Robert Maillet on Brick Mansions, Paul Walker and Life After Kurrgan

Fred: I have a very special guest via Skype: former WWE superstar Kurrgan, aka Robert Maillet, who stars in “Brick Mansions,” in theaters now alongside the RZA and the late, great Paul Walker. You’ve had a hell of a busy few years, with “Pacific Rim,” “Sherlock Holmes,” “Brick Mansions” and “Hercules” coming up. What have these last few years been like for you in the acting world?

Robert Maillet: It’s been awesome. I’ve been very fortunate to work with some amazing actors on those huge films, and it’s been one thing after another. I never thought it was going to be that busy, but I’ve been lucky, and those films did very well. I’m enjoying what I’m doing, so hopefully I’ll continue for as long as I can.

Fred: A lot of people who’ve gone from sports or wrestling to acting say the hardest thing is not knowing when your next job or your next paycheck is coming. When did the work become truly consistent?

Robert Maillet: I think it started when I was offered a role in “Pacific Rim.” At the time, I was working a full-time job to pay the bills. Wrestling wasn’t really cutting it for me, and I was becoming less interested in it for some reason, so I found a real job back home on the East Coast of Canada, where I grew up. I was being offered film work, but I couldn’t leave my job, so I basically had two gigs and had to ask my boss for a couple of months off to film. Not every boss would say yes, but mine understood the opportunity I had, so I was able to do “300” and “Sherlock Holmes” while still working my 9-to-5 job.

When I was offered the role in “Pacific Rim,” the company wanted me to make a decision: do the acting full time or be with them full time. That’s understandable. I was an employee, and it’s only fair to the other employees. It was a tough decision knowing I’d lose my job if I took the role, but luckily I found an agent, and I had a couple of other gigs, one for “Once Upon a Time” and one for the “Transporter” TV series based on the films. It was busy enough for me to say, “All right, I can leave my cushion.” Ever since, it’s been one TV show or film after another, and I haven’t had to go back to my old job.

Fred: “Brick Mansions” is in theaters now. For those who haven’t seen the film, tell us why they should, and tell us about your role. Your character’s name is Yeti, if I’m pronouncing it correctly.

Robert Maillet: Yeti, yeah. If fans love action, they’ll love this. It’s about parkour, which mixes gymnastics, stunts and fighting with using the environment around you. It’s built around David Belle, who’s based in France and is one of the co-founders of parkour, and it’s based on the original film “District B13.” There’s a lot of parkour action, jumping from one building to another and walking on walls, incredible stuff without wires, like what you saw at the opening of the James Bond movie “Casino Royale” on the construction site. What he does with his body is dangerous stuff. The film is set in Detroit in the not-too-distant future, where the city is divided between the gang lords on one side and the government on the other. Paul Walker plays the undercover cop who has to get through Brick Mansions to defuse a bomb the gang leader, played by the RZA, is using to try to get money out of the government. David Belle’s character is a street thug with his own purpose: trying to save his girlfriend from RZA’s clutches. It’s full-born action, a lot of fights and gunfire. It’s kind of mindless entertainment where you suspend disbelief, and it’s a fun film to watch.

Fred: Unfortunately, it’s also the last completed film of Paul Walker’s career. Can you describe what it was like working with him? He seems to be universally praised by his peers in Hollywood.

Robert Maillet: I was fortunate enough to share scenes with him. There’s a big fight scene between my character, his character and David Belle’s, and other scenes where I push and shove him around, so I had a few days with him. I was fascinated, because I knew who Paul Walker was, a big leading star from “The Fast and the Furious,” and I was curious how he dealt with all that. He was awesome, very nice and very open. He didn’t hide in his trailer. He was on set and liked to talk to the guys. At the time, I was going to the “Pacific Rim” premiere in LA, and I asked him how crazy it was going to be, because he was very familiar with the red carpets. I told him I was thinking about renting a car to drive around LA, and he offered me a car, and told me to let him know whenever I’m in LA so he could give me a car for a few days. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t expect that answer at all. We didn’t end up needing a car, because my wife and I only had a few days, but it was very generous of him, and thinking about it now, I wish we had taken him up on his offer. He was just a gracious guy, and I have some good memories of him on set.

Fred: I once interviewed Diamond Dallas Page about a film he did, and he said, “In this film, I’m going to be 42 years old for the rest of my life.” With Netflix and the WWE Network, where you can access footage that’s 30 or 40 years old, do you feel a sense of immortality when you do something on screen?

Robert Maillet: For sure. I grew up watching films all my life, and watching wrestling, of course. I love classic films, and when you watch them, you realize how old you are now, but film can really preserve time and space. It’s all about story. If you’re involved with a character in the story, it can be timeless. That’s why they call them classic movies. “The Wizard of Oz” was made, what, 70 years ago, and people love being part of that world over and over again. Films can be magical places to escape to, because they’re timeless. It’s kind of freaky, though, when I see some wrestling matches I did 15 years ago and how young I was. It’s kind of weird and sad.

Fred: You’ve aged quite gracefully. Do people still call you Kurrgan or recognize you as Kurrgan all these years later?

Robert Maillet: Some do, sure. It’s been 14 years since I was on WWF programming, but the internet just keeps it alive, and now there’s even the WWE Network, if people bother to watch my old matches on it. Mostly I get recognized for films now, like “Sherlock Holmes,” which is one of the big ones, but I still get called Kurrgan. It’s amazing how dedicated the fans are. I’m not ashamed of it at all. I’m very proud and very lucky that I was with WWE. It was a dream of mine for the longest time. I loved watching it back in the late ’80s, and I decided I wanted to be one. It took longer than I thought, because it’s a tough road to get there, but I met some great friends and traveled all over the world, and I don’t think I would have made it as an actor if it wasn’t for wrestling. Not everybody can say they were a WWE superstar. A lot of wrestlers I know did a lot better than me but never got a big break with them, so I’m pretty lucky.

Fred: Do you still watch wrestling?

Robert Maillet: Not really, not the new stuff. I don’t follow it like I used to. I like to keep up with what’s going on, and I check the wrestling news, but I’m more interested in what’s going on backstage. I’m still a wrestling fan inside, and I still love wrestling, but lately I’ve been watching a lot of older matches from the era when I was there, or even before. It’s fun to reflect years later and watch it again with a different perspective. For some reason, I kind of lost passion for the new stuff over the years. Maybe I don’t have time, or maybe I don’t have cable. That’s one good reason. But I’m happy it’s still around and doing very well.

Fred: You’re starring in another film this summer that’s surely going to be huge, alongside a guy by the name of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in “Hercules.” Can you describe that experience?

Robert Maillet: It was a great experience. I got the call kind of last minute for a small part, and of course I said yes, because I knew how big the film was going to be. The Rock kept posting pictures on Twitter. I was pretty nervous and excited to be part of it. It was all shot outside Budapest, at a huge studio, with huge production and huge sets. It’s unbelievable. It was the first time I’d seen The Rock in years, since the WWE days. He gave me a hug, and we chatted for a little bit, reminiscing about the old days in the Attitude Era. I was there a couple of weeks, but we never really had time to hang around, because he was always busy shooting and training. He’s a very disciplined guy, and he’s bigger than ever. The film is unbelievable action and battles, a big, fun Hollywood escapism film. I also got to work with Ian McShane and John Hurt, amazing actors, so I’m pretty fortunate.

Fred: Fan question No. 1: What’s your favorite wrestling moment as Kurrgan?

Robert Maillet: When I was part of the Oddities, we had the biggest match of our career at SummerSlam ’98 at Madison Square Garden. It was a big match for us, in front of a New York crowd at a big pay-per-view, so I was nervous and excited at the same time. It was mostly a comedy match with Kaientai, the smaller Japanese guys, and we did the best we could. At the end of the day, the agents were very pleased with how well it went, so that’s a good memory to have. My other favorite moment was when we toured my hometown area of Moncton, in Canada, and my fans, family and friends all cheered for me even though I was a heel. Telling everyone I was going to make it as a wrestler, then finally realizing my dream and wrestling in front of my fans, family and friends was a very special moment.

Fred: Fan question No. 2: Have you ever wrestled anybody taller than you?

Robert Maillet: I have, and it’s not fun. I wrestled the Undertaker, but I was probably a bit taller than the big man himself. Giant Silva was taller, and he was part of the Oddities. We wrestled each other in Mexico, where we spent a couple of months. They built me up as the lead heel and him as the lead babyface, and we finally had a big match at the end. It’s pretty intimidating when you’re the smaller guy in the ring. It’s not every day I see that in my life.

Fred: Now you know how everyone else felt when they had to fight Kurrgan.

Robert Maillet: Absolutely. When I was there, there were a lot of big guys, so I didn’t feel like I stuck out as a giant. I felt like an average guy. But it makes you feel grounded, and it makes you conscious of how other people see you. That’s the fun of it, though. You make the best of it and take advantage of it in the ring, because people are there to watch action. I was the heel, and my character was supposed to be afraid of him and try to avoid him, but in real life, I think I really was afraid of him. I didn’t want him to hurt me. For the finish, he went for a big splash off the top rope. He’s pretty agile for a big guy, and I was lying on my back seeing this 7-foot-1, close to 400-pound guy flying off the top to flatten me. That’s what he did. It was tough, but I made it through.

Fred: What’s the best piece of advice you can give anybody getting into show business?

Robert Maillet: Be yourself. That’s the No. 1 thing. And work hard, and don’t give up. There will be a lot of setbacks and directions you didn’t predict that won’t go your way. Just stick it out and be stubborn if you’re really serious about it, because the harder you work, the more it’s going to pay off eventually. I’m very lucky with where I grew up. I still live in a small, rural community, and my parents and a lot of good friends really grounded me. I learned in wrestling that it’s easy to believe your own hype, your own gimmick and your character, and that’s the wrong way to go, because you think you’re better than anybody else, but you’re not. It’s a team effort. It works the same way in film. You’re there to help the story and make the scene better. Be the nicest guy you can be, be open-minded and give it 100 percent. There’s a lot of luck involved, too, being in the right place at the right time, but if you have a good attitude, something will happen.

Fred: It certainly seems like you’ve put that advice to good use. We’re looking forward to checking out “Brick Mansions” and, later this summer, “Hercules.”

Robert Maillet: Thank you very much. And look out for “The Strain” on FX, too. I play the Master. It’s an exciting series to be part of.