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In case you haven’t heard—and it’s possible you haven’t—there’s a new Transporter movie out today. However, unlike the previous three, this one doesn’t star handsome human tanker Jason Statham. It stars handsome human tanker … Ed Skrein? Don’t know him? Sure you do. And if not, you will.
Before today, most audiences—or most audiences in the US, at least—knew Skrein as the first guy who played Daario Naharis on Game of Thrones. But Skrein was kind of a big deal even before he was a lieutenant in the Second Sons pledging fealty to Daenerys Targaryen. In the early 2000s he was a rapper in the UK hip-hop scene. (You can check out his stuff here and here.)
Now, with The Transporter Refueled he’s taking on a new role as action star. He’s pretty good with all the tight-jawed driving and general four-on-one fighting stuff. And early next year he’ll take his ass-kicking to another level as Ajax in the (very, very highly anticipated) Deadpool movie. Here’s everything you need to know about your new Transporter, Ed Skrein.
Josh Valcarcel/WIREDHe’s Not Worried About Being the Next Jason StathamFor three films, the Transporter franchise has been defined by Jason Statham’s performance. As action franchises go, that’s a big driver’s seat to fill. But Skrein isn’t worried. “When Daniel Craig took over [as James Bond] I don’t think he looked too much at what Pierce Brosnan had done,” Skrein says. “People always ask, ‘How will it be different from the old ones?’ And I’m just like, ‘Well, I’m doing it. It’s a different actor, so it will be different.’ I didn’t really think about that.”He’s Really Into Doing StuntsFor both Transporter Refueled and the upcoming Deadpool, Skrein had to get his hands dirty—and knuckles bloody—in the stunts department. (For Deadpoolhe says, “I wasn’t wearing a mask, so I had to do all my own shit.”) He saw it as a series of teachable moments. “I didn’t have any martial arts background before I got into this, so I feel like I’ve had this wonderful opportunity to have this education,” he says. “I feel like I’m in elementary school. Well, maybe after Deadpool I’m in the first year of high school. You wait until I get to college, man, I’m going to kick some serious fucking ass.”He Thinks Deadpool Will Be the ‘First Post-Modern Hollywood Superhero Move’A fan of the Deadpool comics—he gave copies to costars Brianna Hildebrand (aka Negasonic Teenage Warhead) and Gina Carano (Angel Dust)—Skrein was, naturally, stoked to take on the role of Ajax in the upcoming adaptation starring Ryan Reynolds. The actor says “we feel like we really have represented him properly” and can’t wait for fans to see the movie, which he says borrows a lot of its visual style from Blade Runner. “It feels like we’ve created the first post-modern Hollywood superhero movie,” he says. “It is really something special.”He Also Can’t Believe He’s, You Know, in the Deadpool MovieIf you’re wondering, Skrein says the Deadpool set was as fun as you might imagine. (“It sounds so cheesy and bloody actors always say this anyway,” he says. “But we were a proper team from the beginning.”) It was also a set he couldn’t believe he was on. “I was doing a scene and Ryan was in the Deadpool suit and I looked at him and I was like, ‘I can’t believe I’m in a Deadpool movie,'” Skrein says. “I can’t believe we’re making a Deadpool movie. Also, I can’t believe I have to fight Deadpool. I get to give him a bit of a pounding. That was the most amazing part. It kept happening throughout the shoot. Sometimes I’d be there and we’d be setting up for the final fight with Deadpool and I’d stand there looking at him in character thinking, ‘I’m going to chop your head off, I’m coming for you!’ and then I’d break out of it and be like, ‘God, I’m fighting Deadpool!'” He’d Like to Play a ThunderCatAsk Skrein about his dream roles and the answer is fairly surprising. “I’ve always wanted to play Panthro from the ThunderCats,” he says. “From when I was a kid, I loved him. And my brother was like, ‘Why do you love him, he’s a mechanic?’ From the Ninja Turtles, I loved Donatello as well. Now I look back and he was the geek. So I like the geeky ones.”He’ll Probably Never Release Another AlbumRight now, Skrein is a musician-turned-actor. But would he ever go back to music and become a musician-slash-actor? Nah. “[Music] is a young man’s game,” says the 32-year-old actor. “That was when I was in my rebellious young man stage and I had so much to say. Now I’m just like a boring, peace-and-love pacifist. I don’t have the energy to fight the Man. Or think I even have to fight the Man. It was a beautiful time creatively, and I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for that. … [But] it really does feel like a past life.” Go Back to Top. Skip To: Start of Article.
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