Deathstalker Star Daniel Bernhardt Talks Co-Stars, Challenges & More

Posted in: Exclusive, Interview, Movies | Tagged: Daniel Bernhardt, Deathstalker, Radial Entertainment, SHOUT! Studios

Daniel Bernhardt (Ballerina) spoke to us about his sword and sorcery film Deathstalker for Shout! Studios, Patton Oswalt, co-stars and more.

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For over 30 years, Daniel Bernhardt has been a regular in the action film scene, from on-screen roles to stunt work. The role that got him noticed with writer-director Steven Kostanski was his first on-screen TV role in Mortal Kombat: Conquest in 1998. He’s also appeared in My Network TV’s Desire, HBO’s Barry, and Netflix’s Altered Carbon. Some of his biggest roles on film include his memorable turns on Focus Features’ Atomic Blonde (2017), Lionsgate’s John Wick (2014), and Warner Bros’ The Matrix Reloaded (2003). His latest is leading the revival of the 1980s cult classic sword and sorcery fantasy, Deathstalker, from Kostanski for Shout! Studios.

The original Deathstalker started in 1983 as part of the American-Argentine collaboration of films, financed in part by legendary indie producer Roger Corman, with stars Rick Hill, John Terlesky, and John Allen Nelson playing the title character, with Hill featured in the original and 1991’s Match of Titans, the fourth film. Terlesky starred in the second film Duel of the Titans (1987), and Nelson in the third film, Death Stalker and the Warriors from Hell (1988). The fifth Deathstalker film features Bernhardt as the title character in the Kingdom of Abraxeon, when it finds itself under siege by the Dreadites, heralds of the long-dead sorcerer Nekromemnon. When Deathstalker recovers a cursed amulet from a corpse-strewn battlefield, he’s marked by dark magic and hunted by monstrous assassins. To survive, he must break the curse and face the rising evil. Death is just the beginning… of great adventure! Bernhardt spoke to Bleeding Cool about working with his co-stars from Deathstalker’s sidekick, Doodad, played physically by Laurie Field and voiced by Patton Oswalt; frequent collaborator and friend Paul Lazenby, who plays his friend-turned-enemy Jotak; Christine Orjalo, who plays the rogue Brisbayne; and his biggest challenges on set.

Deathstalker Star Daniel Bernhardt on Co-Stars, Fights, and Biggest Physical Challenges on Set

BC: What was it like working with Christina, Paul, and Laurie? Did you ever get a chance to meet Patton [Oswalt] during production at all?

DB: I didn’t meet Patton during production. I met him after Fantastic Fest, and it was amazing, but it’s an interesting question. What I keep saying a lot in the interviews and what I really loved is, and I don’t know if Steven did that purposely or not. The character, Doodad, who in the story we would think is male, right? Because Patton is doing the voice, but the character was played by this lady, Laurie, and she is a female. I think it helped me in my performance, having a female. When she pushes me and I go like, “Hey, that wasn’t cool.” If it were a guy, I would have probably [more stern] like, “Hey, THAT’S not cool!” so my performance changed. Did Stephen do that purposely, or was it by accident? We don’t know, but I think that helped my performance, and it helped the movie.

What about your work with Christina and Paul?

Paul, who plays the bad guy, is a dear friend of mine. I love him; we’ve done a lot of projects together. I suggested him for [Jotak], because he is a stunt man and a former bouncer, a former wrestler, and a power lifter. I worked with him on a TV show called Altered Carbon, where he played my sidekick. He did a great job, and has such a good voice. When this opportunity came along, I called him up. I said, “Hey, I got a great role for you,” and he auditioned for Steven, and Steven went, “That’s the guy!” He’s such a good actor and did such a good job. Christina was very new. When we read for the first time, I was blown away by her confidence this lady had. I was like, “You’re so confident.” She was so good. We had a callback or chemistry read to see how we vibe with each other, so that was amazing and cool.

What was the toughest sequence to pull off?

There were a lot. We were always fighting time, and we had so many fight scenes. Did you enjoy the fight scenes, all the sword fights?

Definitely. Yeah.

It’s a world I’m from. It’s something I love to do, but we were always under pressure for time (given our project’s indie nature). With my experience, I brought two of my guys (Alex Chung and Tyler Williams), who are two former Shaolin monks. They were my fight coordinators, and they did such an amazing job, so I let them do everything, and I stood back for the choreography. In the end, I said, “Hey, maybe change this or that.” The toughest scene…that’s a difficult question.

I enjoyed the Golem fight scene where the three of you take on this giant stone warrior there.

That was a tough scene, because we had almost no time. That was put together. We shot this whole scene in like two hours, but I think one of the toughest things I had to do, to be honest, I was saying this earlier, it was the first scene. It was the coldest day in Sudbury (Ontario, Canada) that day. For whatever reason, on our first shooting day, it was the most beautiful day. We shot the scene where I’m tangling with this swamp monster, and staying on top of the hill. I’m looking into the sky, and I have these lines. Do you remember that scene?

Yeah.

Where the wraith comes by, and I’m getting a ride. [The weather] was minus whatever, and I am wearing my little tiny shirt with no cover. I was standing there. I could be outside for literally like three minutes, and I had to run back into the car. It was that cold. It was so cold.

Deathstalker, which also stars Nicholas Rice and Nina Bergman, is in theaters.

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