Stuart Martin On Being The “Tough Guy” in Netflix Film 'Army Of Thieves'

Once Duke, now thief, Miss Scarlett’s Stuart Martin is back on our screens tributing a signature tank top (or manisole?) with a fully loaded gun of entertainment in new, soon-to-be hit film, Army Of Thieves.

Back with a “bang”, Stuart’s character, Brad Cage, is the action hero of the piece spurring up team morale and carrying out the dirtier of deeds within his entourage. This, of course, is all the while keeping up a strong wardrobe game from start to finish… A look I’ve since learnt is partly obtained through extensive google searches for “Brad Cage Leather Bomber Jacket”.

A prequel to Netflix’s bingeworthy Army of The Dead, Army of Thieves is set to be another winner; premiering exclusively on Netflix. Set your reminders folks!

Ahead of the release, we had a little chat with Stuart himself…

Can you tell us a little about your character, Brad Cage, in the soon-to-be released Army Of Thieves? Does he sway more to being the hero or villain of the piece as far as the “thieves” go?

Stuart: Brad’s a bit of a badass! Everyone in the team has their own skill set they bring to the party. Nathalie’s character is the brains, Guz is the driver, Ruby is the tech genius and Brad is the action dude. He’s the guy who does the guns and the bangs and all that. He’s a bit of a bull in a China shop… I don’t want to give too much away, but with all that testosterone it can sometimes spill over in the wrong direction!

What’s it like to play the “tough guy”?

S: I was so lucky with the brilliant script by Zack and the guys, and with how Matthias saw it, that I get to play something with a bit more depth than just an action dude. It allows us to poke fun at him. The last thing you want to do is play a character that takes himself too seriously. Or more that the audience is supposed to take too seriously… This sort of legit hard dude who can only be cool. The strong silent type or whatever. I’d struggle with that. But when you meet him, Brad that is, we instantly see where he’s come from. He was bullied and beat up at school and he decides at a young age he’s never going to be beaten up again. He idolises all these ‘90s action stars like Nicolas Cage and Steven Seagal, that we might smile at now in those roles. That’s what he aspires to be. So we get to see a great little funny montage of him creating himself as he wants to be seen. We get to poke fun at him. And laugh at him being the tough guy. There’s a real knowingness, and that is such a brilliant thing to get to play. He’s a tough guy but totally breakable. We look at him through a different lens than we might it another film.

I imagine you physically trained to get ready for this role, but did you ever find yourself employing any method acting to get into the “real Brad”?

S: We did a lot of training for that. That’s always fun. I met Matthias for the first time in Prague. And I was like “what shall we do for him physically?” and he said to me “I see him with veiny f**king forearms!”. So that’s what we went for! I didn’t quite get the veiny f**king forearms but that was the feeling or look for Brad that we wanted. He’s pumped… All the time. So the booze went. Lots of training in the lead up and lots of push ups… ALL THE TIME!

From what I’ve seen, there’s some iconic looks in this film. Can you describe Brad’s aesthetic to us? Does he fall into any of the fluid subcultures existing today?

S: We had a lot of fun with Brad’s look. We went through those people that he’s based himself on. Keanu Reeves, Brad Pitt and Nicolas Cage. So we’ve got homages to point break in there. With the tight black tee and the Nickson mask. And homages to Brad Pitt with the tank top half tucked into the pants! Stephanie, our brilliant costume designer, and I had a lot of fun with his looks. She’s amazing and a long time Zack Snyder collaborator!

Can you tell us about some of the memorable moments you had on set of shooting?

S: We had such an amazing time on set. Matthias is such an incredible leader, his passion and excitement for filmmaking, the job and what people are bringing each day is so infectious and exciting. It’s a lovely way to work. There was a lot of love on that set. We got to do some really cool stunt pieces. The Prague heist in particular was so much fun. And Matthias and Matt, our stunt guy, had me chasing after a moving van then leaping into the back of it with the camera in one shot. It was such an interesting time as well as we were in the middle of the second lockdown over in Prague. We were probably one of the first productions that got back to it so everyone was trying to work out how we film and work in a pandemic. That really brought us all closer as we we couldn’t jet home and see our families and we couldn’t go to restaurants or anything. All that you could really do was go for long walks around a deserted Prague. So that’s what we did when we weren’t working. It was such a mad experience filming in lockdown for those three months looking back on it!

Are there any similarities between Brad and Stuart… If so, what are they!?

S: We’re both assholes.

Why should everyone tune in and watch AOT when it’s released?

S: Because I think you’ll love it! I’ve seen it a couple of times and it’s full of heisting, action, lots of laughs and maybe even a bit of romance. I hope you enjoy!

Words / JESSIE PINK

This PIBE online exclusive has been produced by:
Talent / Stuart Martin
Photography / David Reiss
Styling / Catherine Schmid
Grooming / Shukeel Murtaza