Code 8: Part II star Alex Mallari Jr. spoke about his time on the new Netflix series, revealing that they had a human being perform the new K9 police units while filming.
Mallari was in the original Code 8 film, playing Sergeant 'King' Kingston, but it was a minor role.
This time around, he’s been upgraded. Now, King is the number one bad guy causing trouble for Stephen and Robbie Amell’s characters.
Alex Mallari Jr. Reveals How Code 8: Part III Filmed K9 Police Robots
In an exclusive interview with The Direct’s Russ Milheim, Code 8: Part II star Alex Mallari Jr. talked about how they filmed scenes with the new K9 dogs, preparing to play the big villain, and more.
A key part of Part II’s plot is the introduction of new K9 units which can non-lethally take down criminals, including powered individuals—though that doesn’t go as smoothly as it sounds.
When it came to filming their scenes, Mallari revealed they had "a person in one of those dotted suits" acting out the scenes where the dogs needed to move:
"So there was a practical dog, but it wouldn't move. But as far as the dog moving, there was a person in one of those dotted suits performing the rollovers and whatnot. It was tough to be King and not laugh during those moments. But we got by."
As for whether the actor named his character’s personal K9 unit, Mallari noted how it felt more authentic to King not to. After all, the villain is "someone who uses things and people:"
"No, no, I just went with King being someone who uses things and people. So identity to him was like, ‘I don't care for it. What can you do for me?'"
While Mallari Jr. 's Sergeant ‘King’ Kingston first appeared in the original Code 8, his role in the story grew exponentially for the sequel.
The actor explained how joining Part II "was exciting and intimidating" and how he had to match the increased intensity that fellow co-star Stephen Amell brought to the table:
"It was exciting and intimidating as well. When I got the call from Jeff Chan, our director, he's like, 'Yeah, let's make a movie.' And I was all excited. And then he goes, 'But here's the thing. Stephen [Amell] has brought a whole other level of intensity. So you really got to bring it.' So right away, the nerves hit, man. And boy, did Stephen ever bring it. Wicked to work with all of them."
As for being promoted to the main villain, the actor said the director "gave [him] full creative freedom:"
"It was great. The writing was just really good. So I was able to work off of my instincts on it. And Jeff, being as collaborative as he is, gave me just full creative freedom. And I was able to tackle it, day by day and moment to moment. And Stephen and Robbie are obviously great to work with, and Serena was amazing as well. So, with everyone's support, I think we just came up with something special and made it. Everyone made everyone's job easy."
When getting into character, Mallari shared how he "would listen to Jay Z’s album, American Gangster:"
"I would listen to Jay Z's album, ‘American Gangster.’ There's an intro that I just absolutely loved. And then putting all the Lincoln City PD paraphernalia in my trailer was very helpful as well."
The actor was then asked if he added any specific elements to the character that weren't on the page, to which he pointed to his character's "very cliche police officer mustache:"
"The mustache, the way that was. I really wanted just that classic, very cliche police officer mustache from, I guess, back in the day or back in a day to represent something people recognized. Aside from that, it was all Jeff's call and taking his direction."
Mallari stars alongside the Amell brothers, Stephen and Robbie, whom he only has a handful of scenes with. On working with them, Mallari opened up about how "it was just great to learn from them:"
"Great. They deliver, they show up, they know their lines, they're professionals. They've been doing this for much longer than I have and leading the way for so long. It was just great to learn from them, to be able to watch someone work and see how they do things and get things done. It's just great. And a place to learn from."
"My favorite scene was my first day filming," Mallari said, noting how it involved getting "spit in [his] face" which "really set the tone for the rest of the film:"
"My favorite scene was my first day filming. And it was with Jean Yoon. And King was coming out of a police vehicle to go up to her character... She spits in my face. So that was a practical situation. And just to get spit in the face by Jean Yoon, that was great… It really set the tone for the rest of the film... Someone spat on me on my first day. Can go ahead and be that guy now."
Warning - The rest of this article contains spoilers for Code 8: Part II.
The hardest sequence for him to film, however, was the moment when King is revealed to have telekinesis:
"It's a part where we discovered that King is a [telekinetic] person. Mainly because having to do that act for so long and then you're clenching your teeth and everything... And nothing is happening, but you're just flexing, just moving jello in your hand. That would have been the most difficult scene."
As for what part of his experience on Code 8: Part II helped him grow as an actor, it was a confidence boost in knowing he "can tackle that sort of depth and range:"
"Knowing that I can tackle that sort of depth and range in a character just added that level with the people I got to act with. I think that was a wicked confidence booster that I needed just to let me keep moving forward."
Many fans are probably wondering if they should strap themselves in for an inevitable Part III, though that’s not even something Mallari himself knows about:
"I've not heard anything about a Part III. But I will continue bothering Jeff Chan and Chris Perry about a Part III and see what happens."
But the actor does know what he’d like to see next for King’s story: he wants "a prison riot with Garrett:"
"I want something like a prison riot with Garrett. You know, he teams up with Garrett, and then some wicked prison riot happens. I don't care about the rest of the movie. I just give me a prison riot with Stephen Amell. It'd be fun."
When asked what role the actor would like to play next, Mallari admitted, "[He’d] really like to be in a war movie" while also joking about how he’s disappointed that the Marvel anti-hero "Venom is all taken up:"
"I'd like to be in a war movie… I love World War ll movies. So, maybe in that realm, and yeah… [Marvel’s] Venom is all taken up. I'm crushed about that."
The full video interview with Alex Mallari Jr. can be viewed here:
Code 8: Part II is now streaming on Netflix.
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