Washington [US] : Actor Josh Hartnett is back in action — literally — as he takes the lead in the upcoming action-comedy ‘Fight or Flight’, set aboard a perilous commercial flight. The film, directed by James Madigan, gave the 45-year-old actor an exciting opportunity: performing his own stunts for the first time in over a decade.
“I’m in my 40s; I haven’t done a stunt since I was 29,” Hartnett told People. “So to have anybody trust that I could pull this stuff off was very exciting.”
‘Fight or Flight’, hitting theaters on May 9, follows Hartnett as Lucas Reyes, a mercenary tasked with tracking and protecting a mysterious fugitive known only as The Ghost, aboard a passenger jet. Things spiral out of control when the flight turns out to be packed with assassins targeting both of them, forcing the unlikely pair into a pulse-pounding survival mission at 30,000 feet.
The film also stars Charithra Chandran, Marko Zaror, and Katee Sackhoff, with a script penned by Brooks McLaren and D.J. Cotrona.
Director James Madigan recalled Hartnett’s enthusiasm from their first conversation. “He said, ‘I really want to do all my own stunts,’” Madigan shared during a Q&A session after a screening at the DGA New York Theater. Despite the film’s tight shooting schedule and minimal preparation time, Hartnett followed through — performing every stunt in the final cut.
“A hundred percent of the stunts that you just saw, Josh did,” Madigan confirmed.
Hartnett, however, emphasized the teamwork behind the scenes. “We had an amazing stunt team… they made me look really, really good,” he said. He credited Clayton Grover, his stunt double and coordinator, for helping choreograph the sequences in a way that allowed him to perform them safely. “I was able to do them without dying,” he joked.
With its mix of intense action, suspense, and humor, Fight or Flight is poised to be a high-octane cinematic ride, marking Hartnett’s impressive return to the action genre.
‘Fight or Flight’ releases in theaters this Friday, May 9.