Actor Frank Grillo chatted about starring in the new movie “Paradise Highway,” where he stars alongside Morgan Freeman and Juliette Binoche.
He is best known for playing the role of Brock Rumlow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Captain America: Civil War,” and “Avengers: Endgame.”
As of Friday, July 29, “Paradise Highway” is available on Digital, On Demand, and in select theaters via Lionsgate.
On being a part of this film, Grillo said, “It was a great experience. I was honored to be invited.”
He was drawn to his character Dennis due to his ambiguity. “Dennis wasn’t all bad, and he certainly wasn’t good. I just loved having to find that balance,” he explained. “I love how ambiguous he was.”
“This character was a great lesson in how to control myself, and not put so much of myself into a character. Dennis was a far simpler human being, so that was really challenging,” he said.
It stars Oscar winners Juliette Binoche and Morgan Freeman, as well as actors Cameron Monaghan, Frank Grillo, Hala Finley, Veronica Ferres, and Christiane Seidel. “It was wonderful,” he said about working with this all-star group of actors. “When you work with Morgan Freeman and Juliette Binoche, it’s a wonderful treat. It didn’t disappoint, it was fantastic.”
It was directed by Anna Gutto, and this was her directorial debut. “You would never know she was a first-time director, she really had a command about the material. She wrote it and she was very specific about what she wanted, and it was a fantastic experience working with her,” Grillo said.
Binoche and Freeman lead this thriller set in the trucking industry and its seamy underbelly of human trafficking.
When her brother Dennis’s (Frank Grillo) life is threatened, Sally (Juliette Binoche), a truck driver, reluctantly agrees to smuggle illicit cargo: a girl named Leila (Hala Finley).
As Sally and Leila begin a danger-fraught journey across state lines, a dogged FBI operative Gerick (Morgan Freeman) sets out on their trail, determined to do whatever it takes to terminate a human-trafficking operation and bring Sally and Leila to safety.
‘Lamborghini’
In addition, he will star in the Ambi Pictures biopic “Lamborghini,” where he is playing founder Ferruccio Lamborghini. “That was great,” he admitted. “It is great to play a real human being who isn’t killing anybody. I’m an Italian citizen so to play a great Italian character like that was fantastic.”
“It’s just a badass movie about a badass guy,” he added. “Working with Mira Sorvino was lovely, she’s another Oscar winner.”
The digital age
On being an actor in the digital age, Grillo said, “I think it’s a great time to be an actor because there are so many different outlets. I am a big fan of streaming services because a lot of people get to see movies that they normally wouldn’t be able to see. I love it all.”
Regarding his career-defining moments, he said, “The movie ‘Warrior’ helped define me, as well as ‘The Grey’ and ‘The Purge’ movies, all these defined what people see me mostly as, an action anti-hero kind of guy.”
Grillo listed Al Pacino and Robert De Niro as his dream acting partners. He stated that he would love to play “father and son” with either of them when their characters are “on the run from the law.”
On the title of the current chapter of his life, he responded, “Holy s**t, I can’t believe I made it.”
For young and aspiring actors, Grillo inspired them to “persevere” and “not quit.” “Keep going and learn your craft,” he said.
If he were to have any superpower, he revealed that it would be “to fly” in an effort to “go away.”
His favorite motto to live by is to “always tell the truth.” “There is no such thing as little lies,” he said with a sweet laugh.
On his definition of success, Grillo said, “Success is the freedom to do the things that I want to do at a level that I want to do them.”
For viewers and fans, Grillo concluded about “Paradise Highway,” “It’s a beautifully shot movie, beautifully acted, and there is a great story about family, trauma, and the severity of human trafficking.”
To learn more about actor Frank Grillo, follow him on Instagram.
Read More: ‘Paradise Highway’ is a riveting new film on human trafficking by Anna Gutto.
