1 of 5 | LaMonica Garrett learned to fire an AK in “Man of War,” in theaters Friday. Photo courtesy of Well Go USA
LaMonica Garrett said Man of War, in theaters Friday, is the type of movie he would go see as a child. Garrett, 51, said he always hoped to be in action and science-fiction movies when he grew up.
In Man of War, Garrett plays Connor, a retired Navy SEAL and CIA operative whose niece, Riley (Rosmary Yaneva), is held hostage by Russian warlord Koniev (Daniel Bernhardt) during the war in Ukraine.
In a recent Zoom interview with UPI, Garrett said he grew up watching Predator and Rambo movies.
“I choose my roles based on what the younger version of me would think of that role in that movie,” Garrett said. “If he gives me the thumbs up, we’re doing it. Let’s go have fun.”
The action film also gave Garrett his first lead role in a movie, after appearing in shows like 1883, Lioness and The Terminal List. He appreciated the character journey.
“Connor’s not real likeable,” Garrett said. “He just wants to save Riley. Through the course of the movie, you see how he gets his humanity back.”
Director William Kaufman has made several military movies. Though the Ukraine War is recent, Kaufman saw a connection across all wars.
“The war is the setting of the movie but the story is about the people,” Kaufman said. “Our story is really about the human side of this and the people caught in the middle.”
As the antagonist, Bernhardt embraced playing the villain, too. A stuntman with the 87Eleven and 87North teams that make the John Wick and Nobody movies, Bernhardt has often appeared as henchmen the hero dispatches in fight scenes.
Keanu Reeves and Bob Odenkirk have killed Bernhardt on screen multiple times in various sequels. Bernhardt made a suggestion to Kaufman that defined Koniev.
“I went up to Will and said, ‘I got this crazy idea. I’m going to play this as a lot like love scenes. I make love to the people I kill,'” Bernhardt said. “He goes, ‘That’s really creepy. Try it.'”
Kaufman said that first take as Koniev convinced him.
“I go, ‘That’s it,'” Kaufman said. “Daniel’s like, ‘Are you sure I didn’t go too far?’ No.”
As the hero and villain, it’s no spoiler that Connor and Koniev fight in the end. Both characters are soldiers, so it is not a martial arts fight like Bernhardt often choreographs and conducts.
“We were just dancing,” Bernhardt said. “It was like a tango. Now fortunately, LaMonica is a 6’3″ beautiful big man. I’m the same size so we are just like two bulls going at it, locking horns.”
Kaufman and Garrett had time for a one-week military boot camp with tactical advisor Max Kraus. Garrett said the weapons training helped him when filming began.
“I’ve worked with a lot of assault rifles on film but I’ve never worked with an AK and it’s different,” Garrett said. “It’s night and day difference from loading the mags when you’re on the run.”
Garrett said he still hears from 1883 fans who were introduced to the story of Black cowboys from that Yellowstone prequel. He played Thomas, a buffalo soldier.
“There’s people that still ask me, ‘Did they really exist?'” Garrett said. “That’s why we told the story and that’s what these stories do. That’s why we make films. That’s why we make television, to show people stuff that they didn’t read in books.”
He recently wrapped filming another western and confessed to a bit of whiplash going back and forth from period pieces to modern-day projects.
“It screws with your head a little bit,” Garrett said. “When we got back to civilization it still feels weird. It’s an adjustment period. You’re making movies, you’re making projects. It’s all just love.”
Bernhardt continues to work with his fellow stuntmen. Many of the people who began with him, like Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, have become directors.
“I was fighting Chad Stahelski in Bloodsport 2,” Bernhardt said. “I gave him his first fight coordinating job and now he hires me.”
Kaufman also has teams he returns to repeatedly. Man of War filmed in Bulgaria, where the crew is used to working on Hollywood movies.
“They go from doing these hundred-something million-dollar Extraction, Expendables, whatever to our not $100 million movies and we never feel a difference,” Kaufman said. “They are as good as it gets.”
