Originally published April 21, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
david j. moore chats with Kristanna Loken about her new film Black Rose…
Action and serial killer suspense thriller collide with the new genre film Black Rose, starring Kristanna Loken and action star Alexander Nevsky. Loken, who established herself as a bona fide female lead and star in the huge Hollywood hit Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, has been very busy in the action and genre world with releases like Bloodrayne, In the Name of the King, Attack on Darfur, and Painkiller Jane. Her role in Black Rose is that of Emily, a serial killer profiler opposite Nevsky, who plays a Russian detective on the same case. In this exclusive interview, Loken briefly discusses her career in overview and her latest project Black Rose.
How did Black Rose come about as a project for you?
I met Alexander Nevsky years ago when I was doing press for Terminator 3. He’d been a fan of mine, and years go by and he had me in mind for the role of Emily in Black Rose, and he talked to my agent, and that was that. I read the script, and I loved it. I came on board.
It would be obvious to anybody that Alexander emulates Arnold Schwarzenegger without even trying. Since you’d worked with Arnold on Terminator 3, did you ever do a double take while you were working with Alexander?
(Laughing.) It is true. There is definitely a similarity between them even though they’re not from the same country. They’re just different people. Alexander is Alexander and Arnold is Arnold.
Say something about working with Robert Davi, who plays the captain in this film. He’s an old pro and has worked with everybody.
Yeah, he was great. He’s a consummate professional. He – like everyone else in this – brought their “A” game. He’s mature, and he wanted to help with dialogue and make it even better. He’s a great actor. He’s also a great singer. He’s got a lounge act and does Sinatra.
I love that you’re not a damsel in distress in this movie – or in any other movie I’ve seen you in. You always play strong characters. You do action and you don’t scream and run away and need rescuing. Say something about that.
Yes, that’s a good question. A lot of that lends itself to who I am. I’m about six feet tall, I have an athletic frame. People tend to buy me in a role like this than if I was five feet and 90 pounds. I like playing roles like this. There’s a male dominated exterior to movies like this, but I also have a vulnerable side in this movie as a profiler. I like playing parts that have a lot of depth.
I saw some of the Uwe Boll movies you’ve done. I like Bloodrayne and In the Name of the King for what they are. Uwe takes a lot of flack for being the kind of filmmaker that he is. Would you like to say something about working with him?
Have you seen his movie Attack on Darfur that he and I did?
No, I never did.
Frankly, of the movies I did with Uwe, that is my personal favorite. It’s a very different style of film for Uwe Boll. I like to call him crazy brilliant. He’s got a little of both. He makes very interesting choices like boxing his critics, but I think there’s a little bit of brilliance in there. He created an empire. As I understand it, he’s retired and runs a restaurant in Vancouver.
Terminator 3 is a huge film, and I’m a big fan of the Terminator franchise in general. Say something about working on it so early in your career. It was a huge film to be in.
It was the opportunity of a lifetime. I had a very extensive audition process. I think I went in to eight auditions before I got the job. It was a very physical audition. I did a lot of training. I put on about 15 pounds of muscle mass. The actual experience of making it was amazing because I was working with the best of the best of the best in the business. Every position on set was filled by the best. I’d also been a huge fan of Claire Danes. It was a real honor to work with her. I got to go all over the world with it. We had a big premier in Cannes. It was an awesome chapter in my life, and one I think about every day. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about it, or something reminds me of it, or someone mentions it. It will live forever, I’m sure.
What else would you like to say about Black Rose? Who are you hoping the audience will be for this film?
Good question! I’m hoping the action fans will come out and enjoy it. It’s got a suspense / thriller aspect, so if you like that genre you’ll like it. Hopefully, we’ll get some new fans that aren’t that familiar with us or with this type of film. We’ll bring them along for the journey, and hopefully we’ll do a Black Rose 2, who knows?
Black Rose will be in theaters on April 28, 2017 and available on VOD and DVD on: May 2, 2017. Watch the trailer here…
david j. moore
