In the history of professional wrestling, there are few names that are synonymous with “legend” that are not only recognized within the wrestling lexicon as icons, but appreciated throughout pop culture as a whole. Stone Cold Steve Austin is one of those names, and though he officially retired from in ring competition back in 2003, he’s been a mainstay of WWE history and remains in the forefront of the entertainment, even to kids that weren’t born during WWE’s biggest wrestling boom, the Attitude Era.
Even during his run as the Texas Rattlesnake, Austin dabbled in acting roles. Since his retirement, he’s gone on to star in many projects, most recently Sylvester Stallone’s hugely successful summer blockbuster, The Expendables. I got a chance to speak with Stone Cold about his upcoming film Hunt to Kill, on DVD and Blu-ray November 9, which also stars The Expendables’ Eric Roberts and Gary Daniels. In one of the most personally exciting interviews I’ve ever conducted, we discuss everything from The Expendables and filmmaking to Brock Lesnar, UFC, and the current state of the wrestling business.
CraveOnline: Steve, thanks a lot for letting us do this with you.
Steve Austin: You got it Joey, thank you.
CraveOnline: So first, congratulations on the success of The Expendables this summer, that’s got to feel really good.
Steve Austin: Yeah, it was a fun film to be a part of. You know, a big studio movie like that with Sly, obviously I grew up watching all of Sly’s movies and to work with him and have him direct you, it kind of gives you a heads up on a lot of things and man, I was taking notes every single day. I listened a lot, I watched a lot, and I learned a lot.
CraveOnline: That’s awesome! Why don’t you tell us a little bit about Hunt to Kill?
Steve Austin: Well, in this movie I’m a border patrol agent and I move from Texas to Montana and I’m trying to raise a girl on my own; a teenage girl. We don’t have the best of relationships. She gets picked up for shoplifting one day and there’s kind of a dual meeting there, with her at the Sherrif’s department and the bad guys who just pulled off a heist and are trying to find a loot of money that’s going up into Canada. So anyway, they hijack my daughter and get me to help guide them through the mountains to help find what they are looking for.
CraveOnline: That sounds cool, what initially led you to the role and how did you get involved?
Steve Austin: Well, I enjoyed the relationship about a guy trying to really reach his daughter. From a father/daughter standpoint. Having been so many years on the road, I can identify with that, you know with my kids. As far as the outdoors goes, I mean this movie was basically filmed in a rainforest in Vancouver and I love being outdoors. So, I enjoyed the story, I liked what it was about, and I love being outdoors so for me it was an amazing fit.
CraveOnline: Now, Hunt to Kill reunites yourself with Gary Daniels and Eric Roberts who were also in The Expendables with you. Is that coincidence or is this something where you guys wanted to work on a new project together?
Steve Austin: You know what? We were looking for my partner, someone that could just come in and play that part real quickly, and I hit it off so well with Eric on The Expendables that man, I asked him, “Eric could you do me a favor and come up here and do this movie?” and he goes, “Absolutely, for you Steve.”
CraveOnline: [laughs]
Steve Austin: And so, it was perfect for the role. And then I think we were actually trying to find an MMA guy to play the part that Gary Daniels ended up playing. The guy was battling some injuries and stuff like that, training for a fight, and they were looking for another guy, I said “Hey man, I know Gary Daniels who was on The Expendables who did a damn good job, and he’s an excellent fighter.” So I just gave Gary a call and he was just wrapping a movie up there in Detroit, and basically he just flew home to LA one day and then flew back out to Vancouver and did the movie. It was fun to work with Gary because we hit it off on the set of The Expendables, we were on the same team. As far as martial artists, you can’t find a better one than him.
CraveOnline: That’s awesome. Well hopefully the success of The Expendables will help out Hunt to Kill with all of you guys getting back together.
Steve Austin: Yeah, you know anytime you can get any kind of help you can get, man, it’s a bonus.
CraveOnline: Exactly. Now, speaking of promoting the film, are there any plans in the works for a guest hosting spot on Monday Night Raw?
Steve Austin: Man, I haven’t talked with anybody about that. I mean, I’ve been hearing rumors all of a sudden that I’m supposed to appear on Raw or something or other, or a Wrestlemania XXVII thing, and I don’t know anything about it. I haven’t talked with anybody from the WWE. On the 10th of November I’m fixed to head to Vancouver to start another movie, so I don’t think it’s going to happen, and I haven’t had talks of anything happening either.
