Was there any talk about who the villain should be, if not North Korea? What were some thoughts that were on the table?
Well, it was always going to be a North Korean villain, but we didn’t want it to be the government itself because, in our research… And I used to sit in my office watching, studying North Korea. It’s fascinating, man. It’s such a dark world over there, you know? But what happened was, one day I was watching these images of starving children, and I froze it on this kid’s face, and I remember saying, “That’s Kang.”
There you go.
That’s Kang. He would be an extremist, an individual. It was written a different way, and I said, this guy is from North Korea. They’re brainwashed. They have concentration camps, they’re taught to hate America. If he’s a young kid that hasn’t developed yet, he believes everything that the “Great Leader” has told him. They call him “The Great Leader.” So if his mother got wise and said, “I’m going to get my child out of here,” and tried to sneak him under those barbed wires, and get him through the largest land mine [field] in the world, and then she dies trying… the kid’s going to harbor anger, because of the American land mine. Because he never understood they were leaving his country. So now he’s in South Korea, and he’s smart enough to harbor it, and keep it quiet, it would grow in [his] system. That guy is dangerous. So just like the danger comes from the inside, in South Korea, the danger comes from the inside with us too, with our other character. Without giving anything away. So that was the idea. A lot of times these acts are extremist, and it’s individuals, and it’s always personal.
It’s gotta be personal.
They always use the big political umbrella as, that’s their “cause.” The great cause! But really, really, you find them in a bunker with a “Walking Dead” t-shirt on… You know what I mean?
Yeah. He’s just a guy.
You find these guys, like… Dennis Rodman is visiting them.
What the hell is that?
What the hell is that? “I hate America, but I want Dennis Rodman to come hang out with me!”
Well, Dennis Rodman isn’t “American.”
He’s on his own planet! [Laughs]
He’s beyond American. He’s beyond nationalities.
But you see what I mean?
I do see what you mean. But one thing I noticed, since we’re talking about politics, and I was talking to Aaron Eckhart about this… Olympus Has Fallen is about the President of the United States, but you never find out what party it is. Were you concerned that it would have been alienating to some people, because of bipartisan politics?
Well, I didn’t want to get into it because I didn’t think it mattered. Once you’re thinking about all that stuff, and that was discussed… In fact a few people on the set would crack jokes, “Is he a Republican or Democrat, Antoine?” I said, “You know, it doesn’t matter, because he’s an American.” Ultimately the movie is about us. Eventually he becomes just like us. He’s a victim, actually.
He is! He spends the entire film…
Handcuffed and beat up and slapped around. At that point I just said it doesn’t matter. He’s an American. And really, he’s a prisoner, so he’s not even a President anymore as far as you’re concerned, right? He’s humiliated. Morgan Freeman becomes President.
Again.
Again. And then he’ll be God again. Morgan’s amazing.
He is amazing. You’ve got a hell of a cast. Was it easy to get them for this sort of thrill ride?
You know what? I gotta say, it was. I just called everyone, they said yes. Melissa Leo, Angela Bassett, Ashley Judd, Morgan Freeman, Dylan [McDermott]…
I love Angela Bassett. We do not see enough of her.
I know, man. She’s an amazing actress. She’s amazing. She’s one of our national treasures. They all said yes. They all said, if the schedule works out, sure, let’s go. I got lucky. The stars just lined up for me.
