Gearbox Software’sBorderlandsfranchise is making the leap onto the silver screen with a live-action movie debut. After being announced in 2015, the full-length feature film adaptation ofBorderlandshas arrived, bringing its Space Western setting and cast of colorful characters to theaters worldwide. Co-written and directed by Eli Roth and distributed by Lionsgate, the story follows some familiar faces on an adventure through the iconic planet of Pandora, with plenty of the explosive action and wacky humor the series is well-known for.
Ex-boxer-turned-actor Florian Munteanu sat down with Game Rant to describe his involvement in theBorderlandsfilm and the process of translating his fighting skills and acting methods into breathing life into the character of psycho Krieg for the live-action version. Outlining his previous work as well as his familiarity with theacclaimed looter-shooter, Munteanu detailed why Krieg and theBorderlandsuniverse overall is a great fit for him and the big screen.The following interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Borderlands Film Actor Florian Munteanu Was Already a Big Fan of Krieg and the Series
Q: Were you a fan of Borderlands before joining the film? Have you played any of the games?
Munteanu:I was aware ofBorderlandsand have played the games. I played my character Krieg, who now is my character. I didn’t know back then that it would be, but yeah, of course, I was familiar with them. Once the DLC forBorderlands 2came out, I won’t lie, he was definitely my favorite character just because he was so intriguing. I could see myself in him, you know, the way he was built and his craziness and everything about him.
Around 2014, though, I stopped gaming because it’s very time-consuming, and it’s not like watching a series, where you can kind of ease into it at the end of the day and watch an episode or two. You really have to invest time and soak in the atmosphere and every day try to get back into the game, but I was absolutely familiar withBorderlands.
Q: What’s your favorite or the coolest aspect ofBorderlandsto you?
Munteanu:I would say the coloring and art style. WhenBorderlandscame out, I remember thinking to myself that I had never seen anything like that before. It kind of made me think of aQuentin Tarantino movie. It was just so unique and new, especially with the brutality and dark humor that comes with it. I think that’s why the games have had so much success because there’s no comparison to them. I haven’t seen one yet, at least.
Q: You mentioned that Krieg is quite an interesting character, and you’ve talked before about how the portrayal of him in the movie is different from the games. Can you elaborate on that a bit more?
Munteanu:As I mentioned, gaming is time-consuming, but the fun part about it is that you can really invest your time in those characters and the world. With a movie, we only have a certain amount of screen time, so you kind of split up that time between those characters. There’s not as much time to go into depth as to why a character is the way they are.
In the games, you get to knowKrieg’s backgroundand the torture that happened, all that, and why he built that split personality. Long story short, what definitely is the same is his craziness and brutality. It’s everything it needs to be, in my opinion. Also, because I played the character, but let’s see what people say when they see it.
Realizing Krieg For the Silver Screen
Q: You’ve also mentioned how you incorporated your fighting training and knowledge into the character. How did that play out when filming?
Munteanu:When we were shootingBorderlands, that was the first time that I used a weapon in a movie. My roles prior to that were Viktor Drago inCreed 2andCreed 3, andRazor Fist inShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Even with Razor Fist, though, while my arm was a blade, I was using my own arm as that blade. I just wore a greenscreen glove, and it was CGI’ed in.
Borderlandswas the first time where I had something in my hand like a weapon which extends your arm reach, and that makes it a lot more difficult to control the distance and the punches. That’s the key when shooting fight scenes in a movie, right? You don’t hit, or in Krieg’s case, kill people for real [laughs].
I definitely had to adapt to that. I remember coming in about three weeks prior to the start of shooting and adapting to his fighting style, his unpredictability also. He moves a lot differently, you know, his actions are uncontrolled, there’s not a lot of thinking behind it; it’s much more instinctual. The best way in my opinion to describe it is just craziness or madness, and the fun part about that is you can let loose. You don’t have to think too much about it, you can just kind of go as crazy as possible. That’s something I really enjoyed.
Q: He’s definitely a fascinating character, and actually I thought Krieg’s “psycho-type” lines were spot-on in the movie. Did you improvise any of those, or was everything already in the script?
Munteanu:We were playing around with them, for sure. But when it comes to things like that, I think Eli has a perfect mind for it. He has a very unique way of thinking and approaching it, and obviously he comes from the horror genre where you’re kind of always trying to find the next crazier thing, like how people get tortured or whatever it may be. For theBorderlandsfilmand lines like that, I think he was the right person.
Q: Because of Krieg’s nature as a psycho, you’re wearing a mask the whole time. Given that obviously makes it hard to express emotions in the traditional form, how did that affect your performance and interpretation of him?
Munteanu:Going back to what I mentioned earlier, there are two key factors when it comes to fighting in front of the camera– controlling the distance with punches and having a clear vision. What you see is what you control. The problem was I had thepsycho maskon, which was also a first for me.
Once your vision is, let’s say “tainted,” that’s super difficult. It was a process once we started shooting to find the right mask and the right material. Because I’m moving like Krieg, and since that’s so hyper and exaggerated, in order to do that, my personal motions had to be the same, and the mask was moving the entire time. That was definitely challenging.
We went from a sturdier material to a foam mask that adapted better to fit me, but I was totally going crazy behind that mask, I can tell you that [laughs]. It wasn’t a feeling of safety, like, “Nobody can see my facial expressions, so you don’t have to focus on that." I was playing it all up with my face.
Q: Can you share any good stories that might have occurred while filming?
Munteanu:Let me tell you a fun one that kind of ties into what I just talked about. When I did Krieg’s pickup lines, the ones for audio only, I didn’t wear the mask, so we had clearer audio on them. We had a scene where we were in Roland’s car, andKevin Hartturns to me as I’m delivering my lines. That was the first time he saw what I was doing behind the mask, and it took him a while to deal with that because he thought it was so funny, all the wild expressions I was making. I’m saying I didn’t “hide” behind that mask, I was fully playing into it.
Florian Munteanu on Possible Future Borderlands Adaptations and His Upcoming Projects
Q: Do you see a future for theBorderlands“cinematic universe?”
Munteanu:I think there definitely should be a future for one because of what I said earlier; it’s a perfect scenario to build a universe. You can pick various characters and really go into depth with them. Thegreat part aboutBorderlandsand why the games were so successful is that each character has a storyline, and so gamers can connect to those, and that’s how you pick your favorites.
Again, having an ensemble of multiple protagonists doesn’t really give you the time to cover them all here. We’ll see, though, you know? There could be some sequels or spin-offs. I think there’s a future for it, but first of all, people have to decide if this movie is what they expected it to be. I know that fans can be very critical when it comes to an adaptation., so we’ll see what happens.
Q: Related, since there was the DLC that focused on Krieg, would you want to see him get his own spin-off or separate story?
Munteanu:Absolutely. I think it would be very interesting to do a spin-off orprequel about Kriegto get to know the character better and understand why he is the way he is. I’m not just saying that because I’m playing him either. I know I might sound biased, but me, personally, as a fan, I would be really interested to see that.
Q: Can you give us any hints or teasers about any of your other upcoming and future projects?
Munteanu:Right now, I’m obviously promotingBorderlands, but I was also promoting the next season ofVikingsin Europe. Soon I will be going into my next project, which, unfortunately, I can’t say much about at the moment, but it’s one I’m really excited about because it’s a key role and very close to me personally. That’s something that everyone can look forward to later on.
Q: Anything else you might want to add before we end off?
Munteanu:I hope that fans go intotheBorderlandsmovie with an open mind. I know how suspicious people perhaps are. Sometimes they can lose themselves in the hate, and then it’s hating just for the cause of it. Trust me, I knowhow belovedBorderlandsand these charactersare, too, and how important they are to the fans. Sometimes you have a game, and it or certain characters in it can help you through a difficult time. Same with a movie. If you’re a fan of the games, I think all you have to do is give it a fair shot, and you will be in for a treat.
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Borderlands 3
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