Known for portraying the Marvel villain Crossbones in the MCU, Frank Grillo has made a name for himself in action-packed films. The actor has left a lasting impression on the big and small screens. However, like most of the stars, he also has had his ups and downs in the industry. The American actor, who features in Joe Carnahan’s 2020 film as the lead, almost lost the project after the studio refused to continue the project with him.
Director Joe Carnahan had been planning a sci-fi action film for years and reportedly wanted to reunite with The Grey star in this film. However, things got complicated after the studio refused to continue with the actor Carnahan wanted in the movie.
20th Century Fox Did Not Want Frank Grillo in Boss Level
The 2020 sci-fi action film Boss Level follows Roy Pulver, a former special forces agent, who gets stuck in a time loop that ends with his death. Director Joe Carnahan had reportedly been developing the concept for the film since 2012 and wanted Frank Grillo to star as the lead character, Roy Pulver, in the movie.
Its script was originally written by Chris Borey and Eddie Borey and was titled “Continue” initially. Later, the director rewrote the original script and announced that he would make the film with 20th Century Fox and even filmed screen tests with the Wheelman actor.
However, the studio was interested in moving forward on the project with Grillo. Disappointed with the studio’s decision, Carnahan shared Grillo’s screen test on Twitter, saying that the film would have been much better with the Kingdom actor. And it did not seem to make any progress until 2017.
In 2017 Deadline reported that Joe Carnahan was working on a film called Boss Level with Frank Grillo and Mel Gibson. Filming for Boss Level reportedly started in 2018, and reports also revealed the rest of the cast of the film, including stars like Naomi Watts and Michelle Yeoh.
Frank Grillo Trained For Six Months For Boss Level
Apart from being an actor, Frank Grillo is known to be a martial artist, having practiced boxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. And the actor reportedly trained for six months to prepare for his role in the 2020 film. During an interview with Variety, he shared, “I’m an athlete and a fighter, and I have to be as truthful with the action as I am to the words in the script.”
He also mentioned that he went down to “4% body fat,” claiming that such things are hard to do and are usually “underrated” in the industry. Talking about director Joe Carnahan, he said that they are just “normal dudes” who are making movies and are not interested in “parties or the premieres or the trappings” that Hollywood has to offer.
Boss Level is available on Hulu.
Source: IMDb
