- 5 weeks ago
In this edition of EoM Presents, Senior Interviewer Thomas Manning chats again with action star Scott Adkins about his latest offering, "Prisoner of War," directed by Louis Mandylor. Adkins discusses the impact of the production design on his performance, using handheld weaponry in the fight sequences, and talks about why, "In battle, it’s the calm man you should fear the most."
In theaters and on VOD September 19th, 2025.
Official Synopsis:
Starring martial arts icon Scott Adkins as British SAS officer James Wright, Prisoner of War tells the story of a soldier captured by the Japanese and held in a Philippine POW camp. Before the entire colony embarks upon the Bataan Death March, Wright and his fellow prisoners are forced to compete in brutal death matches for the entertainment of their captors. Adkins puts in a career best performance as the man who may be able to save them all.
For more information: https://wellgousa.com/films/prisoner-war
Official Trailer: https://youtu.be/pr9BWYlZWlQ
Directed By: Louis Mandylor
Cast: Scott Adkins, Peter Shinkoda, Michael Copon, Gabbi Garcia, Cowboy Cerrone
In theaters and on VOD September 19th, 2025.
Official Synopsis:
Starring martial arts icon Scott Adkins as British SAS officer James Wright, Prisoner of War tells the story of a soldier captured by the Japanese and held in a Philippine POW camp. Before the entire colony embarks upon the Bataan Death March, Wright and his fellow prisoners are forced to compete in brutal death matches for the entertainment of their captors. Adkins puts in a career best performance as the man who may be able to save them all.
For more information: https://wellgousa.com/films/prisoner-war
Official Trailer: https://youtu.be/pr9BWYlZWlQ
Directed By: Louis Mandylor
Cast: Scott Adkins, Peter Shinkoda, Michael Copon, Gabbi Garcia, Cowboy Cerrone
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00We're alive! We're alive!
00:02Hi and welcome to EOM Presents.
00:04This is Thomas Manning, Senior Interviewer for Elements of Madness.
00:07And I just had another chance to sit down with action movie legend Scott Adkins.
00:11This was actually our third conversation together.
00:13And here we are talking about his new film, Prisoner of War, directed by Louis Mandalore.
00:19And they've worked together as co-stars on a number of occasions.
00:22Of course, we get into some of the fight choreography and the stunt work in this interview.
00:26It's always a privilege to hear.
00:27One of the best in the business, talk about his craft.
00:30So, thank you all so much for watching and listening.
00:32And I hope you enjoyed this conversation with Scott Adkins talking about Prisoner of War.
00:36Hey Scott, how are you doing?
00:37I'm good, Thomas. How are you?
00:39I'm great. It's good to see you again.
00:41We chatted a few weeks ago for Diablos.
00:44I happen to be here talking about Prisoners of War.
00:47And so, with your relationship with Louis,
00:50I know that you've worked together on multiple films in the past as co-stars.
00:54But I think this was the first time where he directed you in a film.
00:58So, I'm curious how kind of shifting that perspective and if that relationship changed at all with having him as director as compared to co-star.
01:08Well, he's the boss now, isn't he?
01:10So, I've got to watch what I say.
01:13But no, when we did the Debt Collector movies together, he was talking about directing.
01:19He'd already directed some stuff.
01:21I could just tell he'd be a good director.
01:22By the way, we spoke about the scenes and broke it down.
01:25And we did a lot of work in the trailer before we'd go on to set because we never had a lot of time to mess about in the Debt Collector films.
01:31Anyway, we had to hit the ground running.
01:34So, I just had a sense to be a good director and we were looking for something.
01:39And then this came up and had zero reservations about it.
01:43And then we get to set and, you know, I trust him so much as an actor because he's such a great actor.
01:50But to have a director that really is a good actor, he's got a good sense of, you know, his notes, his acting notes are just spot on.
02:02And he cuts through all the cheese and gets rid of all the cheese and the dialogue and he's really good at that.
02:07But when I saw the film, he's got a real sense of cinema.
02:10You know, it's he creates like very cinematic moments, which is great.
02:16Yeah.
02:17And I love the production design and the attention to very period accurate detail in the sets and the costume in this film.
02:24And I'm sure that was very important for Lewis and all the production design team to create that.
02:29So, I'm curious for you, how did those details of the surrounding environment impact your performance and the choices you make just being surrounded in, you know, such an authentic set like that?
02:41Well, yeah, we built the set and it was very true to what it should have been like.
02:49We're filming in the actual place, you know, Bataan, Philippines, where there was the Death March and these prisoner of war camps.
02:56But the whole thing was there.
02:57You know, it was physical.
02:59Once you're in it, you're in it.
03:01We're filming in the summer and it was raining every day and it was an absolute nightmare, to be honest.
03:06We had authentic, real Japanese actors and, you know, Filipino actors.
03:10So, everything was, there was nothing left to the imagination.
03:16Everything was right there in front of you, just point and shoot.
03:18And the jungle is a very cinematic thing, especially when it's wet and rainy and misty.
03:25So, yeah, I mean, you have these worries about, are we going to get the right costumes in because we're in the Philippines?
03:32Are they going to be able to source the right stuff?
03:33But, yeah, they did.
03:36I mean, something, you know, sometimes you get a prop that didn't exactly look that great and you've got to figure out how to not show that it's not that good and things like that.
03:43Because, you know, we didn't have a 50 million budget or anything.
03:48But, yeah, no, they built a great set and we spent the majority of the film there and it really worked.
03:55And the action you have in this film, it's not only hand to hand, but you have various handheld weapons you're working with, you know, knives and swords and wood.
04:03So, I'm curious what those additional elements give to you as an action performer, you know, when you're working with those tangible extensions of your character like that.
04:16I think it's actually easier working with weapons.
04:19I find it easier because you're not as up close and personal.
04:22You're not clashing bone on bone.
04:26It can be more dangerous if you make a mistake.
04:29And sometimes, you know, sometimes you can be given a prop sword and you break it and now you're using the real one.
04:34That's not ideal.
04:37But, yeah, I've done a lot of martial arts films.
04:40I've used weapons in quite a few times.
04:43So, I didn't have to train.
04:45In fact, I didn't even realize I was going to do a weapons fight.
04:48It wasn't in the script and then it was changed when I got there, but it was no problem.
04:54We had a great fight coordinator, Stephen Remy, and a great stuntman to work with.
05:02And which of the weapons fights in this do you think challenged you the most?
05:05Was it the staff one or the sword one?
05:07The staff one, the wooden sword, because that fight scene came directly after we'd filmed the whole torture sequence.
05:20And that stuff really takes it out of you because, you know, you're gritting your teeth and you're busting the blood vessels in your brain to show how tired you are.
05:34And your arms are pulling up in the ropes and everything.
05:37And it kind of hurts.
05:39And so we had to go from that into doing the fight.
05:41But I needed to be tired in that fight anyway.
05:44But it did suck a bit.
05:46Yeah, I'm sure it did.
05:48Yeah.
05:48Yeah.
05:49And the cinematographer on this film is Niccolo De La Fere.
05:53And I know that he was actually, I think, DP on Diablo.
05:57So you've worked with him before a couple of times.
05:59So how does that relationship carry over with the cinematographer, with the person who's capturing your performance like that?
06:08Well, Nico's brilliant.
06:10And if you look at Diablo and you look at Prisoner of War, they look completely different.
06:14And so he's very good in terms of picking a style and changing up what he does to suit the movie.
06:21And this film looks phenomenal.
06:24He's also an ex-kitboxer.
06:26So you can get him in there filming the fights and he understands the movements like a stunt performer would.
06:32You know, he knows when to pan down and come back up because he can remember the choreography.
06:36Some cameramen, they've really struggled with that.
06:40But he also brought in a brilliant Steadicam operator from Thailand because that's where he's based in Thailand, even though he's an Italian kid.
06:48And this guy comes over and he's got these big fat calves and he's got this Steadicam up on his shoulders the whole day.
06:56And he's phenomenal.
06:57He gets in all the right places.
06:58And that's very important to have a good operator.
07:02And Nico wanted this movie with Lewis to look very cinematic, you know, not gritty and shaky like Diablo, but kind of classic like a film from that era, 50s or 60s, you know, because it's set in the 40s.
07:20And yeah, that's what we went for.
07:22It looks fantastic.
07:23Absolutely.
07:25And your relationships with the other POW characters here, whether it's Captain Collins or Sergeant Villanueva or the Beard, you get moments with each of them.
07:36And there's really that sense of community that's built because really it's necessary for the survival of each of your characters to have that community.
07:44So I'm curious for you how each of those interactions and those relationships with those actors and characters helped you unlock, you know, James Wright and helped you really find that character.
07:56I guess I had the more vulnerable or tender moments with Beardy, actually, even though he's like a bit of a, he's a crazy character, isn't he?
08:10He's not quite all there, but I got to open up to him.
08:13There's actually a scene that was cut out where I talk about the history of my father and why I wanted to get into the RAF and all this stuff.
08:21It was a shame because that was quite a nice, tender moment, but I can understand why it probably didn't work in that position pacing wise.
08:30But yeah, some nice scenes with Beardy there.
08:33But yeah, the best scenes was like with Peter, that interplay of trying to one up each other because, you know, even though I'm a prisoner there, his character, he doesn't want to see me get shot or killed, beheaded.
08:51He wants to have one of his students that he teaches karate, one of his men, defeat this white guy.
08:57They shouldn't even know martial arts in that time period.
09:01He needs to have me defeated hand to hand, and it's just not happening.
09:05And that whole battle between the two of us was really fun.
09:08Yeah, I really think that relationship with Colonel Ito was kind of the heart of the film, and I just loved how everything was built around that.
09:18And I think the film wouldn't have been as effective as it was if that relationship wasn't what it was.
09:23So I really liked what you did there.
09:26Yeah, cool, man.
09:27Yeah, and you have a quote in this film.
09:30You say, in battle, it's the calm man you should fear the most.
09:35And I'm sure that rings very true to you.
09:39I'd just love to have you share what that quote means to you and how you've seen that manifest, whether it be creatively or personally.
09:48Well, my most famous character is Yuri Boyka from Undisputed, and he actually harnesses anger, and you don't want to get him angry.
10:01But I always knew that the truth is that an angry fighter is a weak fighter.
10:05An angry fighter is going to make mistakes.
10:08Most people don't get that.
10:09It's the fighter that's – well, you hear it said a lot of the time in the octagon.
10:14You hear the trainer say, just have fun out there, and you think, how am I going to have fun out there?
10:19He's trying to kick the shit out of me.
10:21But that's what it's all about.
10:22It's being calm and aware and ready to react and not having too much pressure and stress on yourself.
10:30And so, yeah, it's the calm man in one of those situations that you should fear the most because he's ready, and he's going to enjoy it.
10:40He's going to enjoy picking you apart.
10:42Yeah, and this is a question that probably Louis would probably be able to answer better, but I'll ask you just from your perspective.
10:52In addition to your fights in this film, Cowboy Cerrone, I think he has the – he's the other character – the other actor with the most elaborate set pieces here.
11:01So can you talk about, from your perspective, what you saw in crafting those sequences that played to his strengths as an MMA fighter and kickboxer?
11:12What stood out to you about Cowboy's action sequences?
11:16Well, that was the thing.
11:17We didn't want to play to his strengths because, you know, let's be honest, he's a better fighter than me.
11:22But in the movie, he isn't.
11:25In the movie, he's a boxer.
11:28So we wanted to keep it that way.
11:31We wanted to keep it scrappy and rough and tumble and obviously not have the martial arts there.
11:38Otherwise, it would have pulled us out of the story.
11:41But Cowboy, he's a really good actor as, like, you know, ex-fighters go.
11:47He's got a great look, great face, kind of got that Steve McQueen thing going on.
11:51And what's amazing about him is – I mean, it's a bit unprofessional, I suppose – but he doesn't really learn his lines.
11:58And you just tell him his lines just before and he remembers it like he's got a photographic memory or something.
12:04I was like, mate, he didn't get much damage to your head, did you?
12:07I mean, if you did, it hasn't messed up your brain because you can remember stuff a lot easier than me.
12:13He really did a great job and I think he's a really talented actor.
12:18I agree.
12:19I most certainly agree.
12:20Yeah, he was outstanding.
12:23And I know that, you know, you and Lewis have both worked with Jesse B. Johnson.
12:29And a lot of people would love a Debt Collectors 3.
12:34You think there's any chance at all of y'all reuniting for a project like that?
12:38I'd do it in a heartbeat.
12:41I've even got an idea for it.
12:45Just waiting on the producers.
12:46Yeah.
12:47But, you know, it's up to them.
12:49I don't have the rights.
12:50But I'd do it, yeah.
12:51I'd do it.
12:52Absolutely.
12:53Yeah, yeah.
12:54Well, that's great to hear because I know a lot of people would really be on board with that.
12:58Yeah.
12:59Yeah.
12:59That's cool.
13:00Yeah.
13:01Well, Scott, it's always a pleasure to chat with you about any of your films.
13:05I'm always, you know, just I'm always there day one for whatever you've got coming out.
13:10So I appreciate your time.
13:12And hopefully we share more conversations in the future.
13:15Oh, brilliant.
13:15Thanks, Thomas.
13:16Thanks.
13:16You have a great one.
13:17Okay.
13:18Thank you, mate.
Recommended
2:05
|
Up next
1:56
2:03
2:04
0:44
1:19:53
1:29
1:45
1:56
2:11
1:09
1:51
0:58
Be the first to comment