In The Purge: Anarchy, Frank Grillo plays Leo, a guy who deliberately heads out after The Purge siren blares seeking vengeance. However, instead of hunting down his own target, he winds up trying to rescue other helpless Purge victims. You know who I'd want to help me survive the night if The Purge became a real thing? Grillo himself. Not only does the guy absolutely kill it in combat heavy films like The Grey and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but he also trains extensively in real life, too. Perhaps his aversion to guns wouldn't serve him well in The Purge, but if life imitates art, hand-to-hand combat certainly wouldn't be an issue.
While attending The Purge: Breakout at the tour's Coney Island stop, we got the chance to talk to Grillo about the intensity of his performance in the sequel, his one big fear in life and his hope to finally make something a little more family friendly that his kids can watch. Catch all of that in our video interview after the jump and, in case you missed it, click here to hear about all of Grillo's upcoming projects including The Raid 2, bringing back Brock Rumlow and more.
Frank Grillo:
- His first impression of the concept of The Purge.
- The slew of story options for future Purge movies.
- What drew him to The Purge: Anarchy.
- On connecting to his character’s rather grim mission.
- The difficulty of keeping himself in that dark mindset for a 30-day shoot.
- How he decompresses.
- On his new DirecTV show, Kingdom.
- How he thinks he’d do in The Purge. Could he survive the night?
- What scares him.
- Does he show his kids his films?
- Grillo’s interest in making a lighter, family film.
