‘High Heat’ Interview: Chris Diamantopoulos

Opening in theaters, on digital, and On Demand starting December sixteenth is the brand new motion comedy ‘High Heat’ from director Zach Golden (‘The Escape of Prison 614’).

The film stars Olga Kurylenko (‘Quantum of Solace’) as Ana, an ex-KGB operative turned chef, and Don Johnson (‘Knives Out’) as her husband, Ray. As Ana’s new restaurant opens, mafia boss Dom (Dallas Page) sends his enforcers to burn it down and acquire the insurance coverage cash to pay again Ray’s money owed.

Now, Ana should rely on her deadly expertise as she goes on a lethal rampage taking out the whole crime syndicate one-by-one to avoid wasting her restaurant, her marriage, and survive the evening. But she will even need to face off in opposition to her former mates, assassins Mimi (Kaitlin Doubleday) and Tom (Chris Diamantopoulos), a suburban couple that moonlight as lethal killers for rent.

Actor Chris Diamantopoulos has appeared in such standard movies and TV applications as ‘Red Notice’ with Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds, ‘The Sopranos,’ ’24,’ ‘The Office’ and ‘Arrested Development.’ But he’s in all probability finest identified for enjoying Russ Hanneman on HBO’s ‘Silicon Valley’ and Moe Howard within the Farrellybrothers’ ‘The Three Stooges.’

Diamantopoulos will subsequent be seen on the large display in ‘The Boys in the Boat,’ directed by Oscar-winner George Clooney.

Moviefone lately had the pleasure of talking to actor Chris Diamantopoulos about his work on ‘High Heat,’ balancing the motion and comedy, creating his distinctive character’s backstory, working with Kaitlin Doubleday, and assembly the nice Don Johnson, in addition to working with George Clooney on ‘The Boys in the Boat.’

Moviefone: To start with, are you able to discuss how you bought concerned with this mission and what was your first response to the outrageous screenplay?

Chris Diamantopoulos: I’ve lengthy been a fan of each Don’s and Olga’s. That was actually the genesis of my curiosity within the movie as a result of the notion of getting an opportunity to work with them and see them in course of was actually sufficient to have interaction me. Then, I like capers and I like this style of movie, which I believe was actually prevalent within the mid to late 90s and early 2000s.

We do not see it as usually anymore. I imply, that is actually a prototypical hybrid motion comedy, however with actual emotional moments. At the danger of sounding tacky or a boiler plate, I believe there actually is one thing for everybody on this film.

MF: Can you discuss your method to enjoying Tom and the dynamic between him and his spouse, Mimi?

CD: I actually love working with Kaitlin. I believe she’s such a dynamic actor and she or he’s tremendous collaborative. I get pleasure from discovering characters in roles that enable me to strive one thing totally different than I’ll have tried up to now. A personality like Tom is likely one of the first occasions I’ve performed somebody that is a wallflower, possibly somewhat henpecked and somewhat trepidatious about throwing his weight round, or possibly he misplaced his confidence someplace alongside the way in which.

I look to the writing after which inside the collaboration with my scene accomplice with Kaitlin. We discover a dynamic that feels natural and humorous, and that permits for somewhat crackle to it. It was plenty of enjoyable.

MF: The characters of Tom and Mimi are so wealthy, you may actually have a collection of spinoff films nearly them. Did you and Kaitlin Doubleday discuss quite a bit about your characters’ backstory and what did you create for yourselves?

CD: Totally. No, they’re nice characters and we talked a heck of quite a bit concerning the backstory, truly. On a movie like this, as you possibly can think about, there’s a lot to service, notably with Don and Olga’s characters, there simply is not sufficient time to extrapolate among the different roles to the diploma that will be maybe as satisfying as we’d like. Maybe if it had been a miniseries, that’d be a unique story.

But Kaitlin and I talked at size. The writers and Zach, the director, to his credit score, they had been very versatile about us adapting, adjusting, and shifting dialogue to assist level within the path of concepts that we had discovered, Kaitlin and I, that felt pure for the characters and allowed us to carry out in a approach that felt not stilted and actually over the second.

MF: In addition to comedy and motion, you’ve got a couple of actually emotional moments within the film. Can you discuss balancing all of the totally different tones of the movie?

CD: Comedy can actually solely be humorous if there’s an actual emotion behind it. I imply, I’ve had the nice fortune of with the ability to play some fairly huge, broad, humorous characters in my profession. I discover that those that resonate probably the most are those whose insecurities or vulnerabilities are probably the most true or probably the most prevalent.

So, it actually comes all the way down to, would I, the actor or the character, would I purchase what’s taking place to me? Is it actual? Would I truly really feel one thing about this case? How wouldn’t it make me really feel? That was notably gratifying enjoying Tom as a result of he has moments the place he is so henpecked by Kaitlin’s character, by Mimi, that it pulls us in, in a approach the place we nearly really feel sorry for him.

Then he has some moments the place he truly opens up about who he was and who he needs to be once more for her. Those are actually human concepts. I do not suppose that there is a individual on the market that may’t relate to the notion of possibly having misplaced a part of the dream model of who they needed to be after they had been youthful. Life acquired in the way in which they usually’ve gone down a path that possibly is not the trail that they thought they might go down by way of who they’ve change into. It’s actually a query of discovering the street again to the character and to what makes Tom tick. But that was enjoyable to look into.

MF: You talked about being excited to work with Don Johnson and Olga Kurylenko. I do know you don’t share any scenes with him, however did you get to fulfill Don Johnson? What was he like and was it every little thing you had been hoping it will be?

CD: He’s Sonny Crockett! He’s a film star, and he’s terrific! A movie like this, which is a down and soiled fast film to make, and a enjoyable movie to supply and put on the market, it actually requires all people to return in with their finest attitudes and simply collaborate as finest they probably can. That’s what occurred on this occasion. Everybody was tremendous ready and tremendous skilled. It was nice to observe and see why these professionals are as profitable as they’re.

MF: What was it like working with director Zach Golden and watching him execute his distinctive imaginative and prescient for this mission?

CD: He’s a very gifted younger director. I believe we’ll see much more from him. He’s very communicative. At the core of it, a director’s job is actually to be direct and to know what their imaginative and prescient is for the movie, and to place the actors at peace by with the ability to allow them to know that the director is aware of the place this film is starting and the place it is ending.

Zach, to his credit score, did a very nice job of that. He was enjoyable to be round. We had some loopy hours, plenty of evening shoots within the chilly, and he had an ideal angle that saved all people engaged. That was actually plenty of enjoyable.

MF: Finally, whereas we’re speaking about administrators, I perceive that you just simply labored with George Clooney on his upcoming film ‘The Boys in the Boat.’ What was it like working with an actor and director of his caliber on that mission?

CD: I imply, it is every little thing I might’ve hoped it will’ve been and a lot extra. When I develop up, I wish to be George Clooney, and that is the understatement of the century. I imply that is a man that is been doing this for therefore lengthy and you may really feel his love for it’s nonetheless so potent. I believe what impressed me probably the most about him was how current he was and engaged within the second. I by no means noticed him on his cellphone.

He by no means disappeared right into a director’s tent or right into a trailer. He was on set all day. Those lighting setups and digicam setups can take a substantial amount of time, and he stayed there engaged, engaged with the extras, speaking with the crew, and speaking with the actors. He saved the vitality of the method going. He, I really feel like, single-handedly held it up as we went alongside.

Then add to {that a} steely confidence with regard to the film that he was making. So that if I had any questions on a second, a scene, or a line, I’d want nothing greater than to look to him and there was simply such a placid resolve of, “No, we got it. We’re good.” I by no means questioned, “Do we need another one, did you get that, or do I need to do this?”

If he wanted one thing, he gracefully would ask for it. If he did not ask for one thing, you knew that we had been in nice form. I stated this to him, that I used to be going to have an actual onerous time going to some other mission after doing that as a result of I used to be working with the very best of the very best on each stage and making an epic characteristic about such a ravishing story. If you have not learn the guide, it’s best to as a result of it is only a beautiful learn. That might be your vacation learn, curl up and browse that guide and you may thank me for it.