Interview With “Peppermint” Star Randy Gonzalez! (@RandyGRandyG)
Photo Credit: Morgan Newton
We recently had the chance to chat with Randy Gonzalez about landing his role on “Peppermint”, working with Shia Lebeouf, upcoming projects, and more!
- How did you land your role on “Peppermint?”
I got a call to go and audition for the director Pierre Morel, who I was already a fan of as he directed the movie Taken, and the producers. It went well. Then I got a call a few days later telling me I booked the role!
- What is “Peppermint” about?
It is a revenge story. Riley North (Jennifer Garner) is seeking justice for some loved ones that were wrongfully taken from her. The legal system fails her, so she takes justice into her own hands.
- What was it like getting to work with Jennifer Garner and the rest of the esteemed cast?
Jennifer is amazing. She’s a total badass and a sweetheart at the same time. I have a fight scene with her in the film and she was great at picking up fight choreography and really not holding anything back and making it look as real as possible. Definitely would not want to piss her off in real life. Most of my scenes were with Jennifer’s character but I did get to meet John Gallager Jr. I am such a fan of his work from seeing him in such films as “10 Cloverfield Lane” and “Short Term 12”.
- If you could describe the set in three words, what would they be and why?
Intense, Action-packed, Fabulous.
Intense because all the scenes I’m in are heavy, intense scenes. So while the vibe on set was relaxed in between takes, once they called action, things got dark quickly.
Action-packed due to the fact that I got to do a crazy fight scene and a shootout scene on this and those days on set are always really fun. You may come home with bumps and bruises or your ears ringing from gunfire, but it’s the type of work I love doing.
Fabulous because there may or may not be a video recording of two other actors who played villains in the film and myself, doing a fully choreographed dance to “Everybody” by the Backstreet Boys, which is just fabulous.
- How would you describe your character?
My character is a hitman for a gang. He is evil and ruthless. The type of guy you would never want on your bad side or your good side actually, just stay away from this guy. He is bad news.
- What was the biggest challenge you faced when portraying him?
My personality is so far from this type of character. Some of my friends are usually shocked that I get cast in these type of evil roles. So I have to really work to channel something dark and to make the character believable. Also, the fight scene was no joke. I had to do a few rehearsals to make sure that it looked as good as possible and there was no stunt double for me, so that’s all me in the film.
- What was it like getting to work alongside Shia Lebeouf in “The Tax Collector?”
He is an actor I have respected for a long time. He is a very intense and dedicated to his craft. So it was exciting for me to be able to be on a project sharing a set with him. I was also very excited to be working on a David Ayer film. He wrote Training Day, which is one of my top favorite films.
- Did you learn anything from him during your time on-set?
I learned to be a team player from Shia. If he sees a crew member struggling to carry a piece of equipment, he’ll go and help out. That was very cool to see. He is just for whatever helps the production be better as a whole and not all about himself.
- What do you think fans are going to enjoy the most from your upcoming projects?
I think fans will enjoy the grittiness of these two projects. If you like crime thrillers, both of these projects will be up your alley. I also have a TV project coming up that is very different than these two films. It is created by Tarrell Alvin McCraney, who won an Oscar for writing on the film Moonlight. It is called “David Makes Man” and will be out in 2019 on OWN and the writing on it is beautiful.
- What are your social media accounts?
My Instagram @Randy_G
My Twitter @RandyGRandyG
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Check out the trailer for the film below!