Kristanna Loken Discusses 'Darkness of Man' Co-Starring Jean-Claude Van Damme

[00:00:00] Cristana, thank you for joining me today on Pop Culture Unplugged.

[00:00:13] My pleasure. Nice to speak with you.

[00:00:16] Great time, great opportunity for you. Great time for everybody. I mean, this was a great

[00:00:20] little film that I watched last night, Darkness of Man. It reminded me a lot of me growing

[00:00:24] up in the late 80s, early 90s with Van Damme and he's right back at it.

[00:00:29] Awesome. Awesome. I'm so glad you enjoyed it.

[00:00:32] So first off, like what can you tell us about your character Claire in the film? What drew

[00:00:37] you to this role?

[00:00:39] Yeah. So I had the pleasure of meeting James Cullen Bresak, the writer, director, producer

[00:00:45] through a mutual friend of ours, another producer I'd worked with. And I was immediately impressed

[00:00:50] with James as a young filmmaker and his body of work that he's already accumulated.

[00:00:58] And he told me about the story and I read the script and I enjoyed it. And of course,

[00:01:02] you know, with the opportunity of working with Jean-Claude Van Damme, who's such a legend.

[00:01:07] And I told James that I really wanted to help flesh out the role of Claire and really bring

[00:01:13] the heart to the story. And as we see with Claire, she really helps support Van Damme's

[00:01:21] character on his journey and what he's working through in his dark past. And then ultimately,

[00:01:28] how she then also supports Jaden, the teenage boy that he's been entrusted with. And they

[00:01:34] form this kind of beautiful pseudo family all filling the void in one another's lives.

[00:01:42] What kind of challenges do you think Claire like faces like in the film, like with the

[00:01:47] pretty much with the Russell's like past and everything?

[00:01:51] Yeah, I think she is slightly bewildered by his, the other side of things, you know, he

[00:02:01] or she finds him beat up more than once. And but she doesn't cry. She doesn't ask too many

[00:02:08] questions. She doesn't have to. I think, you know, there's this pivotal scene. And with

[00:02:15] Claire's background as being a caregiver for wounded animals, she sees this wounded soul

[00:02:23] in him. And she really wants to reach him and say, Hey, it's okay, you can, you're safe

[00:02:30] with me, I'll be there for you. And you don't have to put up that wall anymore. It's not

[00:02:36] serving you. And I think for the first time, perhaps in his life, he really allows himself

[00:02:42] to hear these things, and really be moved by them. So this forms a bond between them.

[00:02:51] And she can feel his love, you know, he may not be able to necessarily overtly show it,

[00:02:57] but she knows that he loves her. And, you know, she really she really sticks by him.

[00:03:04] You mentioned the bond, how would you like? How do you think like impacts that that impacts

[00:03:08] the story about Claire's character development throughout the film?

[00:03:12] Um, I'm, you mean through the their bond? Or? Yeah, their bond. Yeah. Yeah, I think he

[00:03:21] really more than he knows, really leans on her a bit. And also with with Jaden, who really

[00:03:32] does need a female role model as well. And I think, you know, Claire's support really

[00:03:39] becomes pivotal in him, allowing himself Russell to be able to process the past and really

[00:03:48] move on to the future.

[00:03:50] Was there any like any particular scenes or like moments filming this were like it was

[00:03:55] a challenge for you or rewarding portraying this character?

[00:03:59] Yeah, I think it was rewarding. Working with Jean-Claude in those intimate moments, because

[00:04:06] he he's really present, and he really allows himself to be seen. And it's it's lovely to

[00:04:12] work with an actor that goes on that emotional journey with you. And I think people will

[00:04:20] be very pleased to see him in a light that perhaps they've only seen before in JCVD.

[00:04:26] Was this the first time working with Jean-Claude Van Damme?

[00:04:29] It was, yeah.

[00:04:30] Yeah. Any, any advice working with them or anybody like about filming this movie?

[00:04:36] Any pointers to each other or advice?

[00:04:39] Yeah, I think we I mean, we discussed our characters together and how we saw them. And

[00:04:45] then I think in the end, it's it's has a lot to do with the chemistry that the actors have

[00:04:51] together. And, you know, I had the pleasure of working with two time Academy Award nominee

[00:04:57] Bruce Stern, and he gave me a great compliment once telling me that I was a great dance partner.

[00:05:03] And that's essentially what it is, you want to have someone that is going to be there

[00:05:08] with you and support you as you support them through the journey of the story. So I do

[00:05:14] feel like we were there for one another in that.

[00:05:18] Last question, what are you hoping for the audience to take away from this movie?

[00:05:23] Yeah, I think the the audience will be pleasantly surprised in such that they get a little bit

[00:05:32] more bang for their buck. Rather than just the kind of next action movie, they see this softer,

[00:05:39] more emotional, vulnerable side of Van Damme and actually really care for the characters

[00:05:47] care for their journey. And that to me as an artist is so incredibly important, because

[00:05:51] if I don't feel that in a movie, if I don't care for their care for the characters and their

[00:05:57] emotional life and where they're going, I tend to just check out. So I think people will be

[00:06:03] pleasantly surprised that there's this real emotional life and journey of the characters.

[00:06:10] And of course, you also get some great action as well.

[00:06:14] Amazing. Justana, I want to thank you for giving me this today on press day for

[00:06:17] Darkness of Man and good luck with the film.

[00:06:20] Thank you. My pleasure.

[00:06:21] Thank you.