Step aside Liam Neeson, Trigger Warning star Anthony Michael Hall is ready to take the reins as the next venerable action star.
Netflix's latest film Trigger Warning stars Jessica Alba as a Special Forces officer named Parker going up against a crooked politician named Senator Ezekiel Swann, played by Hall.
The thriller includes plenty of gory action, perfectly setting the stage for Hall to continue his new high-octane journey.
Anthony Michael Hall Is Ready For Liam Neeson Action Roles
In an exclusive interview with The Direct's David Thompson, Anthony Michael Hall confirmed his desire to take on more action roles, stating that he's "ready to take the mantle from Liam Neeson:"
"I love it, man. And not only that, let's take a step further because I like this narrative you're creating. I want to jump in with you. I'm ready to take the mantle from Liam Neeson. Let's go. I'm approaching that age anyway. Let's go. I'm ready for some lead action roles, I'm ready to kick some more ass."
In his new movie Trigger Warning, Jessica Alba takes on plenty of adversaries in gritty hand-to-hand combat. One of those is Hall's character Ezekiel Swann, who primarily pushes his sons as pawns in the right direction, but also does have to get his hands dirty.
However, Hall did speak highly of the experience on Trigger Warning with the 87Eleven Action Design team, calling them possibly "the best in the industry:"
"They are not only top-notch, I think really one of the best, if not the best in the industry, and I was thoroughly impressed, because I've worked on a lot of sets, a lot of movies and TV shows over the years."
Adding to his interest in more action roles, Hall mentioned that he loves "doing stunts" and "fight scenes" while also referencing a 2013 film he worked on with Danny Trejo and Mickey Rourke:
"And on a personal note, yeah, I love doing stunts. I do do a lot of my own stunts. I love doing fight scenes. I've done horseback riding in films. I did a Western with Danny Trejo and Mickey Rourke called 'Dead in Tombstone.' Over the years, I've done a lot of fight scenes, and I love that, and I've always thrown my body into it, and I love doing it. And a lot of the fun, again, is collaborating with the stunt department."
He further mentioned inspirations from 1970s films when he was young, noting that there were "a lot of great anti-heroes and the blending of action" and also giving credit to Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone who took it to "another level" in the 1980s:
"Growing up, I loved '70s film. I was a kid. I'm 56 now, so in the '70s, I was a little kid, but that's my first experience of film, and then as I got older, I appreciate that decade too. And I kind of love that whole season of filmmaking. Obviously, it was a decade, but a lot of great anti-heroes and the blending of action, and that type of film emerges in the '70s cinema, and then in the '80s it goes to another level with Schwarzenegger and Stallone and those guys."
Could Anthony Michael Hall Return as Ezekiel Swann?
Following the release of Trigger Warning, Anthony Michael Hall was asked about the possibility of returning as Senator Ezekiel Swann in a possible prequel.
He confirmed that he likes the idea, adding that prequels can be great successes, citing that he heard Furiosa is "one of the strongest that's ever been delivered" before its release:
"I like that idea. Because you know what's interesting is having just read a lot of the coverage, because in the industry, we track it and we read about it. I've heard great things about the latest George Miller film, 'Furiosa.' They're saying it's like a prequel, but it's one of the strongest that's ever been delivered."
Furthering his thought process of well-received prequels throughout Hollywood's history, alluding to the idea that The Godfather Part II is better than its predecessor:
"And that's a film discussion by decade, right? You look at some of the great films per decade, sometimes that happens, where a prequel can be... 'Godfather II' is another example of that, right? That was a pretty great film."
Hall mentioned that he likes to "stick to what [he's] doing" with each role and finds it nice that he can "cut the line" once a project is complete:
"I never kind of elaborate or think on that level in terms of my imagination because I just stick to what I'm doing, the role and the circumstances while I'm making it, and then a nice part of it, it's almost like, I hate to say it, sounds like I'm like fishing, you kind of cut the line, you let it go, you know?
Whether an Ezekiel Swann project or any sequel of the story told in Trigger Warning remains to be seen.
Trigger Warning is now streaming on Netflix.
