Aaron Pierre Talks About His Physical Transformation for 'Rebel Ridge'

In Jeremy Saulnier's action thriller Rebel crestAaron Pierre plays Terry Richmond, a former Marine who finds himself in conflict with local law enforcement in the fictional town of Shelby Springs. Don Johnson stars opposite Pierre as Sandy Burnne, a corrupt police chief who quickly discovers that his badge isn’t as intimidating as he expected when it comes to a man with a strict code of honor and a unique skill set.

Despite playing violent adversaries on screen, working with the Vice President AND Nash Bridges The film legend coming out on Netflix on September 6th was a real surprise for Pierre.

“I have to give Jeremy his flowers here because the reason Don and I were able, before the action and after the cut, to be so engaged in conversation and discuss life and work and the scene and have fun and laugh and joke is because Jeremy protects that moment between the action and the cut,” Pierre says. The Hollywood Reporter. “He's fiercely protective of it. And the moment you step inside, you feel it yourself. So in that moment, all that matters is Terry's goal. Or if you're Don Johnson, Chief Sandy Burnne's goal. And all of a sudden, you're not Aaron, you're not Don, you're Chief Sandy Burnne, Terry Richmond, Shelby Springs and I have a problem.”

Here, Pierre chats with DAY on the mental “deception” and physical transformation required to become Richmond, finishing the film just days before starting work on Genius: MLK/X and his experiences so far having joined the casts of Mufasa: The Lion King AND The morning show.

Jeremy Saulnier said his first impression of you was that you gave off superhero vibes.

(Laughter) Did he say this? He's my boyfriend.

But then he said that as soon as he got on Zoom with you, he saw how much depth you had, and that there was so much more to you than just your extraordinary physical presence. What do you remember about that initial Zoom call and what did you talk about?

Oh my god, that’s such a great question. Thank you for that. I remember my team calling me and there was so much energy and enthusiasm and excitement in their voices, and they were desperate for me to read this script that they had received for me. So it landed in my inbox and the moment I saw that it was going to be written and directed by Jeremy Saulnier, I was all in. So I read it in probably 90 minutes and immediately called my team back and said, “This is a project that I have to be a part of. This project, to me, is undeniable and whatever we can do to make it happen, let’s get the ball rolling.” So Jeremy and I set up a meeting for us. I actually remember the first time we met on Zoom; I was traveling and I found a place to get some Wi-Fi, and it was an immediate connection. I think there are moments when you meet a director or you meet a writer and immediately there’s just an understanding of each other’s perspective. There's a mutual understanding of how we approach this wonderful, huge, complex thing that we're privileged to be a part of. We were on the same page right away. And from there, it really cemented. Obviously, these things take a while to become official and formal, but we knew from that first Zoom that it was going to happen. And it did.

After that moment, did you immediately dedicate yourself to physical training? And how was it?

So the year I filmed Rebel crest It was a wonderfully busy year. I did two movies and a miniseries that year, and each one had a matter of days off. So I remember finishing Enemy that I did with Garth Davis where I was a little skinny. I was playing this arguably sinister scientist and Garth's vision of him was that he was a little leaner and skinnier than me. So I was on the Peloton every morning and every night, and then I went from that to Rebel crestplaying an ex-Marine where I ended up being probably the biggest I've ever been, and I'll never be able to do that again. And then I had the privilege of playing Malcolm X. I was on the StairMaster probably six days a week trying to get that lean, yet so powerful and present physicality of Malcolm, yeah. But the reason I chose the StairMaster is because it's an exercise in endurance and durability, and if anyone has limitless, never-ending endurance and durability, it's Malcolm X. So it's been a really interesting year physically for me. But to answer your question, sorry, I'm hooked, we trained really hard for Rebel crest.

Our base was mostly in New Orleans, Louisiana. I love New Orleans. It's a beautiful place, and we were welcomed and embraced, and I'm deeply grateful for that. In New Orleans, Jeremy set up a warehouse, and that was like our training ground for Rebel crest. That's where we were going to build Terry Richmond. So we had firearms training there from people who had elite expertise in this stuff.

We did, obviously, weight lifting and then wrestling and boxing and sparring in that same facility. We did cycling in that facility. That’s where we built him, at least his physical ability. The emotional, mental and spiritual elements, a lot of those conversations were in private at midnight, me trying to discover this character and trying to make him authentic and real and true, and then also a long conversation with Jeremy, obviously. There wasn’t a day during the shoot that I didn’t have a bruise or a cut or a scrape or a mark, but I loved it.

As far as the stunts, was there a part of you that felt intimidated or were you inspired by Tom Cruise, like, “I want to do as many of those as possible”?

Honestly, I had to trick my brain a little bit because you read this script and Terry is so cool. I'm not cool, right? So when I first read the script, to bring him to life, I was so tempted to do the look and all that stuff, and I had to trick my brain. What I mean is, I had to imagine that he was normal. I do it every day. I do it in my sleep. That allowed me to try to bring him to life in a way that didn't feel like a gimmick, that didn't feel like an action hero, but just a real man who had all these abilities because of his life experience.

Have you already seen the final film and are you following all your projects?

So I started in theater, on stage, and one of the things you can’t do on stage is look back. All you can do is interact with the director and they’ll let you know what they think and how to proceed. That’s how I grew up. So when I started interacting with film and TV, there was this opportunity to look back at them. And I remember talking to one of my teachers about it, and I said, “I feel conflicted. What do you think I should do?” And he said, “The great thing about film is you have the opportunity to look back and find out what you would do differently next time.” And I really got that. And for that reason, now, for the most part, I watch it once and then I let it go.

What's it like going from a project like this, so physical, to working on it now? Mufasa: The Lion King where your voice is the star?

Oh, that's awesome. That's so much fun. The Lion Kingthe original, I think it was actually released the year I was born. So, for me, it has a really special place in my heart. I feel like there's some kind of connection there. It was just a great privilege and honor to be invited, the opportunity to continue the legacy of this particular character. James Earl Jones is one of my biggest inspirations, from his stage work, to his filmography, everything he touches, his voice work. He's just extraordinary. He's outstanding. And the studio, frankly. So to have the opportunity to add something, in a small way, to something that he birthed and created is a huge privilege for me. And I'll keep saying I'd love to meet him until someone sets it up. No one has set it up yet, so I'm looking at you. Tell someone, write a letter, please. That's the king, right there.

I'm sure you can't say anything about that The morning show and yet, what effect did being chosen for the series have on you?

It was a wonderful feeling. I love it The morning showand I watched it before I even knew there was going to be an opportunity for me to be a part of it. For me, what's one of the most exciting things about being a part of The morning show is the opportunity to be involved in the stage work. One thing I've been really fortunate and fortunate with in my journey as an actor is that I've always been on set with amazing artists. And that continues to be the case on The morning show. I've been blessed with the opportunity to work on stage with the amazing Jennifer Aniston and Marion Cotillard and Greta Lee and Billy Crudup. They're artists that I admire, that I think are extraordinary and phenomenal at their craft. I love it.

I don't take myself seriously, but I take my craft seriously. And that's because I know people are busy. Life is busy. People have a lot to do, a lot to manage, and a lot to do. So you should never assume that you're being gifted the time of an audience. The way I process it is that it's my responsibility to take it seriously, not myself, but to take my craft seriously. Otherwise, I feel like I'm doing the audience a disservice. So I'm in, and I'm having a blast. The morning show.

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