As Zach Cregger puts audiences in the player’s POV with Resident Evil, Austin Abrams had to begin with Level One.
The actor admitted he wasn’t familiar with the Resident Evil video games or movies before taking the lead in Cregger’s adaptation, now playing in theaters, explaining the horror gaming genre “really goddamn rocks your nervous system.”
“Not that I was like an anti-fan,” explained Abrams. “The movies, I haven’t seen, and the games were something that just felt too frightening to engage with. I mean that genuinely. I remember playing Dead Space, a very different game, but kind of a similar vibe, and literally just panic playing the beginning of it and being like, ‘I can’t do this.’”
After Cregger recounted filming a stunt that “would’ve killed” Abrams if it had gone wrong, the actor admitted the experience was also “harrowing” for him, running down a snow-covered road as zombies jumped off roofs and splattered on the pavement around him.
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Following his work with Cregger on last year’s horror hit Weapons, Abrams was “very grateful” to reunite with the horror auteur and work together to build the role of Brian, an original character that did not appear in the games.
“One, you don’t wanna fuck up the shot,” Abrams said. “Also, you don’t wanna make a wrong move or something goes wrong. So, it’s kind of scary each time.”
“It was definitely doing the best you can to create a person that feels tangible, and they have a gravity to them, and also you understand them,” he said. “So, there was definitely a process there of discovering that, and also just who do you want to see in this situation. Because it was just kind of an avatar that, when I think of that word, I think of like a blank slate almost. That’s not necessarily interesting to see, and so it was, who do you want to see go through this? That was kind of a guiding light a little bit too.”
Read on about Austin Abrams’ starring role in Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil, now in theaters.
DEADLINE: I love seeing you and Zach work on this together after Weapons. What was it like reuniting for Resident Evil?
AUSTIN ABRAMS: It was awesome, man. In a lot of ways, it was really interesting cause it kind of felt like we just picked up where we left off, even though it was a different project, and different character. But dude, I love Zach, I love working with him, I love what he makes. It was great, and [I’m] just very grateful that he would trust me enough to handle this project.
DEADLINE: Were you a fan of the Resident Evil games, or even the movies before?
ABRAMS: No, none of it. Not that I was like an anti-fan. … the movies, I haven’t seen, and the games were something that just felt too frightening to engage with. I mean that genuinely. I remember playing Dead Space, a very different game, but kind of a similar vibe, and literally just panic playing the beginning of it and being like, “I can’t do this.” Cause it really goddamn rocks your nervous system until you get used to it. But no, it was always something that was just like, when you’re a kid and you’re looking at an R-rated movie or something, you’re like, “God, that’s so scary,” and it feels like this big looming thing. That was essentially what this was for me. So, it wasn’t until coming into this project that I started to get familiar with them.
Sony Pictures Releasing/Courtesy Everett Collection
DEADLINE: Tell me about working with Zach to build your character Brian, because I know he said that Brian is kind of an avatar for him and how he would make these decisions. But also tell me about infusing the character with some of your sense of humor and comedic timing.
ABRAMS: Well, you can’t play an avatar, in terms of being a character. That’s just kind of a general idea, so it was definitely doing the best you can to create a person that feels tangible, and they have a gravity to them, and also you understand them. So, there was definitely a process there of discovering that, and also just who do you want to see in this situation. Because it was just kind of an avatar that, when I think of that word, I think of like a blank slate almost. That’s not necessarily interesting to see, and so it was, who do you want to see go through this. That was kind of a guiding light a little bit too.
DEADLINE: Tell me about his relationship with his girlfriend and how this news from her kind of impacts his whole fight for survival.
ABRAMS: He learns that someone he really is in love with, that also is someone that wants to go to the next level of their relationship. And I feel like Brian has been, up until this point, he seems a little bit incapable and scared of that. He essentially has this moment where this possibility of a huge life change where he would really need to step up in a real way, that I think he’s been avoiding up until when you see him. He’s kind of faced with that and terrified of that, and then he starts to go through this actual horror movie. We have all of our little issues in life or things that feel really big, but then when something real happens, when you almost die, when someone you love dies, when it’s actually like, all of this could end—well, all this will end, not could end, it will end, and it could end at any second. It puts everything into perspective. So, I think he gets kind of put into perspective and starts to realize, “What do I actually want?”
DEADLINE: What it was being immersed in Zach’s take on Raccoon City. Did you have a favorite creature that you had to fight?
ABRAMS: Practical sets are always great, so something like the sewer was a really cool practical set. I mean, that that guy in the trailer, the big man in the sewer was really kind of crazy to look at, ’cause he really looked like a real, just humongous dude. I mean, I don’t even know how tall that guy would have been, and then there’s another creature that’s a little funnier, kind of towards the end. It’s kind of hilarious and really kind of surprised me.
DEADLINE: I’m also curious about shooting a lot of these stunts. I know Zach said the one with the falling zombies, if you would have made one wrong step, it could have been disastrous. What was it like for you filming that one?
ABRAMS: I would say, it’s harrowing, man. I mean, if you imagine yourself; I’m gonna run this way, and they’re gonna call action, and I need to do it at a certain pace, so that everything goes well and goes right, and also you need to not slip, and the ground is all wet, with this kind of combination of some real snow, but then the fake snow or whatever, you’re just in sneakers that don’t have any grip, and there’s these things falling. One, you don’t wanna fuck up the shot. Also, you don’t wanna make a wrong move or something goes wrong. So, it’s kind of scary each time.
DEADLINE: It looks awesome though. After doing Whalefall also, do you prefer working in snow or working in a water tank?
ABRAMS: I mean, working in water is pretty fun. A lot of Whalefall was working in like a small amount of water. It wasn’t like a lot. A lot of it wasn’t working directly in water, it was kind of like a little kiddie pool. But when you’re fully in water with the suit on and everything, that’s nice. But also I love the aesthetic of a horror movie with snow, like The Shining. It’s just really something that’s beautiful, that really gives a feeling to me, kind of like, you shouldn’t be outside. You see it, you see the character, and you know where you wanna be. You wanna be inside next to a fire with a cat, watching a movie or reading a book or something. It just adds a whole other element, this person should not be out here doing this right now, that I think is just really enjoyable to watch.
DEADLINE: What do you think about your “scream king” status? It seems like you’ve really solidified that with Tragedy Girls, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and Weapons.
ABRAMS: I don’t really have any feelings about that, one way or the other. I guess that’s just kind of an idea and a concept, so nothing really strong comes to mind. You’re just doing the work that feels interesting at the time, especially working with Zach and doing two back-to-back, basically. But no, I don’t have too many thoughts around that. Things will all ebb and flow. It’s not a goal in mind, at least.
