As Zach Cregger puts audiences in the player's POV with Resident Evil, Austin Abrams had to begin with Level One. The actor admitted he wasn't familiar with the Resident Evil video games or movies before taking the lead ...
Primary Journalistic Dispatch & Direct Reporting
As Zach Cregger puts audiences in the player's POV with Resident Evil , Austin Abrams had to begin with Level One.
The actor admitted he wasn't familiar with the Resident Evil video games or movies before taking the lead in Cregger's adaptation, now playing in theaters, explaining the horror gaming genre "really goddamn rocks your nervous system."
"Not that I was like an anti-fan," explained Abrams. "The movies, I haven't seen, and the games were something that just felt too frightening to engage with. I mean that genuinely. I remember playing Dead Space , a very different game, but kind of a similar vibe, and literally just panic playing the beginning of it and being like, 'I can't do this.'"
In-Depth Developments & Factual Context
After Cregger recounted filming a stunt that " would've killed " Abrams if it had gone wrong, the actor admitted the experience was also "harrowing" for him, running down a snow-covered road as zombies jumped off roofs and splattered on the pavement around him.
Following his work with Cregger on last year's horror hit Weapons , Abrams was "very grateful" to reunite with the horror auteur and work together to build the role of Brian, an original character that did not appear in the games.
"One, you don't wanna fuck up the shot," Abrams said. "Also, you don't wanna make a wrong move or something goes wrong. So, it's kind of scary each time."
Industry Impact & Strategic Analysis
"It was definitely doing the best you can to create a person that feels tangible, and they have a gravity to them, and also you understand them," he said. "So, there was definitely a process there of discovering that, and also just who do you want to see in this situation. Because it was just kind of an avatar that, when I think of that word, I think of like a blank slate almost. That's not necessarily interesting to see, and so it was, who do you want to see go through this? That was kind of a guiding light a little bit too."
Read on about Austin Abrams' starring role in Zach Cregger's Resident Evil , now in theaters.
DEADLINE: I love seeing you and Zach work on this together after Weapons . What was it like reuniting for Resident Evil ?
Forward Outlook & Market Perspective
AUSTIN ABRAMS: It was awesome, man. In a lot of ways, it was really interesting cause it kind of felt like we just picked up where we left off, even though it was a different project, and different character. But dude, I love Zach, I love working with him, I love what he makes. It was great, and [I'm] just very grateful that he would trust me enough to handle this project.
DEADLINE: Were you a fan of the Resident Evil games, or even the movies before?
ABRAMS: No, none of it. Not that I was like an anti-fan. … the movies, I haven't seen, and the games were something that just felt too frightening to engage with. I mean that genuinely. I remember playing Dead Space , a very different game, but kind of a similar vibe, and literally just panic playing the beginning of it and being like, "I can't do this." Cause it really goddamn rocks your nervous system until you get used to it. But no, it was always something that was just like, when you're a kid and you're looking at an R-rated movie or something, you're like, "God, that's so scary," and it feels like this big looming thing. That was essentially what this was for me. So, it wasn't until coming into this project that I started to get familiar with them.
DEADLINE: Tell me about working with Zach to build your character Brian, because I know he said that Brian is kind of an avatar for him and how he would make these decisions. But also tell me about infusing the character with some of your sense of humor and comedic timing.
ABRAMS: Well, you can't play an avatar, in terms of being a character. That's just kind of a general idea, so it was definitely doing the best you can to create a person that feels tangible, and they have a gravity to them, and also you understand them. So, there was definitely a process there of discovering that, and also just who do you want to see in this situation. Because it was just kind of an avatar that, when I think of that word, I think of like a blank slate almost. That's not necessarily interesting to see, and so it was, who do you want to see go through this. That was kind of a guiding light a little bit too.
DEADLINE: Tell me about his relationship with his girlfriend and how this news from her kind of impacts his whole fight for survival.
Reporting synthesized and verified under Nexvoro.tech editorial guidelines. Full primary records referenced via Deadline Hollywood.
Reporting synthesized under Nexvoro.tech Editorial Standards • Referenced via Deadline Hollywood
Verified Dispatch
