Russo brothers on ‘The Gray Man’: Dhanush has a rare quality like Marlon Brando

Joseph and Anthony Russo tried to get The Gray Man made for almost nine years. An adaptation of Mark Greaney’s pulp novel of the same name, the filmmaker duo was drawn by what the novel stood for: holding the establishment accountable for its actions.

When they almost finalised on the primary star cast —  including Hollywood A-listers such as Chris Evans, Ryan Gosling and Ana de Armas — they began looking for someone who could play the best assassin in the world, and had “real charisma”.

The obvious question on everyone’s minds is: why Dhanush?

It is, in fact, a question Dhanush asked as well. Ahead of the premiere for The Gray Man at Mumbai’s Famous Studios, Dhanush joked that he literally asked the casting agents about how the Russo brothers knew of him. He was in a state of disbelief that they actually wanted him to play Avik San.

However, Dhanush was sold the moment the Russo brothers gave a brief about his character: He is well-dressed, drives fancy cars and has his own moral code, “I have been playing good-guy characters for a long time and I saw this as an opportunity to play a baddie. He is not exactly a bad guy; there are more shades to him. I found that interesting,” smiles Dhanush, seated beside to Joe and Anthony Russo during an exclusive chat.

The cast of ‘The Gray Man’
| Photo Credit: Netflix India

Before casting Dhanush as Avik San, a surprise package in The Gray Man, the Russos were watching video clips, looking for inspiration for fight choreography. They came across clippings from Dhanush’s films and were impressed by his agility. “Being an action star requires physical gifts; it’s the speed and grace that you have. Dhanush possessed all of those things and we thought it was smart enough if we could ask him to play the part,” says Joe.

Anthony had other reasons. He believes that Dhanush possesses a rare quality as an actor. “I always think of Marlon Brando when I describe this quality. When Brando is on camera, your eye seeks him. Likewise, Dhanush has that quality where your eyes just go looking for him,” adds Anthony.

Dhanush as Avik San
| Photo Credit: Netflix India

The Gray Man is not obviously all about Dhanush. The actor makes a brief appearance and does help in advancing the story forward. He is referred to as the “sexy Tamil friend” by Chris Evans’ Llyod Hansen, who is in a tug-of-war situation with Six (Ryan Gosling). Being part of a mainstream Hollywood film, made on a budget of $200 million, may not guarantee you a meaty role, but Dhanush isn’t perturbed by the short screen time. “I can’t straight away say no, telling myself that I will only play the main lead,” he says. “This was an opportunity and it is up to me to make the most of it. If you are smart enough, you can make an impact; it doesn’t matter if it’s five minutes or 10.”

Immersive experience

For The Gray Man, the Russo brothers were heavily influenced by the Hollywood thrillers of the 1970s and 80s, such as Die Hard and Lethal Weapon. They were inspired by the combination of action, intensity and humour that were part of such films. “The experience of flowing between moments of tension, fun and levity. It is also the idea that the central character is put through an impossible task and has to survive. Those two qualities were something we were trying to emulate in this movie,” says Anthony.

Almost three fourths of The Gray Man moves seamlessly from one big action piece to another. Staging stunt sequences that are both inventive and mad fun, has become the trademark of the Russo brothers, something they both seem to agree upon.

Discussing how they write their stunts, Joe says, “It is all character based for us. You put an action scene in the movie to advance the story and illuminate something about the character. For us, the primary goal always is: what are we learning about the character through this action scene? How are we going to root for them to overcome obstacles? That’s how we think and it’s very organic for us.”

Dhanush at the Los Angeles premiere
| Photo Credit: Netflix India

Though action is an integral part of Tamil cinema, Dhanush says that working in the stunt sequence — featuring Ryan Gosling and Ana de Armas — has completely changed his perception of action choreography. “As we do a lot of films in a year, there is little time for us to train for action sequences. The maximum we train is for three days. But in Hollywood, they film for limited days, but train longer — maybe for a month and a half for one set piece. This has changed the way I approach an action scene in Tamil films. The Gray Man helped me see a new dimension,” he says, “I feel there’s going to be a big difference between how I used to do stunts before and how I am going to do now.”

Two years into the pandemic, the landscape of cinema has changed dramatically — right from conception to consumption — ensuring that theatres remain a means to experience the spectacle in popcorn entertainers. As creators of some of the biggest tent pole films ( Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity Warand Endgame), the Russos agree. At the same time, Joe is optimistic about a balance existing between digital distribution and cinema, though he agrees that most streaming companies arrange for a theatrical window only for their biggest movies; The Gray Man, for instance, had a limited screening in theatres in the US.