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My fingers are like arrows!My arms, like iron!My feet, like spears!
This newfound heroism couldnt have come at a better time.
We recently chatted about his extensive karate training, what he learned from Ryder, and Murrays smackin risotto.
So his toes are like urine.
Okay, that tracks.Its the poison dart.
So I guess we could say his toes are like poisoned darts.
You could train for three months and only scratch the surface of the vocabulary you acquire.
I was drenched in sweat at the end of every single workout.
At one point, they brought out these mock breakaway boards.
At one point, they held up this certain level of board I would say it was beginner-intermediate.
And then they were like, You just broke somebodys rib.
That definitely puts things into perspective.It sure does.
For example, the hooks might be wider on-camera than they would be in actual self-defense.
It needs to look pretty.
What move are you most proud of mastering?Oh my God.
Despite all my training, Im still so new at it.
Whenever I punched and either of them reacted like, Whoa, I was like, Really?
Murrays driving vans through prisons, orchestrating a fake prisoner turnover, and killing Demogorgons with a flamethrower.
Being able to put my own stamp on that archetype was absolutely thrilling.
It was a childhood fantasy coming true before my very eyes at every second.
I was so overjoyed and grateful to the Duffers that they wrote me that story line.
It was worth every penny.
But they never gave me any pushback.
Now Im curious what your karate-training budget was.I wasnt told, and I dont want to know.
But I also think theres a major chaotic, emotional life to Murray.
Hes not calm and collected.
Hes an amped-up guy; very passionate, very neurotic.
To see him filter all that energy into action is incredible.
I proved that getting to show passion can really fuel strength.
He cares about his friends.
And what they wrote for me was justsofunny.
They wanted it to be like, Whoa, thats a shot.
Its like out ofThe Bourne Ultimatum.
It becomes this full crazy action sequence.
Well, inStar Warshes very funny and has great jokes.
I felt we were channeling that with the airplane sequence.
I like that you were paired off with Winona.
You two have terrific comedic chemistry.
They only have each other to talk about the specific things that happened in season three.
Theres a sense of loss over Jims death and Alexeis death and also going into the lab together.
It beautifully hearkens to Leia and Lando going to get Han inReturn of the Jedi.
Theres a love of adventure in both of them.
What did you learn from her?Shes somebody who knows how to live inside that camera.
Its an energy thing.
She has a wonderful simplicity to what she does.
Theres a deep relaxation to her work.
It makes what youre doing that much richer and fuller.
Was filming in that prison as cold and miserable as it looked?
I did go into the prison once to visit, and that is a dark,darkplace.
Was filming in Lithuania miserable?
I wont saymiserablebecause I never felt unsafe.
But it was completely freezing.
I dont have a hat.
I dont have hair.
But they made sure everybody was okay.
There were no mishaps of the cold getting the better of everybody.
Im a Chicago boy, so its not like Im unused to that.
Why do you think he became the top death contender?Your guess is as good as mine.
For some reason, fans thought it was a good-bye post.
I know viewers were thinking Steve was going to die, too.
They probably get really paranoid that characters they like might die again.
It was very sweet that people were nervous on my behalf.
I just didnt want to interfere with the natural experience of the show.
People want to build up these theories and stuff like that, and thats great.
But I shouldnt add to that too much.
Thats not my job.
Im glad Murray didnt die.
Youre not seeing it fully realized.
Theres no Demogorgon actually there.
Im not really lighting the flamethrower for safety reasons.
I almost cried when I saw myself yelling, Hey, assholes, and lighting the Demogorgons on fire.
To see it all play out like that was very moving.
I truly, when I tell you this, know nothing about what is going to happen next season.
When I film, I get ravenous.
Im a sucker for carbs and dairy, even when its mediocre.
That was a really fun scene and one of the few scenes where there was a lot of improv.
Its fun to get the chance to mess around a little bit.
Eduardo Franco is a brilliant improviser.
We were laughing a lot that day.
If they didnt edit it, that scene couldve been 20 minutes with everything we were going off on.
Maybe we need a directors cut.
