Couture On Stallone and Expendables

MMAInsider recently sat down with UFC Hall of Famer and former heavyweight champion Randy Couture, who's on a brief hiatus from work in Sylvester Stallone's "The Expendables," set for release next April. Couture spoke about his role in the movie, working with Stallone, and his rendezvous with the Nogueira brothers on set in Brazil.

MMAInsider: You spoke about Stallone's intensity in the filming process.

Couture: He has an intensity about him. I'm sure he's wearing a lot of hats. He's the writer, he's directing, he's starring in it. There's an intensity there. But at the same time, it's not overwhelming to the point where you don't feel comfortable. He's very in tune with the actors. "This is your line, this is how we want this to come across." So he's easy to work with, and easy to work for.

MMAInsider: He's a big fight fan, too.

Couture: Yeah. The Nogueira brothers were up there. They put on an exhibition round of fights for the guys and (Stallone) made them soldiers in the movie.

MMAInsider: Bad guys or good guys?

Couture: Well, it's all a matter of perspective in this movie.

MMAInsider: Because you're all bad guys in this move, right?

Couture: Not really, but sort of. They're soldiers, the elite band of this dictator Garza, so depending on what side of things you're standing on, they're either good guys or bad guys. We're mercenaries that are going in to overthrow the dictator, so are we the good guys going in to do that? On their side of the fence, we're the bad guys.

MMAInsider: You've got an unusual character name.

Couture: "Toll Road." If you're gonna get by me, you're going to have to pay.

MMAInsider: Is Stallone teaching you anything about film acting?

Couture: Each and every time I get to be a part of the process, it's a learning experience. To see other guys work, you're going through the whole experience again. It's just like fighting. Each and every time I fight I learn something new, and learn something in the training process. I found a new coach for this role, and some of the other roles I've been reading for lately. I'm learning a bunch of new ways to wrap my brain around the lines, and the characters and carrying that into this experience. In a couple of the scenes, me and Stallone have an exchange with the other actors. He wanted to make it flow, make it quick, to make it how it would be if you were intense and under pressure. He wanted a rhythm to the language -- just puke it out there. Because when you're under stress, you don't think about what you want to say -- it just comes out.

MMAInsider: What do you do to get yourself in that heightened state that's necessary for action movies?

Couture: I think finding something to relate to from my own personal experience. Then I have to get warmed up. I can't just jump into that. I have to think about that, go through the lines with the notes in the margins and trying it a few times on my own to get into it, and then you're there.

MMAInsider: What was it like being around the Nogueira brothers on set?

Couture: They're very nice guys. I think everybody on set was used to that boxing mentality because we were scheduled to fight at the end of the summer. I walked right up to them and started talking; they're all gunked up, their faces painted and everything else. It was cool.

MMAInsider: Did they enjoy the process?

Couture: I wondered. I didn't get a chance to spend any personal time with them. It's long days, man. Twelve-hour days, from five to five. I wondered what they think about that, sitting around a bunch.

MMAInsider: How long do you film for?

Couture: June 24th is the date that I wrap up, which is perfect time, because that's when I need to be getting into camp. I think I'm going to be bringing some of my stand-up guys to the set in Louisiana, spend some time sharpening my tools, getting into the right direction.