Stu Bennett has been playing the bad guy for years in professional wrestling and now he’s taken the lead as the good guy in the new action film I Am Vengeance. 
I Am Vengeance
Stu plays John Gold, a man who ends up going on a hunt to find the men that murdered his best friend. But Gold isn’t an ordinary man, he’s an ex-soldier who isn’t playing games and is willing to go the extra mile to discover what truly happened to his friend.
However, in trying to find the truth, he ends up finding a lot more. Even though Gold is a good guy, he has a very tough exterior and doesn’t let down easy.
The movie is dark, and moves along with built-up tension as Gold makes his way to the truth. The first portion of the movie is focused more on Gold trying to get information, and the second half includes more action and fight scenes.
Stu is tremendous in the role of John Gold, he’s got the right look and his fight scenes were on point. He was able to portray Gold as a tough guy, with a softer side to him as well.
Transitioning From Pro Wrestler To Actor
Many guys such as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, John Cena, The Miz, Triple H, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Kevin Nash have either made a full career of acting or have done a movie here and there. So, it’s no surprise to hear of another wrestler transitioning to acting.
Stu Bennett better known to wrestling fans as Wade Barrett has made the jump over to acting. Even though Bennett spent roughly ten years working for the WWE, he always had a passion for playing characters. “I’ve been a performer all my life.” says Bennett.
Of course wrestling within itself is character driven and performing in front of a live audience on a weekly basis helped him build skills that he now uses in the acting realm. Noting that he got first taste of movies while working with WWE when he got to shoot the action drama Dead Man Down (2013) alongside Colin Farrell and Terrence Howard.
In order to prepare for his role of John Gold, Bennett studied action stars from early Hollywood, like Clint Eastwood.
And when it came to the physical portion of the film, there were some differences between wrestling in the ring and fighting on-screen.
Bennett says the biggest different between shooting a fight scene and wrestling a match is that when it comes to wrestling most of it is improv, there are around ten cameras and a live audience all around. And given the live aspect, there is a huge adrenaline that comes with putting on a wrestling match. Meanwhile, when it comes to shooting a fighting scene, it has to be more “precise and accurate” a planned out step-by-step choreography, which Bennett says “becomes a dance,” and takes a bit to get used to.
“…There is something nice about having a safety nest. You know you can reset and reshoot. I never had that option in the wrestling world. There’s something nice about that…but when it’s live you have a certain level of adrenaline. On set, you have to find a way for the adrenaline to kick in. You have to tap into your soul to make the adrenaline…”
Bennett is very happy that he’s gotten the opportunity to take on this role, and he also loved shooting the film in the United Kingdom, He describes I Am Vengeance as “Badass Action.”
And it seems as the acting route he has taken is paying off since Bennett already has another project lined up that is shooting this fall in the U.K.
Theatrical Release: August 24, 2018
On Demand: August 24, 2018
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vengeancefilmuk
Website: http://evolutionaryfilms.com/vengeance/
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