Ving Rhames is no stranger to starring in movies about the sweet science and his latest boxing movie is Uppercut. Directed by Torsten Ruether, the film is out today in theaters, on digital, and on demand. Rhames and his co-star Luiii discussed what was unique about the boxing movie with ComingSoon’s Tyler Treese and Rhames also teased what to expect from Mission: Impossible 8.
“Golden Globe winner Ving Rhames and Luise Grossmann star in an electrifying film about Toni (Grossmann), a determined female boxer trying to break down barriers as she redefines what it means to be a woman in today’s world. When Elliott (Rhames), a tough ex-boxing champion, accepts the challenge to train Toni , the two mismatched characters form an unlikely alliance. Their sparring and Elliott’s keen insights show the resilient young fighter that real strength comes from the challenges you overcome when life throws its biggest punches your way,” says the synopsis.
Tyler Treese: Ving, I’m such a fan of your work and I grew up watching you in boxing movies. Obviously you played Don King, played Sonny Liston. You started in Undisputed. You’ve narrated UFC openings. You’ve clearly have a real love and respect for combat sports. So what really draws you to keep telling stories within this space?
Ving Rhames: Well, with this film, it’s the human condition, the human experience, because American films we do, we make some Marvel movies, which are fine, but they don’t really deal with the human experience. So this was a nice change for me because we had a time to rehearse, a time to really discuss things about the characters and really go deeper into the characters. So I really appreciate having that experience.
Yeah, this is really a character study at its core, for sure.
Rhames: Yeah. It’s different for me.
Luiii, this is a remake of a German film that you did with the director in 2021. Can you speak to that unique opportunity of getting a second stab at the same character and performance? It’s a very unique situation.
Luiii: Yes, it is indeed. But I always say that for me, this was really a total new project. Even though there were of course some similarities to the German original, but for me, it was really important that my character develops. That I not play the same again. That would be really not interesting to me.
Of course, obviously, the relationship with Ving and his character brought this movie to a totally different level because two different people meet in comparison to the German original. So, for me it was something really different. Such a great experience, not only to shoot here a movie in the US but to play alongside someone like Ving Rhames.
Ving, as you were talking about, this film’s really about the human condition and your character, Elliott, he’s a, a boxing trainer, and you speak a lot about his past and a lot of emotional pain that the character’s been through. What about his journey and that character really grabbed you and made you wanna be a part of this film?
Rhames: Becoming an older black man in America, my dad once said to me, there’s nothing like an old black man ’cause he’s free. He can say what he wants, he can feel what he wants, and you can’t really do much to him. That’s what I enjoyed about this character.
Luiii, the narrative jumps between the past and the future where you’re playing an older version of your character. What was most interesting about putting on that spin and seeing where the character was nine years later?
Luiii: Yeah. I think what interests me was that she is not like we would’ve all expect becomes a professional boxer, but she switches the sides and she decides to, I think because she had this experience with Elliott and what she learned in this very night, and the, the drive to, to give it to others, her knowledge, and really to share her experiences. And I think this was interesting to me, to play a female in this really male-dominated boxing industry that it is. And, um, that was really, really interesting to me.
Ving, so much of this film is dialogue based and it takes place in the gym. It almost feels like the past part could be a play, which I really enjoyed. Can you speak to that limited scope and what that presented you as an actor? Because I felt like everybody really made the most out of it.
Rhames: Thank you. As an actor, it really gave me a lot to play with. Even the fact that it was similar to a play, it was more character involvement. So I don’t really experience that in most American scripts. This was a bit special, and that’s the main thing that drew me to the script. The director had a very good vision about the people, about the place, about the time, he really helped a tremendous amount.
Luiii, I wanted to ask you about working with Ving because he gives such a great performance, and as a scene partner, how is it working off him because he’s a pro’s pro?
Luiii: Yes. This was really special. When we first met, we had readings beforehand. I was, of course, a bit nervous on how it would be to get to know him, to work with someone who’s so experienced in the industry, obviously. Then he was so open-minded from the first beginning when we met, there was no prejudice or no, “I know how this works and you don’t,” but there was just like this curiosity about each other. I was so thankful and happy about this.
Then I think what also was helping that, in the movie, I’m playing a young German girl who wants to be trained by a legend. In real life, I was also this young German girl who wanted to be eye to eye with this legend Ving is. So there was this natural mirroring. So, I think this also helped me a lot.
Ving, you were talking about how American films can be very big and obviously you’ve been part of Mission: Impossible for almost 30 years now. That’s such a unique thing. I can’t really think of anybody else who’s been reprising the same role for 30 years. What’s been most rewarding about that very unique situation?
Rhames: Working with the cast and crew and really getting to know and meet Tom Cruise. He really treats his actors and crew very special. So, as I got to know him, he’s the only man that I’ve met in life who doesn’t see color. He told me one time, his son was about eight or nine — he adopted a black son. His son said to him, “Dad, why are you always trying to hold the black man down?” So, being able to share that with me was special for me because I’ve never heard that in life before.
This new one looks like it’s gonna be emotional. How crazy does it get?
Rhames: It’s going to be very emotional, but I think you’re really going to see the love for the two characters and the love for the, let’s say, main four, I think you’ll experience.
Thanks to Ving Rhames and Luiii for taking the time to talk about Uppercut.
