THE PUNISHER Star Kevin Nash Reacts To Being Recast As The Russian In DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE

THE PUNISHER Star Kevin Nash Reacts To Being Recast As The Russian In DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE

WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash played The Russian in 2004's The Punisher and he's now shared his thoughts on being replaced as the villain in Deadpool & Wolverine. Find his comments in full after the jump...

By JoshWilding - Aug 07, 2024 05:08 AM EST
Filed Under: Deadpool & Wolverine

Deadpool & Wolverine features a long list of Variants, but not all are familiar faces from the past (even if the characters they play are instantly recognisable). 

Toad, Psylocke, Azazel, Lady Deathstrike, The Russian, and more are all played by stuntpeople or lesser-known actors; whether that was because the original stars weren't interested in returning or a cost-saving exercise is unclear. Either way, WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash wasn't approached about reprising his role from 2004's The Punisher.

Talking in the video below, the pro wrestler and actor was asked to share his thoughts on Billy Clements taking over as the formidable villain.

"That looks nothing like the character I played," Nash said after being shown a photo of the darker-haired Variant. "That looks nothing like The Russian. It looks like they gave somebody a favour."

"I love when people say, 'Oh, Nash is trolling for movie parts,'" he continued. "Hey, guys, again, man, I'm 65 years old. What I want to do in life [sarcastically] is, I want to go someplace that's not my crib, and be in a hotel, and work a 12-hour day. And then leave, and go home, and while I cook and prepare my meal and eat it, go over lines for tomorrow."

"While I sit in makeup the next day, have somebody run lines with me, and then every time I get a break, run lines again before I shoot a scene, or a scene we're not in, find somebody to run lines with. Once you get your lines, if you don't know your lines, you can't f***ing get the job done. Period."

While Nash isn't too bothered, it's still a shame we didn't see the original actors reprise those villainous roles. Admittedly, they were used as little more than cannon fodder for the Resistance, but that fight in The Void would have surely left more of a lasting impact had the Variants been played by the likes of Olivia Munn and Kelly Hu. 

In 2022, Nash's co-star in The Punisher, Thomas Jane, admitted he accidentally stabbed the legendary pro wrestler during shooting. 

"That was a bad day," Jane said. "I gotta tell you, when I was swinging around, and grabbing the prop knife, and he's there, and I plunge it into his chest...and it stabs him, and it goes in. And I'm looking at the knife, I'm looking at him. Kevin, he's just looking down at me, and there's a knife sticking out of his chest."

"Yeah, that was rough. And you know what made it worse? He was so nice about it. You're like, 'Oh my god, this guy's going to knock me across the room.' Just out of a reflex. He just sat there, looked at the knife, looked at me, and shook his head. I sent him a couple cases of beer, if I remember right," he concluded.

Check out the full interview with Nash in the player below.

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ProfessorWhy
ProfessorWhy - 8/7/2024, 5:24 AM
Travolta was so f ucking horrible in that flick. And TJ's dye job
ChrisRed
ChrisRed - 8/7/2024, 5:26 AM
How many more D&W articles? Seriously...
There's been like 15 in the 25 hours
TrentCrimm
TrentCrimm - 8/7/2024, 5:35 AM
@ChrisRed -

Quantity over quality.
Thing94
Thing94 - 8/7/2024, 6:39 AM
About the response I half expected from Kevin Nash, lol
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 8/7/2024, 7:08 AM
It definitely doesn’t seem like he’s too bothered by it which is good atleast…

I do think them not contacting or bringing him back is due to the role just being a very bit part and plus the in universe built in excuse of the variant concept allowed them to do that.

Anyway , I remember finding the 2004 Punisher film to be decent on its own but the Russian fight scene was by far the best part.

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Ryguy88
Ryguy88 - 8/7/2024, 7:38 AM
Relax bud, you didnt even have 1 line in The Punisher.
WhatIfRickJames
WhatIfRickJames - 8/7/2024, 7:40 AM
WHY ISN'T THIS ARTICLE ON THE RING REPORT??!?
dragon316
dragon316 - 8/7/2024, 8:07 AM
Think person could tell differnce with people knife and real one with weight difference should be beneficial would think
MisterDoctor217
MisterDoctor217 - 8/7/2024, 8:14 AM
I think that’s one of the biggest flaws of the movie.

Having unknown actors playing familiar faces. The costumes and make up looked more like cosplay than actual costumes or characters!!

Specially in that scene where they’re all standing around while Cassandra is talking and kills you know who , Psylocke looked horrible ! Azazel and Lady Deathstrike too.

They should have given them better costumes or just brought back the actors. I don’t think any of them demand a high payche k so they definitely wouldn’t have eaten into the budget.
Luigi
Luigi - 8/7/2024, 8:45 AM
Lotta line memorization for The Russian?
SATW42
SATW42 - 8/7/2024, 9:04 AM
"It looks like they gave somebody a favour."

Kevin, sweetie, that should be the title of your [frick]ing memoir. Shut the [frick] up.
Order66
Order66 - 8/7/2024, 10:53 AM
Shut up finger poke of doom.
1stDalek
1stDalek - 8/7/2024, 1:03 PM
I'll be honest, I had no idea who that guy was supposed to be in the movie, Marvel could have at least spray dyed his hair blonde.

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