In August 2017, a group of fellow journalists and I got to visit the Atlanta set of Michael Dougherty’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters. In the upcoming film, which is set five years after 2014’s Godzilla, Monarch is more empowered to monitor kaiju activity, and must stop a villain and his group from using the kaiju as living atomic weapons.

During a break in filming, we got to talk to Kyle Chandler, who plays Mark Russell. Russell gets involved with Monarch because his wife, Dr. Emma Russell (Vera Farmiga) and daughter Madison (Millie Bobby Brown), are in danger while monitoring kaiju activity. In our conversation with Chandler, he talked about the scene he was shooting that day, how his character feels about the monsters, Chandler’s thoughts on the early Godzilla movies, working with Dougherty, being in a movie with giant CGI monsters, and more.

Check out the conversation below.

Can you tell us about your character?

KYLE CHANDLER: You ask me something specific, and I'll tell you.

What's he so upset about?

CHANDLER: Long hours.

Why do you hate the Titans?

CHANDLER: Because they're mean, ugly, dangerous, and they've caused havoc with my family.

We saw the scene you're shooting today, so we know your child has been abducted and you are in a station way out in the ocean. How does your character get to that point? What happens to him before we get here?

CHANDLER: So much. I can't answer that question, I'm sorry. I don't know exactly. I am so fried from doing the scene right now. I don't know. It's a scene where, yeah, Sam introduces me and tells me there's more than just a few of these creatures. Then I'm introduced to the people who are the G team who are going out in search of not just these creatures and such but also helping me find my wife and child, more so my daughter being the most important thing in my life. That's what drives me through this story.

You're just basically in favor of wiping out all these things?

CHANDLER: No, I didn't say that. You said that. No, that's not true.

Your character said something like that.

CHANDLER: You learn as the character goes along his relationship to Godzilla and the other creatures and his wife and his past with this situation over the past many years and the loss that he's encountered. And so that's the dichotomy for what he feels through the storyline and you get to learn what his emotional drive is through the story. There's a learning curve. It's not just a hatred toward monsters.

What is your -- Kyle Chandler's -- relationship with Godzilla like?

CHANDLER: It's not a real creature, I found out. So I don't have any relationship whatsoever. I will say that the first three movies, when I watched them, I didn't watch Godzilla, I mean I saw the Godzilla movies as a young kid but before this, I didn't closely watch... the first three films, '54 to what is it sixty...

'63 is Godzilla vs. Kong

CHANDLER: No before the Godzilla vs. Kong even, the very first three.

Godzilla, then Godzilla Raids Again and then Godzilla vs. Kong

CHANDLER: Is that the third one?

Yeah.

CHANDLER: King Kong was in the third one, when they had the two characters, the two guys, the comedic one and then the pilots?

That's Raids Again, that's the second one.

CHANDLER: Okay. Well, anyway, the first three, the way the storytelling goes, within those first three, and also being able to see what Japan looked like nine years after World War II ended and the cultural differences seeing Japanese wearing Western clothing, Western uniforms, using Western dialogue, and also I thought it was really interesting that in the '54 version two things just blew me away. One, there's a scene on a cable car, on a train, where there's two gentlemen and a lady in between and she flippantly says, "First Nagasaki and now this." With the idea of Godzilla he had just attacked. And then the other one that Godzilla you'll notice when he vaporizes people, they're left as shadows. So there's a direct, it shouldn't be lost how important this was to the filmmakers, what it was doing and saying, which is sort of hard to comprehend now. And obviously it's not lost to anyone today is August 8th, between the days of those two droppings of the bombs. That's something that I find very interesting about this whole deal. I think what did he say it's one of the longest running series, what would you call it? Franchises of all time. And it's just gone through so many. Then you get into the mid-60s and Godzilla, they even have comedic music [imitates comedic music]. It just changes so much. And then to this. This Godzilla, he's sort of formidable, this guy, it's interesting.

What do you see socially, culturally...?

CHANDLER: Well there's a story that goes throughout the film that deals with obviously what goes on today as far as how to heal the planet. I think you'll see that in the movie that's important to the director. And that's his in with today's culture. I think that's what you're saying. Yeah, throughout the times. It's a similar deal for this time, yeah.

Have you gotten a look at the other monsters in like concept art? Do you know what you're up against?

CHANDLER: I've seen a few of them, yes.

So is it pretty cool?

CHANDLER: Nah. Yeah. I forget the guy's name who built these sets. What was it? Who knows? It starts with a C, his last name. [unintelligible] Awesome. They're just beautiful. I've never been on anything this big before. And this detailed. I have no idea how they get this ship to turn. There are so many individuals who are counting on so many individuals who are counting on their people to do the right thing and make all this happen. It's pretty astounding.

What challenges are you bumping into?

CHANDLER: What I was excited about with this was this year's just been fantastic for me, working-wise. I finished Bloodline where I'm a murderous brother, then I did a comedy, which I'd been dying to do a comedy forever. Every interview even I'd say ah I just want you to know I'm funny, too. My manager and agent thought I was nutty, but it finally worked, I finally got hired. And then this, a big film like this, there's the challenge of all the green screen, which I did in King Kong but this is more extensive, and the deal with that, it's fun because a lot of people can say isn't that hard because there's nothing there. But the fact is, everything's there and it's yours. You're creating what's there, and that's sort of enjoyable. When you're working with it or running through it or jumping over it, it doesn't matter what you see or what it is, they put something there for you. It's sort of fun to jump over something and wonder, "What am I going to see in the film? Is it ice? Or is it a bullet?" Or what have you. And then the idea of this will be international, so for me as an actor, that's something new as well. I'll be seen by crowds I haven't been seen by before. That's a good positive right there. If I do a good job.

Michael told us about shooting some of the scenes where you are running from things and he said sometimes he would pipe in monster noises to add to the environment. Can you talk about those scenarios?

CHANDLER: He just does. That's what they do whether it's we're being attacked, there's Titans battling, things falling, helicopters falling out of the sky and what have you, and you create your own deal and just to give you a sense of what's going on over the loud speakers there's Godzilla [imitates Godzilla] doing all this and it just sort of livens it up.

Have there been any in-camera practical effects where you can actually react to or has it been all stuff that'll be added in later?

CHANDLER: Lot of tape. Lot of tape monsters. Tape and tennis balls. However, again going back to the sets and set design, you don't have to act too hard in some of these sets because there's complete devastation, you get the big Ritter fans up that are blowing over a hundred miles an hour and you start spraying cold water into it and you're standing out in the middle of the night in the rain and you're looking for your daughter, no acting needed. You want to find her. That kind of stuff is fun and then the physical challenge, they chose directly to do all the big difficult scenes first before the dialogue and solely. So the first few weeks were a workout. It was a big workout. I actually trained to get ready to get in shape for this and I'm really glad I did. I didn't think I'd have to but I'm glad I did. Because Michael the director, he's the real Coach Taylor. He's mean, man. Just mean. Sadist.

Are there any Easter eggs from Friday Night Lights?

CHANDLER: You know what? I was born in 1965, I don't even know what Easter eggs are.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters opens May 31st.