ComingSoon Senior Editor Brandon Schreur spoke to Luis Guzmán about starring in the new action comedy movie Guns Up. Guzmán discussed what drew him to the project, how he approached a scene where his character fires a bazooka, Wednesday Season 2, and more.
“When a job goes horribly wrong, an ex-cop and family man (Kevin James) who moonlights as a mob henchman has one night to get his family out of the city,” the synopsis for Guns Up reads.
Guns Up will be released in United States theaters on July 18, 2025, by Vertical.
Brandon Schreur: To start, I’m wondering if you can tell me a little bit about how you got involved with this project. What’s the story of you being cast in Guns Up?
Luis Guzmán: It was crazy. First of all, I got a call on a Wednesday that I’ve got to show up on Tuesday so we can start shooting on Wednesday. I’m like, ‘Whoa, what?’ I haven’t even read the script!
I read the script that Monday. And then I said, ‘Guys, I can’t fly out until Wednesday to start Thursday.’ It was, like, quick, you know? They told me a little bit about the cast and the director, Edward Drake. It sounded like a fun project. I dug the part. And I ended up in Jersey. I ended up in Jersey for almost a month. Yeah. It was, like, rapid fire quick that I ended up on this film.
That’s cool. I think it turned out so well, even if there was a quick turnaround. I just thought this one was so much fun — I could never really tell where it was going. It starts, and then it doesn’t stop. It’s a blast.
Yeah, well, you know, I’ll tell you what. It was a pretty cool shoot. They really worked fast on this film. Which was a bit surprising to me, but artistically, it worked. Working with Kevin James and Christina was really super cool. We just put in the work and, listen, at the end of the day, with this kind of crazy action comedy movie, nobody got hurt. Everybody got to go home in one piece.
That’s great. I’d love to talk to you about your character in here, because he’s so fun. I just love the whole tone of this movie, where it could’ve been a gritty take on this story, but the comedy made it so much fun. It was fun watching your character weave in and out of there — he is kind of the badass who knows how to do everything, but he’s got a lighter side to him. It was fun to watch him navigate this whole situation. I’m curious what aspect of this character stood out the most when you were reading the script for the first time and made you want to play him?
I’ll be honest with you, what stood out the most to me about this character in particular was that he could’ve jumped out of an airplane without a parachute and still be totally confident. ‘I’m going to navigate landing somewhere on something, maybe bounce off a couple of things, and I’ll land on my feet.’ It was that confidence. But it was also a street confidence that this character had. He knew his way around. Nothing was going to shake him.
..For me, that’s kind of how I played it, like kind of loose but always in control. I think the most important thing for me, also, was that I wasn’t going to play someone who was going to be intimidating or come across like that. I was going to come across — ‘Aight, you got 50 guns pointed at me? I got one. What are you going to do?’ At that point, the enemy is looking at you like, ‘This guy is crazy and dangerous, so be careful.’
I loved how that played out in the third act, too. I don’t want to spoil anything, but your character makes his own choices and goes in his own direction. The odds are against him, and the whole time he’s like, ‘Whatever, it’s fine.’ I thought that was really fun to watch.
A lot of people didn’t make it to the end of this movie, you know. I kind of navigated the course and ended up at the end with the family. We were all happy-go-lucky. Just another good day to be alive.
Totally. Speaking of the third act, there’s a moment that happens during the finale, the climax, where you pick up the bazooka and you get to fire that. Immediately, I was like, ‘Oh, Narcos! I see the connection there!’ How much fun was it to get involved with the action and getting to do something crazy like that at the end?
It’s certainly fun. But, you know, you always want to be careful. You’re dealing with props that, if you don’t respect them or handle them right, you could hurt yourself or you could hurt a lot of people. You know what I mean? I had people walking me through it and everything. They were test-firing it before we even shot the scene. I always like to test as a performer, actor — someone who has to use these tools. I like to always practice with them first. To feel the kickback, how it works, and all that stuff…You want to know how that thing is going to react in your hands, and how much effort and strength you’re going to have to put into it. You’ve got to make sure you’re doing the right thing and, again, don’t hurt anybody.
Interesting. I was curious about that, too. It looks like a real bazooka you were holding; I couldn’t tell how much was special effects, how much stunts were involved, and how much you actually had to do. But it sounds like you were pretty hands-on involved in making sure everything went well.
Oh yeah, listen, all the time. All the time. We know the history of people getting hurt. I was not about to become part of that history.
Well, I’m glad it all turned out well, and it looks so cool in the movie.
Yeah, listen, man, it was great. Edward Drake had all of this in his mind and how the look of it was going to go, and everything. He was totally cool in that saddle, man, as a director and dealing with all of these moving parts. Also, I tip my hat to the crew. They also made it safe. The two camera guys that were on this, they did a great job shooting this.
This movie ends in a way that I thought suggests there could be more to tell with this story. It seems like there’s at least a chance for a sequel because it ends in the diner with that moment when all the guns come up. Do you think there could be more to tell about your character? If they said they wanted to continue the story, would you be interested in doing more?
If it was the same team and everything, absolutely. Yeah. Why not? Stuff always comes up in life. The next chapter, hello!
I’d love to see it. You mentioned Kevin James, and there’s such a strong cast in this movie, too. I wanted to ask what working with him was like. I’m such a fan — Kevin James is the funny guy, and then we get to see him in these roles where he gets to go all badass, too. I loved him in Becky. What was it like working with him when he had to be this kind of character, and what was he like as a screen partner?
I’ll say that Kevin was one hundred percent prepared. Totally, one hundred percent committed. Early on, I was like, ‘How is he going to pull this off?’ And, like I said, he was committed. He worked with the stunt team really well. On top of that, his performance — you’ve got to understand, when you do a movie like this, there’s performance, but there’s also the choreography of the action. You’ve got to blend those two together so that it has a real flow to it, so that it looks genuine, fun, funny, and action-packed. And he pretty much put all those ingredients together for his character.
I was really proud of him. He’s a very versatile actor. I give him a lot of credit, you know. Yes, he does mainly comedies and stuff, but I think he can always go beyond that.
Sure, like I said, I love him in Becky when you get to see him go full-villain like that. Luis, Guns Up isn’t the only project you’ve got coming out. I’d love to ask you about Wednesday Season 2. I can’t wait to see it. Is there anything you can tell me about what we can expect from your character in Wednesday Season 2, and what it was like getting to return to that world?
Well, my character is definitely expanded in the second season. I definitely make an incredible, multi-faceted fashion statement throughout. You know what, man. I always asked the writers after the first season, ‘How are you going to outdo that?’ Let me tell you, they outdid themselves. They outdid themselves. I’ve watched the first four episodes [makes mind-blowing gesture]. That’s it. I believe audiences will absolutely be pleasantly, pleasantly surprised.
Thanks to Luis Guzmán for taking the time to speak about Guns Up.
