
But instead of the fire, the snow’s splashing on his face disturbed Chris more, the Hollywood star told the Asia Pacific press at yesterday’s media conference in Manila.
According to Hemsworth, the second movie aims to unravel why there is a suicidal approach to his character Tyler Rake’s existence. Hence they had to recreate the action from “Extraction 1” and return “in a more massive way” for the movie’s sequel.
“It was terrifying,” Chris said of the fire sequence. He recalled being instructed to put off the fire from his clothes manually should they fail to put off on their own.
“But I think we all knew the elevated risks would give as an elevated performance and an elevated effect for the audience...”
Sam attested that they really “pushed the envelope” when it comes to risks. Apart from the fire scenes, one of the craziest things they did for the film is to land a helicopter in a moving train.
“That was probably the most difficult shot for me,” he said, pointing out that because force allows the helicopter to fly, if it’s already hard to land it on a steady surface, how much more in a moving train?
According to him, Chris had a “difficult job” to shoot down a helicopter on a moving train that he believes has “never been seen” in a movie before. The complicated fight choreography such as Chris having to fight off bad guys who just got off a helicopter landed on a moving train – was likened by Sam to “walking in a hurricane” – because Chris had to do it at below-zero temperature – and atop a train running for 150 miles per hour.
“He had to act it out like a stone-cold killer but you know all that he wanted to do was get something on (his) face, it’s freezing! That’s one of the hardest things that we did together…” Hargrave said. “It’s a wild trip. You gotta see it!”
He professed that the challenge with each new film is there’s so many great movies that come out every year.
“So much great actions, like how do you keep up the level of action with the bar getting raised and raised every time? So working with someone with Chris, you look at each other and tell each other, how can we work together to make something we can be proud of 10 years from now? And try to make it something memorable for the fans.”
His technique in coming up with great action shots is to take it from the point of view of a fan.
“I try to look at it as a fan myself. I’m a fan of action movies and I’m super excited, I’m a ‘Mission Impossible’ fan,” he confessed.
He always asks himself what he wants to see differently as a fan.
“And how can I do that in a way that’s interesting and hasn’t been done before? There’s so many great action designers, choreographers out there, and a lot of times, I don’t feel like I can out-choreograph and out-kick and punch them. But I want to photograph it (in my own unique way).”
But “Extraction 2” is high not only in action but also in emotions and family relations, Chris assured.
“Watching Chris put himself on the line day after day, slip right himself on fire for all of you… I think that deserves a round of applause!” Sam said of his “hardworking filmmaking partner.”
When asked why he wanted to work with Chris again, he said: “I mean, look at the guy.”
“That’s enough reason. Next question!” he quipped.
“As a filmmaker, filmmaking is one of the most collaborative art forms out there. And when you get the opportunity to work with someone like Chris, who is not only incredibly talented in his lane in acting in action, but as a filmmaker, he’s so collaborative and knowledgeable about storytelling, writing and working with the camera. So it makes my job a lot easier when you got somebody like him inspiring you and helping lead the way. So it’s always a pleasure working with Chris.”
RELATED: 'It's in pain that we’re stronger’: Chris Hemsworth takes a break from Thor’s muscles for 'Extraction 2'