Creed’s Florian Munteanu gets his Bane on in Eli Roth’s Borderlands. The actor talked with Digital Trends about preparing for the movie and that damn mask.
Acting is hard, but acting with a mask on for much of your performance is even harder. Just ask Kane Hodder from the Friday the 13th movies or Tom Hardy, who played the masked Bane in The Dark Knight Rises. The actor Florian Munteanu, who stars as Krieg in Eli Roth’s sci-fi romp Borderlands, had to act in a mask the entire time, yet still managed to find the essence of his character that made him so appealing in the game.
In an interview with Digital Trends, Munteanu spoke about the challenges of bringing the game to life in the movie and how playing an intimidating brute brought out a hidden comedic side audiences haven’t seen before.
Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Digital Trends: When you’re dealing with characters, you look for the specific details and things that make them click. With Krieg, it’s the mask. That’s what makes him who he is. Putting on the mask, how did it help you get into the character’s mind and understand what he wants?
Florian Munteanu: I mean, the mask is part of the character. I kept telling everyone just because you have a mask on doesn’t mean you’re safe from not trying to act to the fullest of your abilities. The facial expressions and everything that goes with it — the eye acting, the body language — have to be on point even though you are wearing a mask. That’s how you make the mask your own. That’s how the mask becomes your face.
Preparing for the movie was very easy for me because I was very familiar with the games and the character. Krieg is actually my favorite character, so I knew basically everything about him. The physical preparation for the role was tough, but it was a lot of fun immersing myself in it all.
