Kingpin and Bullseye Reunited at S.W.A.T. Premiere
Michael Clarke Duncan vowed he'd be shedding rivers of tears when S.W.A.T. opened this summer, but he was all smiles when he met his Daredevil co-star Colin Ferrell on the red carpet at the L.A. premiere of the action drama.
Force is with S.W.A.T.
Wild cast and thrilling action make up elite unit
By LOUIS B. HOBSON -- Calgary Sun
HOLLYWOOD -- The big guy didn't look like he was crying.
Michael Clarke Duncan vowed he'd be shedding rivers of tears when S.W.A.T. opened this summer, but he was all smiles when he met his Daredevil co-star Colin Ferrell on the red carpet at the L.A. premiere of the action drama.
"I turned down the Samuel L. Jackson role in S.W.A.T. They came to me first," said Duncan when he was promoting Daredevil earlier this year.
"There was nobody else attached to the project and I thought it would tank. I was convinced it would be another one of those movie versions of an old TV show that would bomb."
Duncan put S.W.A.T. out of his mind until he and Ferrell were talking one day on the set of Daredevil.
"I asked Colin what he'd be doing next and he said S.W.A.T. I was flabbergasted. I asked him who was playing the leader of the team and he said Sam Jackson and I could have cried."
Duncan says he and Ferrell talked about many things while he sipped on sodas and Ferrell drank beer and smoked cigarettes.
"We talked mostly about women. Colin loves his women as much as he loves his beer and cigarettes. I'm a one woman kinda man.
"Colin plays the field. He's like Dennis Rodman -- he just doesn't put on the dresses.
"My mom wouldn't let me be like Colin. She's dead-against his kind of cursing and other stuff, and I'm still too afraid of my mama to step out of line and run the wild life with Colin."
Ferrell and model Kim Bordenave are expecting a son in September.
Though he says "Kim is an amazing woman and I'm really excited about the arrival of my son," Ferrell is adamant he has no immediate plans to get married again.
Ferrell was married briefly to actress Amelia Warner.
ACTION JACKSON
Like Duncan, Ferrell tried to turn down S.W.A.T.
It took a call from Jackson to change his mind.
"I got this call from (director) Clark Johnson. He was in some bar with Colin. They were trying to talk him into doing the film and weren't having too much luck," says Jackson.
"Colin didn't believe I was in the movie so Clark called me and put Colin on the phone.
"I told him I was in and told him he should be, too. Colin said if I was doing it, he'd do it."
Ferrell admits all he needed was that nudge from Jackson.
"I've been a huge fan of Sam's work from Jungle Fever to Pulp Fiction, everything in between and everything since.
"He just exudes strength and leadership qualities.
"As soon as I knew for sure he was in the film, it made a big difference to me."
A REAL NO-BRAINER
Having seen the final cut of S.W.A.T., Ferrell says "it's just a big, fun action movie. It's not some heavy drama but just a lot of great stunts and fast-paced entertainment."
When asked what audiences can look forward to, Ferrell promises "action fans are really going to like Michelle Rodriguez's no-nonsense attitude and I can promise you audiences are definitely going to love L.L. Cool J's abs."
In several of the training sequences, Ferrell strips off his shirt to reveal his abs and tattoos on his shoulders, forearms and back.
LL's body of work
Rapper-turned-actor L.L. Cool J says he was eager to strip off his shirt for S.W.A.T. to show off the efforts of his hard work.
"I've been working out religiously for years. I work out all the time," he says.
"I work out constantly, so I was glad a movie role came along where I can use the body I've been sculpting."
L.L. Cool J says he was "amazed when I met the real S.W.A.T. guys. Even the guys in their 50s are still in fantastic shape.
"They have a very rigorous training program to get into the force, and then the guys just keep it up on their own because they know how important it is to be in shape.
"These S.W.A.T. guys are the last line of defence for a police force. They're like a military branch of the police force."
'A LITTLE MACHO BOP'
Rodriguez who plays a female S.W.A.T. officer notes "there are still no women S.W.A.T. members in L.A., but hopefully that will change soon."
She was thrilled she was allowed to train with the men in the cast and says the instructors didn't treat her any differently.
"I have to admit some testosterone crept into every pore in my body when we were training. If you don't notice I have a little macho bop in my walk, then you're blind."
Rodriguez says she "loves playing women who have a feisty edge to them. I don't like playing passive characters."