Academy Award Nominee Sylvester Stallone and Jason Patric star in Armor, an action-packed, thriller about the lengths one man will go to save what's left of his family and reclaim his own life.
James and his son Casey are armored truck drivers tasked with delivering a suspicious package. After a violent ambush on the road, James and Casey are trapped until they discover the value of what they have been carrying and join forces to outgun and outwit their attackers.
Among those attackers is Ray Donovan star Dash Mihok; the actor plays Stallone's right-hand man in Armor and is a loose cannon who will do anything it takes to pull off the score of a lifetime.
Last week, we sat down with Dash - who you may also recall seeing in Gotham and Punisher: War Zone - to learn more about his approach to portraying the villainous Smoke. During our conversation, the actor reflects on working with Stallone, his approach to such an action-heavy role in the Mississippi heat, and much more.
Dash also teases his plans for a live-action adaptation of the Last Man Standing: Killbook of a Bounty Hunter graphic novel and whether he'd be open to returning for another Ray Donovan revival.
You can check out the full interview below.
You worked with the iconic Jon Voight on Ray Donovan, but you’re starring alongside an action legend like Sylvester Stallone here. That must have been quite something.
Yeah, I’d like to see Jon Voight and Sylvester Stallone in the boxing ring. That would be fun. Obviously, the main reason I did this was to get to work with that legend. I always want to learn and it’s my favourite thing to see where people are at, where they’re head is and, no matter how old they are, what their vibe is and how they work now having done so much. I was very grateful that he wanted to work with me otherwise I wouldn’t have been on the film and that he knew I would support in every type of way we were shooting. And his character as well.
This is a great 90-minute action film and the scene on the bridge is a classic action scene. There are guns, tear gas, and grenades…how much fun were those days on set?
There are moments where you go, ‘This is fun!’ And then there are other moments where you’re like, ‘I haven’t drank a bottle of water in two hours, it’s 100 degrees, and I’m wearing 30lbs of gear.’ The crew was great and took care of us so well. Of course, shooting weapons…the good thing about it is it’s fun working with someone like Sly. He’s done it so much that it’s not an issue shooting or blowing things up. We know exactly how and where the angles are so we could keep the ball rolling pretty quickly. It’s always fun getting crazy but we were definitely whupped at the end of the day.
I can imagine that the Mississippi heat was a killer.
Yeah, and I was like, ‘Well, how come he’s not wearing a flak jacket? What’s going on here?’ Well, he’s Sylvester Stallone, he doesn’t have to wear a flak jacket… [Laughs]
Smoke is a loose cannon and a little bit unhinged and won’t let anyone stand in his way. How much fun is it to sink your teeth into this kind of character?
The minute I read it, I was like, ‘Oh, this guy is his second and he gets to lose it.’ I can’t say enough that I really do enjoy playing a heavy with baggage. Hopefully, you could see the baggage underneath and see some sort of…it’s hard in a movie like this to show any signs of vulnerability, but the best heavies, I feel like you can see why they’re doing this, why they’re panicking, and why they’re willing to turn on anybody. You can just say they’re evil, but there’s a story behind that. The minute I read it, I was like, ‘Yeah, 100%, this is me and Sly as co-partners.’ If I’m on par with Sly in any way, what am I gonna say? I’m happy to do it.
The dynamic between those characters is complex and they have a history of having done jobs together before things don’t go to plan this time. Was it fun to bounce back and forth with him to figure out their relationship?
Yeah, that was the most fun thing. Again, I had heard he was really vibing with the way I was doing it and so when we were on set together, it just felt like two…obviously, I’m a little less of a veteran, but it felt like two veteran actors who could give each other notes. He was like, ‘What if we did this?’ and I’d say, ‘What if we do that?’ And then we’re both like, ‘Yeah…’ It was very easy and smooth and congruent and quick. We had to be. I think we both have very directorial brains and that really helped so the camaraderie was instant. I had a blast with him. He was great. We had to do a lot in a little bit of time and I think we accomplished a lot.
You’ve done comic book roles in the past like Punisher: War Zone and Gotham, but there's also your planned adaptation of the Last Man Standing graphic novel. What can you tell us about that one?
Last Man Standing is a graphic novel by Daniel LuVisi and it’s a 250-page…it has a massive amount of roles and, right now, I’m producing it with my old friend Leonardo DiCaprio at Appian Way. We are looking to bring it to life because it’s stellar and there are so many characters. It’s so much like the Marvel Universe and it’s fantastic. I would definitely check it out and look out for that in the near future.
I loved Ray Donovan and was so glad you got to come back for a movie. Bunchy got his happy ending, but would you ever revisit the role? Is the series done?
[Laughs] When you say ‘happy ending,’ what do you mean?
Well, happy as it can be…
I know, I know! I couldn’t help it. Look, if Guy Ritchie called and said he could fit the Donovans into something he’s shooting in England, I’m in. Of course I’d revisit that. I’d love to. I directed one episode and would have loved to have done 10. I’d love to revisit it but it’s really up to the Gods of whichever studio it’s bouncing around to at this point. Bunchy was epic to me. I never did a television show for that long and it really changed my life in many ways.
Bunchy went through a lot and it was a dark role. To come on to a project like Armor and let loose as an actor, is that a sigh of relief in some ways?
Yes and no. I’m a little bit older and the 100-degree heat is a little bit hotter and I’m a little bit slower. Of course. I was thinking about it and said, ‘Well, when I did the Thin Red Line in 1997, I was 27 and I could go all day long.’ Being on a bridge now at my age was really fun, but then…phew. The fun of it was to remember you have a) the chops, b) the technical aspect, c) the observation of what’s going on, and d) the care I hope everyone develops for those around you like the crew and how hard the stunt guys are working as they do their shots. There are beautiful shots in Armor. To me, I can’t help but see all of it now so that was really fun. A shoot ‘em up bang bang is fun, but it’s not as fun as it used to be because I know what to expect and now we’re just trying to make sure everyone is more safe than they used to be.
No spoilers, but you and Jason Patric get a great scene in this movie. How was that?
Jason is great. We didn’t have much to do together but I’m a fan and he’s a great guy. To be honest, I think we wanted…it was supposed to be a bigger fight scene but we didn’t have [the time]. I hope nobody rails me for it, but we just couldn’t figure out how to do certain things we wanted to do which is moviemaking. If we could have fought underwater, it would have been great, but we did what worked, what made sense, and most importantly, what was safe. He’s a pro. We had a good time but that was pretty much it because there was a built set for the van where they did most of their stuff. They were fortunate they were on a stage while we were out there sweating bullets [Laughs].
Armor arrives in theaters, on Digital and on Demand on November 22, 2024.