411 Movies Interview: Ray Stevenson of Punisher: War Zone

Posted by Tony Farinella on 03.24.2009

411's Tony Farinella sits down with the Punisher for an exclusive interview!

Punisher: War Zone has been called one of the most violent films in recent memory. It features an intense performance from Ray Stevenson (Rome) as he channels the cold and calculated Frank Castle. Recently, I had the pleasure of interviewing Ray Stevenson, and we discussed a number of interesting topics, including the violence in the film, director Lexi Alexander, his career, his training, and a whole lot more. Punisher: War Zone is currently out on DVD.


TONY: We've seen a number of actors portray The Punisher in the past, so I have to ask you, what was your approach to this character and how did you want to portray him?

Ray Stevenson: In my research, I read all the background material, and I wanted to bring that comic book onto the screen without pulling any punches, without shying away from the obvious violence that's there and also the serious moral questions that it raises and the fact that there's no redemption for Frank. This character has set himself on a course and accepted the fact that there is no light at the end of his tunnel. And I thought these are big, human issues and he's a violent man doing violent things to violent people. You can't shy away from that. And my intent was to go in there and show that it's not just Frank saying I got a bigger gun than you, it's Frank saying I am the weapon and I'm here to take you out. If you're one of the bad guys and you're on his list, that's basically it. It does raise an incredible amount of questions and issues. A lot of times, people say hanging is not good for somebody. Well, Frank would take that further and he wouldn't bother hanging them; he'd do something nasty to them. And I like the fact that he's not a savior or a protector of the innocent. He's a punisher of the corrupt. That's it. Cut and dry. Don't look for anything else because it's not there. That's what I wanted to do. I knew that the comic book itself and the character had such an amazing, loyal, and strong following, and having met some of these people, they've invested a lot more than just the price of the comic book. People invested in this character and they deserve to see that come out on screen. Hopefully, that's what we've done.

TONY: Have you done anything in your career that could have prepared you for this project?

Ray Stevenson: I suppose almost anything and always everything does, because no character is just a two-dimensional cutout. I've played soldiers before who would live and die for the man next to them. They have a certain creed and a certain aspect of being a warrior. There's something tragic and mythical about the tragic warrior, where you're always going to face an enemy and you just keep going on and going on and going on. It's your creed. Then there are other people who have gone through grief and loss and how they deal with it, friendships and the loss of friendships or making new ones. What gets somebody up in the morning? I always like to bring a more fuller character to these things. He's not a bad guy, he's not a good guy. No one actually is. We like to pigeonhole people in that, but nobody wakes up in the morning saying, 'I'm going to be a bad guy or I'm going to be a good guy today.' They just get through the day as best they can. I think everything I've done is what prepares you for the role.

TONY: You mentioned on the DVD that this was the most grueling project you've ever been a part of in terms of the training that went along with it. What was the hardest thing to train for in this film?

Ray Stevenson: I'm not a natural gym person, and thankfully, we didn't use the gym. It was all just using body strength, like push-ups, sit-ups, etc. The endurance stuff, I was very happy we did that, because it was the toughest shoot I've ever done. The weapons training, you had to get it right. We weren't going to have these magic weapons that were never going to run out of bullets. We needed quick changes, which comes after hours and hours and hours of training. Also, that's out of respect for the Marines and the Force Recon boys who were training me up, because I know that the Punisher was very popular with the Forces. You're going to get some GI who is going to watch Frank, watch his body language, watch the use of the weapon and say, 'That's why they beefed us sixteen hours a day, because, see, all he's got is his training.' There's an element of responsibility there to say, 'That's what he's got is his training that he brings to what he does.' There will be somebody out there saying, 'Yeah, tuck the weapon in. Hold it tight. Square up and move forward.' We wanted to get all those details right, so it focuses you a lot better. It wasn't about Ray Stevenson looking big and nasty on camera. It was about the Punisher going to work.

TONY: It seems like director Lexi Alexander was the perfect director for this film because of her previous film work and her unique background. What was it like interacting with her on set and feeding off her energy?

Ray Stevenson: It was great. It really was great. She really was the rock and the driving force of the movie. She gets it. She gets what the mentality and the aptitude of a warrior is, that it's not gung-ho and yippee ky yay and bullets bounce off. She gets the fact that you have to step up and that person is going to try to hit you as hard as they can and you're going to try to hit them as hard as you can and one person is going to walk away. And, also, she gets the fact that there's a price and she doesn't shy away from that. I loved that enthusiasm and commitment to that and her commitment to Frank Castle. I can't imagine anybody else ever being able to pull that movie off the way she did.

TONY: What has it been like interacting with the fans and hearing their reaction to the film?

Ray Stevenson: The greatest testament has been when the fans have come up and said, 'Thanks. You gave us Frank. We always knew he was there.' It's not a perfect film. If you ever make the perfect film, you should stop. If it goes forward and we're able to do it again, there's a progression there. At its core, at its essence, was that, 'Yeah, you didn't pull any punches. This is what we like about Frank. You didn't compromise that.' There are the real moral issues there, which we had in the movie. There's no greater testimony to an actor than to say, 'Did you believe him?' And they said, 'Yeah, we believed you as Frank.' You don't have to like me as Frank, but if you believe me, then I've done my job.


TONY: How would you describe the mood on set for this film? After the director yelled cut, were you guys joking around a lot and having fun? Or was it serious all the time?

Ray Stevenson: It reminded me of a story I read about the first World War trenches. In the trench, there was a forearm with a hand sticking out of some poor guy who had been buried weeks before, and the guys going up over the top would shake his hand and have a word with him before they went over. It's what they call trench humor, because what's going on is so enormous and so dark and so bleak, you develop a trench humor to actually deal with that. Also, because it was all night shoots and there were a lot of weapons on set and people obviously getting tired at about five, six in the morning, there was a lot of focus going on. Professionalism and focus and trench humor would get us through. Then we'd have to battle the snow storm to get back to our beds in our blacked out rooms and wake up as the sun was coming down and get back to wherever we were going to create mayhem next. But it was a really great experience for me.

TONY: What has it been like hearing the reaction to the violence in the film? What's your response to them?

Ray Stevenson: Wake up. We live in a very violent world. Do you want your violence sugar coated? The Punisher is a violent man doing violent things to violent people. But there's the flip side of the coin: It doesn't glorify it. It just shows it for what it is. Somebody once asked me, 'Did I have a favorite gun?' I said, 'Well, yeah, the one that was loaded and pointed at the enemy.' And it is a comic book. It doesn't set itself up to be anything other than it is. I was very much concerned about the violence in this, but, at the end of the day, when I talked to the guys at Lionsgate and Marvel, I said, 'I don't want people to walk out of the cinema wanting to be The Punisher. Therefore, we have to commit to that degree of violence and commit to that moral question and commit to the price that Frank is paying, to the point where nobody actually wants to be Frank.' You're glad he's there and you can't wait to see what he does next, but you don't actually want to walk out of the cinema wanting to be the Punisher. And you have to earn that. You have to commit to the violence and therefore commit to the price that he's paying. And he doesn't set himself up as a savior of the innocent and all that. He's a Punisher of the corrupt and that's it, cut and dry. You don't have to like him and you don't have to like what he does, but do you believe him? Did you get entertained by the movie?

TONY: What was it like watching this film for the first time after working so hard on it for so many months?

Ray Stevenson: It's a strange feeling, because obviously there's such a distance between making it and the final movie coming out. It's weird because it was kind of like a closure, but it was closure with an open door because the potential to revisit the character and carry on is still there. Like I said, no movie is perfect, nor should it be. It's one of the greatest collaborative businesses on the planet. Everybody has to make it work. And I was very, very proud to be a part of it. I'm very proud of the movie and felt really good that everybody's hard work paid off. I think it looks great. I think we achieved what we set out to do without trying to force any political or moral issues on people. We basically showed it and put it out there.

TONY: Career wise, how has this movie changed your life?

Ray Stevenson: It's tricky. I came off that movie and went to New Orleans and shot a film called Cirque du Freak with Paul Weitz directing. That's coming out in the Fall. I was opposite John C. Reilly and Salma Hayek's in the movie. It's a great ensemble piece. I have to pinch myself again because I'm actually working with Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman in a completely different piece again. I'm a jobbing actor. I just try to go from job to job. I think people who have seen the movie, regardless of whether they're Frank Castle or Punisher fans, people have seen the movie and come away saying, 'That's a good piece of work.' They're being positive of it, whether or not they're comic book fans or whatever. It's been good. It's there, it's done now, and if we ever get the chance to visit it again, then great. If we don't, I think it's going to stand in the lexicon of comic book movies and stand on its own feet and hold its ground. I'm happy with it.

TONY: If American audiences are just discovering you from this film, tell them what it has taken you to get to this point in your career.

Ray Stevenson: Patience I would say. For many years, when I was working in England, people would say to me, 'Why don't you go to America? Look at you, you're a big guy.' Then I would say, 'If I'm meant to go to America, it will be because something will take me there. Not because of some sort of blind belief that I wanted to be a movie star.' It's always been about the work. I did a film called King Arthur, which I enjoyed doing and it was great working with the people and stuff like that. It wasn't a bad piece of work. But that wasn't my ticket to come out here. It was actually a TV series called Rome, which opened doors and got me my representation in L.A because there was a body of work there. Then from there, it led to something else. It's all a process. As long as I get to do what I love to do and keep my head on my shoulders, really.

TONY: Ray, thank you so much for your time. It was great talking to you. I appreciate it.

Ray Stevenson: No worries. Take care.