Sam Hargrave: Former stuntman makes directorial debut in Netflix’s Extraction
If you’ve already seen the Netflix film Extraction and loved its nonstop, explosive action, know that it comes from a place of experience.
And it’s not just any experience. It’s Sam Hargrave’s tale of experience — and accomplishment.
From years of doing and coordinating stunts (even acting as a stunt double to Hollywood big names), he takes pride in working his way up the ranks. Now, he’s living his dream as a movie director with Extraction as his impressive debut.
Based on the original script by Joe Russo, the man behind Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, Extraction is an action-thriller that goes into the underworld of weapons dealers and traffickers, where a boy named Ovi (played by young Bollywood actor Rudhraksh Jaiswal) becomes a pawn in a drug war. Because he was kidnapped and brought to one of the world’s most impenetrable cities, the deadly mission to save the boy calls for the “unparalleled skill of a mercenary” who has nothing to lose, Tyler Rake, played by Chris Hemsworth.
“It was a dream come true,” the former stuntman told The STAR when asked about his transition to becoming a first-time film director during a recent virtual interview.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. I always knew that I was, you know, ‘destined’ for it, if you want to use that word. But, you know, I worked really hard to get there.”
Hargrave also felt empowered by the success of fellow stunt coordinators-turned-directors. “It was my path. It was similar to a few who have come before me, like you know, David Leitch (Atomic Blonde) or Chad Stahelski (John Wick).”
It’s worth noting that ever since, he has always believed that action scenes should tell or push a story forward, and are not just in a film for shock-and-awe reasons.
Hargrave explained, “I think a lot of my past has informed my style and my approach to filmmaking. Every time I was designing action sequences, I was practicing for directing, because it was always telling a story through action. It was never action for the sake of action or to make something look cool, just to be cool.
“It always had to move the story forward or reveal something about character. And so I think in doing that, you know, the wonderful opportunities I’ve had through the years, that was the building block for becoming a director, and then getting the opportunity, which I’ll be forever grateful for. It was Joe Russo trusting me with his script that Chris and I both really kind of related to and connected with, and so yeah, I’m just very grateful to have the opportunity to do something like this and that people are responding in such a way that just makes you feel good.”
According to the production notes, the Russos — Joe and his brother Anthony, also the film producer — entrusted the big break to Hargrave after he proved his worth as one of the best stunt directors in Hollywood.
Hargrave’s stunt work could be seen in such action-heavy films Atomic Blonde, The Hunger Games as well the Marvel Films. He once served as Chris Evans’ stunt double in the earlier Marvel films and stunt coordinator for Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame.
Production was filmed in and around Ahmedabad, India — the sixth largest city in India — for 20 days and the remainder of the film’s 58-day schedule in Thailand.
Hargrave said, “There’s a lot of preparation and a lot of thought (that went to) doing it but hopefully the end product is all kind of worth it and you can see this world, a very different world than we’re used to sitting in western cinema from a very unique perspective.”
The first scene they shot was also one of the most challenging “set pieces” in the film. This was an 11-minute-long sequence done in a densely populated community in India and designed to look like it was one seamless shot of car chases, pile-ups, hand-to-hand combat, running through tenements, leaping and falling off roofs.
Hargrave, who is noted for situating viewers as close to the action as possible, placed himself right in the middle of the action. Hemsworth said that Hargrave wasn’t only demonstrating and directing stunts, he was in fact strapped in front of a (car) bonnet to be as close to the action as he could possibly get.
“I was strapped onto the hood of a Polaris Ranger 1000 with a camera in my hand for the oner where we’re chasing our heroes in a Mercedes. The shot goes for about 30-40 seconds, then I leap off — they unclip me — and I lunge into the back seat of the car while it’s still moving,” Hargrave said in the production notes.
Still, Hargrave said that what he was most satisfied with in doing this film was telling the story of Tyler Rake and Ovi, the father-son relationship that was growing between them, at the heart of all the action.
“What I was most satisfied with and I hope people can relate to is the kind of relationship building between Tyler Rick and the Ovi character. Because, you know, the action in the movie is pretty intense and I think the character arc of Tyler Rake — where he starts in the decision he makes and where he finishes — the action that we’ve presented in a very visceral kind of violent way is motivated by the emotional undertones of what this guy is going through and then the decision he makes. So I think, hopefully, what people can take away from that is, go along the journey, see the growth and then really relate to those two characters and the connection they make over the course of filming.”
(Streaming on Netflix, Extraction is produced by Netflix, AGBO Films and TGIM Films, Inc.)
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