Fighting for your family is important. But usually it means arguing with the neighbor about shrubs growing past the property line, not actual fist fighting.
Fighting for your family is important. But usually it means arguing with the neighbor about shrubs growing past the property line, not actual fist fighting. In the new movie, “Beast,” there’s no other option. Deco’s Alex Miranda sits down with lead actor Daniel McPherson to talk about stepping into the ring after three years of intense training.
If you like your action with a side of heart, a new fight film is stepping into the ring.
Aussie actor Daniel McPherson leads the charge in “Beast,” alongside Hollywood heavyweight Russell Crowe and Luke Hemsworth, playing a former mixed-martial arts champion- now fisherman– who’s forced back into the dangerous world of professional cage fighting.
Alex: “You’re doing so much more than just acting. Tell me about the preparation on this. What was the most difficult and what was the thing that came most naturally to you?”
Daniel McPherson: “I came from triathlon, it was a very disciplined way of training. People can watch high level mixed-martial arts 24/7 in the palm of their hand so we have an era now of mixed martial arts, there’s experts everywhere. If we didn’t pull off this off at a high level of technical efficiency but also elevate from what people have access to, then we weren’t gonna hit the mark with a film like ‘Beast.'”
Daniel is putting blood, sweat and a whole lot of training into this role.
Daniel McPherson: “Training for three years for this film to really make it convincing. There is a warrior ethos that only they have and I had to try and discover how to carry that off. Then once all that was done, I had to go to work opposite Russell Crowe.”
Daniel McPherson: “[Crowe] came in to elevate everything and everybody, every scene that he was in, every moment that he was part of, it tested me on every level of my skillset.”
Alex: “How do you convincingly punch?”
Daniel McPherson: “The way I was taught is punching is simply turning. But I’ve spent an entire life teaching my hips to run and ride bikes, which is completely linear. This is all of that, turning, except punching.”
Alex: “So you got to use your whole body to get you.”
Daniel McPherson: “It’s turning and so it’s just the energy coming out to like, bang, and once you, and it’s the shoulders are firing back.”
“Beast” isn’t just about the fights though — it’s also about family.
Alex: “So many times we think about what the fighter has to go through physically, mentally, all of it. But you rarely think about the fact that their loved ones are watching them in a very – I can’t imagine how excruciating that is for them. What do you think people will take from the experience of the families?”
Daniel McPherson: “Although it’s a fight film, it’s very much a family movie. The first thing that really drew me to it was the husband and wife relationship, a father trying to provide and protect for a young family. It spreads outwards from there. There’s great female characters, and the emotionality and theme’s also gonna surprise you.”
And this is Daniel’s first time in Miami, but it doesn’t sound like it’ll be his last.
Daniel McPherson: “I’ve fallen in love with the culture. Everyone is so warm, they’ve given me these coffees, these cafecitos.”
“Beast” hits theaters this weekend.
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