One look at a movie star like Luke Evans, and there’s no surprise why he’s led the charge in an onslaught of action films over the years. In his latest Asia-centered effort, Weekend in Taipei, he shows off his impressive physique to pummel an endless line of villains as a rogue DEA agent out for blood as he protects his makeshift family of sorts. Action-movie diehards will also remember Evans from multiple films in the Fast & Furious franchise as Owen Shaw, brother to Jason Statham’s beloved character. Despite being bros (or “family,” as the franchise likes to say), the two actors never really spent time together off-screen.
Evans noted in a recent MovieWeb interview that he did not, in fact, spend any time preparing with co-star Statham to ensure that they would authentically portray brothers on the big screen. “But Jason’s great, and he’s fun, and he’s a nice human being. I enjoy being on set with him. It was lots of laughs, lots of jokes,” said Evans, adding:
In fact, I’ve probably hung out with his wife more than I’ve hung out with him, Rosie, but not because of the movie, just by chance, being at a fashion show or something, and she’s also really, really lovely. They’re a great couple. But no, we didn’t have any prep before that. It just, it just happened.
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Co-starring with Evans in Weekend in Taipei is another Fast franchise star: Sung Kang, aka Han. Evans told MovieWeb what it was like reuniting with Kang for a different sort of action project, where Kang plays not the most likable of personas:
“It was great. It was nice for us to play different roles. But also, I love Sung. He’s such a nice human being. He’s a great man,” Evans told us. “We got to hang out. We went out lots of times to karaoke and went to the night markets with the gang and the family. So it was really lovely. It was really great. He plays a good bad guy.”
Luke Evans on Playing an Action Hero ‘Everyman’
And now there’s Weekend in Taipei, where Evans plays the gritty but charismatic Agent John Lawlor, who’s on a mission to crack a case in Thailand despite his superiors’ urging that he stand down. “I see a lot of myself in John,” said Evans, who also provides a number of surprising laughs in his film. “Sometimes, when you’re in the most crazy of situations, humor is the only thing you can really hang on to, you know, just to get yourself through it.” He continued:
“I think with John, he’s been in many difficult situations with his career… He’s mixing going undercover, and he’s mixing with some dark characters, but he’s sort of been there, done that. He’s slightly jaded, but he’s sort of like an everyman, you know? He’s hit his early 40s, he’s not married, doesn’t have a kid, you know, his work is everything. He’s thrown himself into that. He was in love once, and he messed it up. And I don’t know, I just get the guy.”
From Ketchup Entertainment, Weekend in Taipei will be released in theaters Nov. 8, 2024.
Weekend In Taipei, directed by George Huang, follows a former DEA agent and a former undercover operative as they rekindle their romance over a fateful weekend in Taipei, oblivious to the dangerous repercussions stemming from their tumultuous past.