Actor Kellan Lutz Talks 'Extraction' DVD, Working With Bruce Willis & Gina Carano! [EXCLUSIVE]

Lionsgate Home Entertainment brings audiences the action-packed Extraction on DVD and Blu-Ray. In an exclusive interview with MStars News, actor Kellan Lutz talks about working with Die Hard legend Bruce Willis and Deadpool starlet Gina Carano in the must-see action movie that promises to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Everything changes for one young man when a terrorist group kidnaps his father, a retired CIA field operative, Leonard Turner (Willis). Leonard's son is Harry Turner (Lutz), a government analyst who has been repeatedly turned down for field service. With the stakes high, Harry launches his own unsanctioned rescue operation. After evading highly skilled operatives, dodging deadly assassins, and sneaking past international terrorists, Harry finally puts his combat training to the test in a suicide mission to find his missing father and stop a terrorist plot.

Before arriving on DVD and Blu-Ray February 23, the Extraction actor talks about becoming an action hero, working with his idols on the blockbuster Sylvester Stallone franchise, The Expendables 3, and dishes on his upcoming projects.

MS: Tell me how you became involved in the project.

Kellan Lutz: It's a really interesting story! Steven C. Miller and I met previously before Extraction. We shot a movie called The Feud that I was putting together with some other producers. It was a project I was very passionate about and we pulled a list of promising directors. So I met with Steven C. Miller and loved his reel and loved his action movies and loved his visions.

I took him to lunch down here in Venice. We sat and just chatted about the movie and I fell in love with him as a person and his vision for action movies, for this role, and for the character and for the script itself.

It was a no brainer! I wanted him for The Feud and before we concluded our meeting, I asked him what he was doing. What's next for you? He was like, "I'm actually leaving tomorrow for Alabama," and I asked him a little bit more about that. He said he was starting pre-production on this movie called Extraction

So then I asked him a bit more about that. He filled me in with the storyline. Bruce Willis and Gina Carano worked out. I told him, "Well, who's playing Bruce's son Harry and he's like, "We haven't cast him yet, I'm going down to do pre-production I'm just letting the cast directors do their job there."

And I was like, "Well I would love to do it!" And he was like, "That's a great idea!" So he went there, did some pre-production and called me the next day. He was like, "Kellan we'd love to have you! Do you want to do the movie? Can this one be the first one we work on?" And I was like, "Heck yeah! So I got on the plane the next week!

MS: Tell me about working with Bruce Willis.

KL: Bruce! I've been dying to work with forever! When I was a part of The Expendables movies, that was just a dream come true! Just a bucket list check for me because I got to work with all my legendary iconic heroes. But there was a few of those missing. Bruce Willis being one of those since I am such a fanatic with the Die Hard movies and John McClane especially.

I auditioned for the latest Die Hard where he played his son, the character that played his son and I'm like, "This is perfect for me!" And I didn't get that one. So then, when Extraction came around, I was like, "Perfect! I get to do it! It's not called Die Hard but it's the same thing just different name!"

I just jumped at that opportunity. I got to work with Bruce! Working with Bruce on a movie, he's very collaborative, like it was really great and we really had the father/son banter down. I've known Bruce's kids for awhile now. I haven't hung out much with Bruce because he's super busy and I've been busy. But he's known me and I've known him. We've chatted here and there, so being back on set was really great! Having more time catching up and hanging out. He's freaking John McClane through and through, on and off camera like that guy! He's a legend in our industry! So it was a blessing working with him and I can't wait to again!

MS: Tell me about working with Gina Carano.

KL: Well, Gina is strikingly beautiful! I've always been a huge fan of her especially during the UFC days and there's not many strikingly beautiful UFC fighters! So I quickly jumped on her a good couple years ago and she only fought about 8 times I think! She then transitioned into movies, she did Haywire with Channing [Tatum] and a few others. But when she hopped onto this, I love action movies I'm well trained, I know how to fight. I feel like I've been doing this my whole life. And the bummer is when you kind of have a co-star who doesn't know how to fight and they're used for their name value. You're like alright, well it's going to be a stunt double the whole time doing it.

I was just so excited I got to fight with a co-star and very seldom do you have a girl co-star who can fight! Usually they're the ones running and you're the one saving them from the bad guy but Gina was such a great counterpart and teammate to this movie. I mean she's beautiful on camera and off camera! She's just a hoot to do lines with!

We had so much fun in a small town in Alabama. Like her and her cat, it was just so funny hanging out with her! She's hilarious! She should do standup because the stuff that comes out of her mouth! She's just a funny woman!

But also doing the action scenes, she was damaging, she was breaking these stunt doubles, the stunt men. The villains are in the club and we have the two off where her and I are fighting. These two dudes had chest plates on and stomach pads. She's kicking through them! Her legs are strong! I would try to scrapple with her offset, just to mess around, and she would just kick me! I would be like "Aww Gina no!" So she's just a badass action heroine to work with!

MS: What do you think is more challenging doing? These action sequences or trying to be scared like in your movie, Nightmare on Elm Street?

KL: For me personally, I think everybody has their strengths and weaknesses, but for me, being scared. Because I live such a fearless life. I don't know what it is but it's just how I grew myself up, like nothing scares me except cockroaches! So I'd never do a cockroach movie but I live a very fearless, very adventurous, very wise life.

I'm not doing death defying stunts, but I'm a thrill-seeker by nature. Acting fearful or scared is just not natural to me. It just feels weird. So that's why when I go out for some of these roles. I try do it. I try to get skinny and go out for some roles where I'm not the tough guy and I'm not the victim. It's just not believable. Like I can't get skinny enough and I just don't have it in my nature to feel weak against anyone if they're bigger, even if it's tons of guys.

 I'd rather just fight to the death than run I guess or be a coward. I don't know where that stems from. Maybe it's from growing up with 6 boys in the house and everyone picking on each other. I just have thick skin. I'd much rather do action stuff then scary stuff, where I have to act scared, because that's acting to me

MS: With the DVD coming out on February 23, what scene are you most proud of in Extraction?

KL: I'm just really impressed with the action we did in that movie. It's nonstop action and it's an awesome story! It's very easy to follow and it's kind of my Die Hard movie that I worked with Bruce.

But one of the core action scenes, we only had six hours to shoot and we should have had two days. We had such an all-star stunt team and fight crew. It was the bathroom scene where we are in the club and Gina Carano's character goes away and tries to get some info. I go in the bathroom and get a call from Darrell, my sidekick, that there's been a hit out for me. There's this assassin in the bathroom and we have this pretty epic fight scene.

I got to learn some new nice techniques and that's one of the best parts of doing an action movie. There's always something new you can learn from someone, how to drive and flip a car faster or better or a motorcycle, how to shoot a gun, or do a flip or kick, punch, knife-fighting sword-fighting, like it's the sky's the limit.

This one I've never done is knife-training like Matt Damon in Jason Bourne to this extent. It was just hours of it and I just loved it! I loved watching myself. I'm not critical of myself. I don't need to watch myself or get embarrassed to watch myself. I just love watching good entertainment! So it's really fun when I find myself after watching that scene in the movie, on the edge of my seat. And then it registers, that was me! So I'm really proud of that one!

MS: What are you working on now?

KL: Well I just got back from Australia. The last six months I did two movies down there, one in Sydney called SFV1 which stands for Science Fiction Volume1, which I love the name. It's directed by Shane Abbess, who's a director I've been dying to work with for the past five years now! And it accompanies Daniel MacPherson, an awesome actor and Rachel Griffiths and Temuera Morrison and Isabel Lucas, Luke Ford; just an all-star cast and such a unique storyline I'm so excited for that one to come out later this year! It's just very innovative!

And then I shot another movie, I just wrapped like four days ago. I just got back from the gold coast Australia on the movie The Nest. I don't know what they're calling it now, like Nest or The Legend of Trinity. I don't know. But it's a good mix of Arachnophobia meets Indiana Jones! So that one was just on for me! You see these little spiders up close, you have to get used to it!

But that one was really great and now I'm just laying low, hanging out with family and stuff. They have that new He-man movie that McG's doing with. And He-man has always been such an iconic character to my youth. I have the action figure. I'd love to throw my hat in the ring for that one! So fingers crossed there! Say some prayers and who knows, every new day here in this industry is a new opportunity, and that's what I love about it!

Extraction arrives on Blu-ray and DVD February 23.

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