1 of 5 | Scott Adkins and Nicole Deon star in “Reckless,” on digital video-on-demand Friday. Photo courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films
As a martial artist, Scott Adkins has faced fighters like Jean-Claude Van Damme, Donnie Yen, Marko Zaror and even John Wick himself in movies. In Reckless, on digital video-on-demand Friday, Adkins enters the British crime genre and faces Vinnie Jones.
Adkins, 49, plays Devon, a gangster who goes down for a robbery. When he gets out of prison to even the score with his old crew, cirme boss Trent (Jones) sends more thugs to quiet Devon.
In a recent Zoom interview with UPI, Adkins said he and screenwriter Stu Small emphasized the British elements of Reckless. Jones broke into movies with Guy Ritchie’s gangster ensembles Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch.
“Stu and myself, we inject a lot of the Englishness into it which we enjoy,” Adkins said. “I love it. I love making British movies. The more British the better.”
Director Elliott Montello, making his feature debut with Reckless, is also a Brit now based in Vancouver. Adkins said it was Montello’s idea that Devon reads Martial Arts for Dummies in prison and emerges fighting like Adkins.
“It’s a Scott Adkins film so people are going to expect some sort of fighting and how do you explain that?” Adkins said. “It’s kind of like explaining Jean-Claude Van Damme’s accent in every movie, you’ve got to explain how I can fight.”
Devon does some of Adkins’ trademark spin kicks against Trent’s thugs. Still, Reckless was completed in 14 days, setting a new record for Adkins, who often films projects in under three weeks.
“What we got for that amount of time, somebody should give us an award,” Adkins joked.
Helping to maximize the value of those 14 days, Adkins brought Small in to revise the script by Matthew Robert Kelly. Small co-wrote 2018’s Accident Man with Adkins and worked on Adkins’ films Avengement, Triple Threat and the Debt Collector films.
Adkins said memorizing the lines for all the scenes he filmed each day was harder than the fighting. As an action-comedy, Adkins emphasized the latter.
“It’s an all out comedy, really,” he said.
Adkins appeared as a villain in the comedy The Brothers Grimsby but Accident Man was Adkins’ first movie that allowed him to be comedic, based on the Pat Mills comic book. Adkins said he used to make comedy videos with his school friends.
“They would all be Monty Python sketches and absolute buffoonery,” Adkins said. “That’s my sense of humor.”
Roles in The Killer’s Game, John Wick: Chapter 4 and Day Shift also allowed more comic relief. However, Adkins has made his directorial debut with the upcoming film Brawler, which he said is more in the dramatic vein of Avengement.
“Action is what I do,” Adkins said. “Martial arts fights, that’s what I’m best at. I’m going to direct a film that’s based around that for sure but it’s a lot more character-driven than some of the other stuff I’ve done.”
Adkins originally expected to become a filmmaker, but broke into acting via Hong Kong films in 2001, including Jackie Chan’s The Accidental Spy and The Medallion. He has starred in his own movie vehicles for 20 years.
“I always thought oh, I’m going to direct something sometime but it took a long time for me to do it,” he said. “It’s so difficult to direct and to be in it as the lead actor, but also to do all the action.”
In addition to Brawler, Adkins also completed One Last Shot, the third film in the One Shot series. Though not actually filmed for 90 straight minutes, the films are made up of one-take scenes seamlessly blended together.
“You’ve got to make sure you’ve been training and your cardio’s up for the challenge,” Adkins said. “Especially if you’re fighting Kane Kosugi who broke my rib on One Last Shot. Thanks, Kane.”
Earlier this year, Adkins also appeared in The Rip, playing an FBI agent interrogating Ben Affleck early in the film. Adkins said that was the first day of production with cast and crew focused on completing the scenes.
“There wasn’t a lot of time for chit chat,” Adkins said. “I had a laugh with him when he was trying to smash me through the window there. That was a bit lighter.”
Adkins also wrapped filming on Skyline: Warpath and several other films. He remains grateful to have so many opportunities.
“I don’t take it for granted,” Adkins said. “I try my best and I hope I’m keeping people entertained.”
