Interview by Rafy Mediavilla w/ actor Michael Welch about his new Lionsgate movie “Hot Seat”, where we spoke about going all out for this action-packed throwback to the good old Dia Hard times. Out Now! #HotSeatMovie
Oscar-winner Mel Gibson brings this explosive cyber-thriller to life. The action begins as IT expert Friar (Kevin Dillon, Poseidon) finds a hair-trigger bomb strapped to his desk chair. An unseen hacker orders him to steal digital funds online—or have his daughter abducted. As a fearless bomb expert (Gibson) arrives on the scene, the hacker frames Friar as the bomber. The tension mounts as Friar races to clear his name and expose the real terrorist—without getting himself blown to smithereens.
Criticólogos:
What was it about, Enzo you said I had to do it?
Michael Welch:
First of all, just to give people a little bit of context. Yeah. So I play a character. Enzo. Kevin Dillon is the star of the film. You know, he plays a guy who is like, he’s got a checkered past, but he’s fundamentally a good guy. Right? And he’s trying to get it right. He’s trying to, like, get his life in order and his and his and his family take care of Stanley. He just. He can’t quite seem to put it all together. Enzo is the exact opposite. He doesn’t have a care in the world. He’s like his ne’er do well, you know, coworker and friend.
He shows up late. He’s like, you know, he’s probably someone. He’s like one of these guys that I’m sure, you know, has a bunch of enablers in life who pick up the slack for him, you know? And so so I think as a result, like Kevin Dillon’s character looks at him and is like, man, he’s almost living vicariously through him in a sense. So I think that they sort of form this this interesting kind of bond because of that, you know, because Enzo was telling him about all of his, you know, escapades with women and you know what I mean? It’s just like he’s just one of those he’s just one of those guys. We all know guys like that. So definitely very different from me in real life. But it was a lot of it’s a lot of fun to play characters like that for sure.
Criticólogos:
It’s an action movie. It’s packed with action and stunts. And when you write the script, I knew you saw what you had to do. Were you expecting the twists and turns?
Michael Welch:
Yeah. Well, you know, the director, James Bresnik, who you talk to, he’s an old friend of mine. I’ve known him for years. I’ve worked with him a bunch of times. He called and gave me the whole layout before he sent the script. But he was like, you know, this is what I’m doing. This is your part. This is the movie. And I basically said, All right, I’m in. I mean, like, this is this just sounds awesome what you’re describing. Yes. I’ll read the script as a formality. But like, based on everything you’re saying, I’m completely sold. And you know what’s funny, you mentioned, you know, how this is kind of a throwback.
You know, this is part of what’s so fun about this movie is that, you know, Mel Gibson, who’s in it? I mean, he really came to play a man like you can tell sometimes it’s hard. You know, it’s funny with actors of that caliber, sometimes it’s a bit of a crapshoot. They may just show up and, like, not care and just, you know, do their thing, collect their paycheck and go home. Mel came to play and he he really, like, had fun with this. And there were times when, you know, he was, like, doing his thing.
And I was watching the monitor with James and we and we would look at each other and go, like, is this lethal weapon? Like, I feel like we’re making lethal weapon right now. So I’m really glad that he that he brought all that energy and that and that fun that that I think really gave the movie that feel that you’re talking about.
Criticólogos:
You mentioned working with Mel Gibson. Did your where able to pick up anything new from him?
Michael Welch:
Well, the thing that was interesting in watching him is like, look, I mean, let’s just be must be totally honest, you know? I mean, there’s he’s up there in an age at this point. Well, so, you know, before the takes and you see, like he plays the bomb squad guy so he’s got like he just I mean, probably 50 pounds of you know, armor on him and all this stuff. And he’s like he can like barely, you know, he he’s like he can barely walk. His, like, ankle was messed up. And you’re going, man, how is this going to work? But somehow when you say action, he just he just turns it on and he just knows how to, like, turn on the movie star, you know what I’m saying? Like, it’s hard to explain, but, like.
And it’s amazing to watch. Like, there’s something about once that once the lights are on and the cameras start rolling. Like a true professional knows just how to bring it, you know. I guess what I learned is like, boy, you can develop your instinct to a point where it really doesn’t matter what obstacles are in your way. Like some way somehow you’re going to find a way to to perform. And it’s really it’s inspiring to watch.
Criticólogos:
I want to put you in the Hot Seat now and let’s switch places. You’re Orlando and Kevin is Enzo, how would you go about dealing with the whole situation?
Michael Welch:
Well, first of all, let me just say, if that were me in real life, I would just immediately go into the fetal position and just start crying. Because I that’s not that’s not for me. You know, actors are actors because we don’t want to actually be heroes in real life, but it’s fun.
But I think, Enzo well, it’s interesting because Enzo like, as much as he lives in kind of a carefree way, I actually do think he’s a really smart and capable guy. I mean, I think all the characters in this movie are very intelligent. So, you know, I think, boy, I think that somehow, like we were just talking about with Mel, he would he would find a way to, you know, to deal with the situation. You know, probably not as good as Kevin does, because Kevin’s character does a hell does a hell of a job in this movie. Or I could be wrong or it could be the exact opposite. And Enzo could just completely freak out and poop his pants and and just try to run away and be blown up immediately. I don’t know. So, yeah.
Criticólogos:
What do you want people to take away from the story? Besides being a fun time!
Michael Welch:
It’s the journey. Yeah. So I’m hoping the thing that people take away more than anything else is I just. I just hope that they totally buy in and are brought along on this journey. And I hope they don’t see anything coming. And, you know, more than anything else, I you know, I just hope that they have a lot of fun and really enjoy the experience. I mean, it’s a satisfying experience because like, first of all, all the actors in the movie are so great. They put together such a great cast, you know, not just Mel and Kevin, but like Eddie Steeples is fantastic. And then Shannen Doherty is in the movie Sam Asghari. And, and I mean, it’s just it’s like this is all star cast. And and James, our director, is, is really I consider him a maestro as a filmmaker. I mean, he really like because think about, you know, this movie primarily takes place in, you know, a few different locations, but like it’s pretty contained. So the fact that he was able to keep it interesting and keep it moving with, you know, some pretty heavy restrictions just in terms of the story. I think is a real testament to him. So it’s kind of a long winded answer, but really I just hope people go along with the journey and have a good time, which I really think they will.
See the interview below:
Trailer:
