All action movie heroes have to overcome challenging obstacles, but for Connor, the protagonist of A Day To Die, his tight spot couldn't have come at a worse time. Directed by Wes Miller, A Day to Die stars Kevin Dillon as the down-on-his-luck Connor. He's also joined in the movie by other big stars, including Bruce Willis, Frank Grillo, and Leon.
When SWAT officer turned parole officer Connor kills a drug pusher in a violent confrontation, the criminal's employer Pettis, played by Leon, arrives to collect on the losses incurred. Kidnapping Connor's wife, Pettis leaves Connor with 12 hours to get him $2 million. To pull the job off, Connor calls up some of his old associates to save his wife.
We speak to Kevin Dillon on the making of A Day To Die, the experience of filming the movie in Jackson, Mississippi, and some other projects he has in the works.
Screen Rant: How did you become involved with A Day To Die?
Kevin Dillon: It was an offer, which is always nice. I didn't have to audition, because I hate auditioning! But the offer came in, I read the script and I liked it pretty much right away, because I love action movies. They put a nice cast together, Frank Grillo was already involved. They later got Leon, who is a buddy of mine from Westchester County, so I've known Leon literally for about 40 years, because him and my brother Matt were best buddies growing up. They did a movie together back in the day called The Flamingo Kid, great movie. And you know, I love Wes, our director whose really cool, and it was fun, it was just a good time.
What are some interesting stories you could share about the making of A Day To Die?
Kevin Dillon: We ended up filming in Jackson, Mississippi, which was my first time in that neck of the woods, and it was pretty cool. It's Deep South, the food is great, and they basically gave us a free run of the town. The let us blow up stuff right in the middle of the village, they gave us actual cop cars that they weren't using anymore, and they said 'Yeah, go ahead and have it with these cop cars!' I mean, we were blowing up cop cars and whatnot, and it was just fun. It was the last time I've shot actual weapons on the set, because now they're really locking down on shooting real firearms. I'm not saying they're gone forever in movies, but the next couple movies I did, it was Airsoft guns, and they don't really give you the same adrenaline rush when you're doing these action as when you're firing real blanks. So, it was just a fun movie to shoot with a lot of cool action, a lot of great stunt guys, and some pretty cool actors, too, good cast.
What challenges did COVID present during the making of A Day To Die?
Kevin Dillon: COVID made a little tricky. A lot of testing. I had done a movie before this one where we got shut down twice, and that eats time. The shutdown was for a couple of weeks, so that was a real nightmare. We were lucky on this, nobody got COVID, but a lot of testing. Every morning, you're getting swabbed, and we really dodged a bullet, because it could've been bad.
So, what were some of your favorite scenes to do in the film?
Kevin Dillon: Oh man, there was a lot of really cool scenes. I love the action as we're breaking into the bank and we're behind the car and shooting, and I'm firing over the top. It was like something I saw in a Vietnam documentary, the guy has an M-16 but he doesn't want to expose himself to fire, so he's kind of shooting over the top his car. Doing that stuff is just super fun! I would say my favorite scene was the big brawl with my brother [Tim, played by Gianni Capaldi], we haven't seen each other in a while and we just get into this all-out, beat 'em up brawl. I'm one of six kids, five boys, I've been there before, not quite to that level! But I did dig that scene where the two brothers exhaust each other in the end and then they come back together. I thought that was cool.
What was it like doing that scene in the movie?
Kevin Dillon: Well, you know, doing these big fight scenes, it's like dance moves. You've got to remember every little move or someone's going to get hurt, like if you're throwing a right punch and he doesn't know that he's suppose to duck it. So, they're kind of tricky, but I think they're fun. We also had some stunt guys make it look really cool where tables are getting broken, but you end up getting really bruised. At the end of the day, you walk home and everything hurts a little bit because it's like you really just got into a brawl. You feel a little beat up.
With A Day To Die having a ticking time and heist kind of scenario, other than COVID, how did making the film feel different from other movies you've done?
Kevin Dillon: This movie was a little different in that, I don't know how many movies they're shooting down in Jackson, Mississippi, but it kind of had a different vibe there. Not too many towns will just let you do what we did! They gave us a greenlight to do anything. The budget wasn't huge, but we got a great look for the budget we had because of these allowances they let us get away with. It's not too often that you can just set off a bomb right next to city hall, and we basically did that.
Were the any injuries with parts of the film like that?
Kevin Dillon: I would say there were some slight injuries, which there always are on a big action movie, but nobody got hurt bad. We had some great armorers who prepped all the guns and they were on point with all the weapons and the firearms. There are safe ways to do that, and we had a great armorer. A lot of scrapes and bruises and bumps, but that's about it.
What really stood out to you about the story of A Day To Die and your character Connor?
Kevin Dillon: Well, it's always fun to play a guy who is just so on the ropes. He's already been demoted, he was on a SWAT team and he was lieutenant with his own command of guys, and then he's a parole officer in the end because he's been demoted. Then on top of that, he gets into some trouble, he gets fired, and then comes home only to find out that his wife is pregnant, and she's like 'You really need this raise!' and it's not looking good. Then, things get even worse from there, so this guy's really got his back against the wall, and there's only a few guys he can count on, and it's his old team. So, he's got to get the band back together, and I loved that, I just thought that was a cool thing.
So, what other projects do you have coming up after A Day To Die?
Kevin Dillon: I got a couple other movies coming up, and I just finished a pilot. I've got one called Hot Seat, one called Wire Room, and then Ramble On is a pilot. I've also got a movie about Ronald Reagan. It's been kind of a good year for me, the beginning of COVID was tough, but the last year's been pretty great. I've been able to get a lot of work, and Ramble On is pretty cool. It's got a lot of the Entourage guys. Doug Ellin, who created Entourage, Kevin Connolly's in it, and some of my Platoon guys like Charlie Sheen and John McGinley. I think it's going to be really cool!
A Day To Die is now in theaters and available on VOD outlets.