Frank Grillo is experiencing quite the career surge, as the in-demand veteran tough guy actor just wrapped the second season of “Tulsa King,” has “Creature Commandos” premiering Thursday on Max, and the theatrical release of old school horror film “Werewolves” on Friday.
In a wide-ranging interview with TheWrap, Grillo revealed he’s in early talks to return alongside Sylvester Stallone for a potential third and fourth seasons of “Tulsa King,” while also discussing his expanding role in James Gunn’s DC Universe. He offers a refreshingly candid approach to the use of performance enhancers in movies.
First off, Grillo stars as Rick Flagg Sr. in DC Studios’ animated and highly entertaining “Creature Commandos” and will reprise the character in upcoming live-action DC Studios projects, including “Superman” and the second season of “Peacemaker,” which just recently wrapped.
Both Gunn and Grillo are Marvel veterans and hit it off early on. “James and I became friendly at Marvel, at different events and stuff like that,” Grillo said of his DC journey. “And then he said, I’m going to call you when I get something good.”
Grillo added: “Then he and Peter Safran took over DC as co-presidents and one of the first calls they made was to me, and they had ‘Creature Commandos’ already written, and then James said to me, ‘Look, we got this thing, it’s ‘Creature Commandos,’ it’s animated. I want you to play Rick Flagg, you read it. Tell me what you think.”
The way Grillo tells it, he was already committed without even reading the scripts, “I said, I’m not going to even tell you what I think. I’m going to say yes, but I’ll read it anyway, and I read it, I loved it, the rest was history, and then he said to me, Look, here’s the plan. I want you in ‘Peacemaker.’”
Regarding his “Superman” scenes, Grillo confirmed: “I have four or five scenes in there with David Corenswet (Superman), who I was really impressed with. And what Gunn and Safran are doing with DC, I think is really original, and I think people are going to love it.”
Grillo revealed he’s in early talks to return alongside Sylvester Stallone for the third and fourth seasons of “Tulsa King,” with the Season two finale deliberately setting up their characters’ partnership. “I mean, Sly and I talk on the daily,” Grillo said.
Grillo, who played Bill Bevilaqua, a Kansas City mobster with interests in Tulsa, added: “A deal has to be made but we set it up at the end of Tulsa season two that now these guys are partners. I’m cautiously optimistic that based on my conversations with Sly, that’s probably what’s going to happen for me.”
Grillo’s chemistry with Stallone extends beyond the screen. “I’ve known Sly before I worked with him, and then he called me about this,” Grillo noted. “He said, ‘I need somebody to balance me on the show.’ There’s somebody who has enough gravitas to kind of go against him. So it’s not always him winning so much.”
“On screen, they’re these Italian macho guys, butting heads,” Grillo added. “I think it worked. I was really proud of it and pleased with it.”
Grillo also revealed his upcoming practical effects horror film, “Werewolves,” originally planned for streaming, has been upgraded to a theatrical release through Briarcliff Entertainment. “It came out so well, and they really spent the time in post-production,” he said, comparing its potential to “The Purge,” “which we made for a few million bucks and went on to make a couple hundred million dollars.”
“It’s getting a wide release in theaters, it could be like ‘The Purge,” Grillo added. “I say it’s ‘The Purge’ meets ‘Werewolves. “Alex Gillis did the wolves, who did ‘Predator’ and ‘Alien’ and ‘Pumpkinhead.’”
Back in September, The Wrap took a look at the use performance enhancing drugs and the use of TRT (Testosterone Replacement Therapy) in superhero movies, with Grillo being one of the only actors on record about his use of the compounds in his elite fitness regimen.
“Through my doctor, I did TRT for a while, and I found it to be amazing. I mean, it really did help me with everything and recovery. I think a lot of guys are afraid to admit that they do anything because they think it’s cheating,” Grillo said. “I’m not a football player, I’m not a professional basketball player, I’m not in the Olympics. I’m not cheating at anyone. What I’m doing is cheating Father Time and putting back what he’s taken away from me.”
Grillo also addressed the “Fake Natty” problem in Hollywood. “I think guys are crazy to say that they’re natural when they’re not. I think it’s silly. I can see a body that isn’t natural. I’m not judging anyone. I would be a hypocrite. It’s ridiculous to think you’re getting that from eating chicken and broccoli. It’s not happening. You’re 47 years old. It’s okay.”
At 59, Grillo maintains a rigorous training schedule, working out twice daily with Manny Pacquiao’s conditioning coach. “I train every single day with Justin Fortune, who’s Manny Pacquiao’s conditioning coach, and boxing coach Freddie Roach. I train exactly like his professional fighters trained. And then I do strength and conditioning at night. I train twice a day.”
Grillo is also a proponent for the use of peptides, which are perfromance enhancing compounds and recovery agents consisting of two or more amino acids linked in a chain. “Now, I stack peptides. I do BPC-157,” Grillo revealed. “It took away the pain in my shoulders and my knee. I take CJC for recovery as well, and my skin and stuff.”
Grillo added: “If you don’t want to keep up with science and technology of fitness, then don’t do it, live your life the way you want to live your life. But for me, it works. I’ve yet to see any side effects. I don’t there’s nothing bad that. I mean, I sleep better. I don’t drink any alcohol anymore. I eat relatively once a day. I eat real food, clean food, and it’s all part of a maintenance routine that I think is going to make me live a far more productive life, into my 60s, and into my 70s.”
Looking to Stallone as an example of longevity, Grillo said, “He’s 78 years and this guy shows up on set like it’s his first time acting. He knows all his lines. He’s sharp as a tack and so we all do the same stuff. We all dabble in the stuff that is going to help us live longer, better lives.”
“Creature Commandos” is currently streaming on Max and “Werewolves” opens in theaters on Friday.