Photos courtesy of Lionsgate and WWE.
Kane, the 7-foot tall actor, has made a career out of playing a menacing character in both the WWE and in the See No Evil horror series. This time, however, in Countdown, he plays the experienced lieutenant in the later part of his career who’s trying to contain the “loose cannon” cop, played by fellow WWE Superstar Dolph Ziggler.
Unlike his no nonsense character in Countdown and the “demon” he plays in WWE, Kane is one of the most down-to-earth entertainers you can encounter. He took a moment from his welcomed chaos to discuss his chance to showcase his acting talent, working with Dolph Ziggler, Daniel Bryan’s retirement and what fans can expect from WWE Studios latest adrenaline-packed film.
Playing the Jaded Cop
CraveOnline: What can you tell us about your character in Countdown?
Kane: It’s Lieutenant Stanley Cronin. He’s a police detective looking forward to retirement at this point in his career. I think he’s a little jaded because he’s been around a long time but I think probably earlier in his career, he lived by the book and tried to get the job done. Now, of course, Dolph Ziggler’s character, Ray, is probably a lot like Cronin was earlier in his career but because Ray is the way he is, he causes Cronin a lot of aggravation. Deep down Cronin really likes Ray but because all of the problems he causes, he gets really tired of Ray’s antics.
A lot of the film takes place at a live WWE event. How did that work exactly?
I actually wasn’t there for that. I was only there for the first week of shooting. WWE films are kind of what they’re advertised. We shoot those movies in about 10 days not including a week of preparation. It’s pretty amazing. It takes a month for the overall project. But yeah, they had a live event in Vancouver and it was all shot during that event. It was very unique filmmaking because you have the film crew shooting live footage and putting it into a movie. So yeah, they shot that all in one night at a house show in Vancouver.
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Partnering with Katherine Isabelle
CraveOnline: This is your second time working with Katherine Isabelle. The other time being See No Evil 2. What was it like working together this time around?
Kane: We got along really well in See No Evil 2. Katherine [Isabelle] is something else. She’s hilarious. She’s a great performer and we built up some rapport in See No Evil 2 and we have mutual friends in the Soska twins [Jen and Sylvia Soska] so I we got along really well. She’s just a great performer and plays a completely different character in this film. In “See No Evil 2” she played a happy-go-lucky party girl and in this movie, she’s a straight-laced internal affairs investigator.
Favorite Action Flicks?
Kane: When I first talked to Michael Luisi, who is the head of WWE Studios, compared it a little bit to Lethal Weapon. The Lethal Weapon series is one of my favorites and the Die Hard series as well. Probably my favorite action movie is The Rock with Sean Connery and Nicholas Cage.
“I’m actually able to do some acting and have a lot of dialogue and show people what I can do.”
You have been an entertainer for nearly 25 years. Whenever you’re finished with WWE, would you consider acting full-time?
It’s a lot of fun and of course, it’s a natural extension of what we do in WWE. Would it be something I’d consider? Yeah. It’s a matter of what opportunities present themselves. This was a great opportunity for me because I was able to get away from being the silent big guy running around, the axe murderer or the bodyguard, which is what I’d be stereotyped as in films. In this movie, I’m actually able to do some acting and have a lot of dialogue and show people what I can do. Like I said though, it really depends on the opportunities.
What was it like to work with another member of the WWE roster in this capacity?
Dolph [Ziggler] has a second career as a comedian and he’s naturally a funny and witty guy. He’s one of the guys in the business that I’m pretty good friends with so we had a natural chemistry as well. I think our guys are underrated as performers because people don’t realize what we do. We’re out there often either doing things in front of a live audience with one take. Sometimes you have a script or bullet points but generally, we don’t have hours to memorize what we’re going to say. We have minutes so sometimes we would have to improv. It’s quite difficult and I think we’re very good performers based upon all of those factors. I’m always comfortable with our guys because I know we can pull it off and especially comfortable with Dolph because he can improve a lot and he’s good at what he does.
Beanbags to Beanbags
CraveOnline: Did you have any favorite moments from the set of Countdown?
Kane: Yeah, there’s this scene, where I am shooting Dolph with a shotgun with beanbags. He tried to escape and jumps over the railing and jumps on to a guy who’s cleaning the windows in the inside of the building and that’s how he escapes. He goes down 10 stories or whatever. This was retribution because earlier I had caught Dolph’s character and had him up against the wall and he kicks me in the groin to get away. As retribution, I shoot him in the groin with the beanbag shotgun. They’re presenting this scene to us and I’m looking at Dolph and saying ‘this is going to be really bad.’
They bring the stunt guys out with the apparatus and it’s essentially a shotgun but all of the guts have been taken out of it and it’s powered by air and they put this beanbag in it and it looks like it is going 3 miles per hour. It’s barely moving so we all thought it wouldn’t do anything. I didn’t shoot the beanbags but the stunt guys did. They put a cup on Dolph and some protection on him like a catcher’s vest. [Laughs] I’ll be darned, when the guy shot the beanbag into his groin, it looked like it was a tomahawk missile. Of course, when the movie was all edited together with the cuts and everything, it looks great. I think that will be one of the scenes that people remember the most from the movie.
I can’t believe Dolph was open to that scene.
[Laughs] I was just going ‘Okay, buddy. Good luck.’
Did you and Dolph Ziggler perform your own stunts or mostly use stunt men?
It was both. We had a fight scene and what was cool about that is they let us choreograph it and do it ourselves. Having WWE Superstars in your movie adds to your movie because we know stunt work and choreography. It’s different in the movies because you have all of the different camera angles but the overall picture, we get that and it was fun to do. That was all of the physical stuff I had to do but I’m pretty sure Dolph [Ziggler] did all of his own stunts.
A Comedy with Daniel Bryan?
CraveOnline: If you could work on a movie with another member of the WWE roster, who would it be?
Kane: I would want to do a comedy with Daniel Bryan. I think that would be killer.
Speaking of Daniel Bryan, what were your feeling during his retirement speech since you were very close to him?
It’s one of those things where on two different levels, as a fan of WWE it’s tragic because you’re not going to see a person perform anymore when they’re in the prime of their career. On a personal level, it’s bittersweet because again, Bryan Danielson [Daniel Bryan] is very passionate and that was his dream, to be in the big leagues and to be an international superstar. He achieved it but unfortunately it was cut short and he didn’t live it as much as he wanted to but on the other hand, you knew it was really best for him as a human being.
When he said that nice stuff about me in that promo, that was where I was like ‘I can’t watch this anymore’ because I don’t like having those sort of emotions [laughs]. It was mostly bittersweet.
When you’re not in the ring and not making movies, what are you doing during your down time?
I have a business at home that I run and I’m involved in a lot of community projects at home so I don’t actually have much down time. I often think about what I’m going to do after WWE and I’m not built to be a guy that can just go out and play golf. I have to always be doing something. At this point, I feel it’s better to be overwhelmed than to be bored.
Where do you see yourself in the near future?
In WWE we have a saying, ‘Never say never’ and ‘anything can happen.’ We will see me in WWE for the next several years and then it’s just what opportunities arise both in WWE and movies and entertainment. I’ve been very fortunate with my life because I’ve had the opportunity to do some really cool things and meet really great people and perform in front of WWE fans all over the world. For me, it’s just a matter of going forward and seeing where this adventure takes me.
WWE Studios and Lionsgate’s action thriller Countdown available now on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital HD!
Joshua Caudill is a writer for CraveOnline Sports, a surfing enthusiast, an avid basketball fan, a pro wrestling connoisseur and an expert on all things Patrick Swayze. You can follow him on Twitter @JoshuaCaudill85 or “like” CraveOnline on Facebook.
