Thomas Jane of Punisher Movie Interviewed
This month's Wizard magazine has an interview with The Punisher himself Thomas Jane. Click the link to read the transcript...
This month's Wizard magazine has an interview with The Punisher himself Thomas Jane. Click the link to read the transcript...
WIZARD: You've been training with former Navy SEALS and DEA agents for your Punisher role. What's that been like?
JANE: Today I'm working on Filipino, Brazillian, Israeli and Japanese martial arts. I'm learning military weapons training from some former Navy SEALS. They're just great guys, you'd never know that they can do what they can do.
WIZARD: Do you have a favorite weapon yet?
JANE: I love the edge-weapon fighting stuff we're doing. That's my weapon of choice right now. Learning the close combat stuff and knife fighting has been amazing. My other training is really geared towards military-style weapons handling, so I work with a Colt .45 and the M4 submachine gun. This is my first time ever doing any training like this.
WIZARD: So what's the quickest way to kill a man?
JANE: Oh, that'd be gouging his eyes out. By the time they get done with me, I'll be able to handle myself in a real situation. And that's what we're going for. We're not going for the amazing stuff they do in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" or "The Matrix"--we want this to look real. We're taking the attitude of, "What would you do to take this guy out and accomplish your goals?" And that comes down to punching him in the throat, gouging his eyes and breaking his nose. That kind of stuff.
WIZARD: It sounds like you can really kick some ass now...
JANE: Frank Castle's a real guy, he doesn't have any superpowers. He's incredibly well-trained at killing people. That's his job and that becomes his missin when his family is taken away from him. He can't crawl on walls or fly, he can just poke your eyes out.
WIZARD: Is it tough for you to get into a character that just wants to kill?
JANE: I have a family now--I just had a three-and-a-half-month-old baby girl--and Frank just lost his family, which sends him off on this one-man killing storm. For me,all I have to do is think of if anything happened to my wife, and what I'd want to do about it. I just pray that every night, that never happens. Now, I have the tools to do something about it. It's easy to get into this part when you care about something so much.
WIZARD: But Frank's a little crazy, right?
JANE: No, I think Frank takes the tools and training he has and reacts in a very rational way and commits himself to such an extent that some people might call him nuts, but he's doing the only thing he knows how. He's reacting to the situation in the only way he can. What he does is the only thing that keeps him sane.
WIZARD: Does your family have a military background?
JANE: My uncle is one of a handful of guys who have a plaque on the wall atthe Pentagon. He fought in three wars. My grandfather fought in WW II and my other grandfather was a career Navy man. Both of my parents were in the Army. I was born in a M*A*S*H unit in Vietnam. I have a lot to live up to.
WIZARD: Are you studying the comics for reference?
JANE: Oh yeah, I've been checking out the comics. I especially like Garth Ennis' "Welcome Back, Frank" mini-series. I've got Punisher War Zone#1-6 and Punisher War Journal#1-3 and #5-6, where he fights Wolverine, too. Those are cool issues.
WIZARD: Do you think you could take out Hugh Jackman's Wolverine from "X2"?
JANE: I think it's a great idea to see Wolverine and Punisher square off. A little cross-pollination in the Marvel Films franchises. I think I could do
okay.
WIZARD: Are you going to do be able to do most of your own stunts?
JANE: I'm going to do as many of my own stunts as possible, or until the insurance company pulls the plug on me. As long as they're not around, I'm clear to do anything I want. When the insurance company comes to visit, that's when we let the stuntmen fill-in for me.