Priyanka Chopra Jonas & Karl Urban on Fighting in New Pirate Movie The Bluff | Interview
ComingSoon Editor-in-Chief Tyler Treese spoke with The Bluff stars Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Karl Urban about their new pirate movie. The duo discussed their characters, getting to play pirates, and the film’s gritty action scenes. It is now streaming on Prime Video.
“Ercell ‘Bloody Mary’ Bodden (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) thought she had escaped her violent past as a pirate, finding peace in the Cayman Islands with her loving husband T.H. (Ismael Cruz Cordova), their son Isaac (Vedanten Naidoo) and her sister-in-law Elizabeth (Safia Oakley-Green). But when her notorious former captain, Connor (Karl Urban), arrives seeking revenge, Ercell’s world is torn apart. Forced to confront the demons she’s tried to bury, Ercell is thrust back into a deadly game of secrets and survival. Armed with lethal swordsmanship, cunning traps, and a fierce will to protect those she loves, she wages a brutal war against Connor’s merciless crew. Ercell’s fight to save her family becomes a journey of redemption, as she reclaims her power and embraces the warrior she once was. Against the breathtaking backdrop of the Cayman Brac’s Skull Cave and towering bluffs, producers Anthony and Joe Russo present The Bluff; a gritty, adrenaline-fueled action-adventure about family, survival, and the indomitable strength of a mother’s love,” says the official synopsis.
Tyler Treese: Such a pleasure to speak with you both. I really had a blast watching the Bluff. Priyanka, swashbuckler films have such a rich history in cinema. Women have left their mark in the genre before, but it’s primarily been about male pirates. So how has it getting to take that Errol Flynn type role, charming kicker role, and put your own spin on it in The Bluff?
Priyanka Chopra Jonas: Oh, I mean, thank you for the kind words, and you’re absolutely right. Thank you for recognizing that as well. I think very few women have gotten an opportunity to play a pirate, forget one who has agency in her life. I was very grateful that there were men at the helm of this movie that wanted it to be led by a woman and wanted it to be told from the perspective of women that existed at that time and their journeys, whether they were victorious, and what it took to survive at that time.
I thought that Frank and Joe wrote an incredible script with multiple characters, especially ours, that were so well thought out and rounded, and stories that made so much sense and with historic significance as much as the pirate fun with the propulsive nature of a thriller. I think that it was very cohesive. But I do feel very proud to be with a company with such a small cohort of women.
Karl, you seem to be having just a blast in this role. You’ve gotten to do a wide range of genres from superheroes to Greek fantasy and more. So, how was it really getting to embrace this ruthless pirate? Because that seems like one of the last things on your checklist you had to tick off.
Karl Urban: You got it. I had a blast working on this movie. I loved working with Frank Flowers and Priyanka, and indeed our entire cast. Fun to play in the sandbox in this world, to learn about pirates, and present something a bit more of a gritty hardcore action take on that genre. I was grateful to be presented with a character of such rich complexity, and Captain Connor. He’s a formidable force of nature. I’m just really looking forward to audiences seeing me go head-to-head with Priyanka, who’s absolutely astonishingly formidable in this movie.
A hundred percent. I’ve seen Priyanka kick ass in movies before. You’re no stranger to action, but the intensity in this film just goes next level. This is brutal. You’re ripping people’s dreadlocks out of their hair. You’re stabbing dudes. How was it just upping that intensity? Because it seems like every action scene in this film just goes one level more than a normal action movie would go. So what kind of stood out about this film’s approach to action?
Priyanka Chopra Jonas: Well, that’s such a win, first of all. I mean, any good action movie, you always want to be surprised by the next element coming in. So thank you for saying that.
I think what upped the ante was the personal stakes in this movie. We were doing so much more than stylistic action. The stakes were life and death, and also her family was in danger. My North Star in this movie was, “How far would you go to protect your family? What are you really capable of?” If the stakes were that high and you had to protect your child. I was a new mom at that time. My daughter was just two years old, and for the first time in my life, I think I really understood it. So I tried to come from that place, and I think that just makes the fight all the more visceral.
Karl, you get to act alongside another New Zealand legend, Temuera Morrison. He plays your quartermaster. It’s so fun seeing you two on screen together. What stood out about him as a scene partner?
Karl Urban: Come on. Billy Butcher and Boba Fett going toe to toe. Listen, I have such, just a huge, longstanding respect for Temuera Morrison. He’s one of that breed of New Zealand actors like Sam Neill and Bruno Lawrence, and obviously Russell Crowe, who was born in New Zealand, who really set the bar. He came into The Bluff and really brought so much not only to the character, but also elements that really kind of enriched the tapestry of the story. We just really benefited from the wealth of experience that he brought.
Chopra Jonas: And his son.
Urban: Yes. His son is in the movie, as are mine.
Chopra Jonas: Karl’s sons are in the movie.
I love it. It’s a family affair!
Thanks to Karl Urban and Priyanka Chopra Jonas for taking the time to talk about The Bluff.
Source: Comingsoon.net