The Dead Don’t Hurt has the venerable Danny Huston playing a scheming villain. He co-stars with Vicky Krieps and Viggo Mortensen (who also wrote, directed, and scored the film), with Huston as a crooked mayor who covers up a murderous spree for nefarious motives. The brilliant period Western about unlikely lovers separated by the Civil War is another starring role in 2024 for Huston in the genre. He’s also part of Kevin Costner’s upcoming Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1.
Huston spoke with MovieWeb about the differences between Mortensen’s “tight script” like “the skin of a drum” and Costner’s “incredibly ambitious saga.” Huston was also kind enough to give us his thoughts on Liam Neeson’s reboot of The Naked Gun, which he’s currently filming in Atlanta. Please watch above and read below for our interview with the talented and very busy Danny Huston.
Danny Huston as a Western Movie Villain
The Dead Don’t Hurt
4/5
- Release Date
- May 31, 2024
- Runtime
- 2h 9m
- Studio
- Talipot Studio, Recorded Picture Company (RPC), Perceval Pictures
- Distributor(s)
- Shout! Studios
MovieWeb: Mayor Schiller is not the usual Western mustache-twirling villain. He’s insidious. He’ll smile to your face and stab you in the back. Talk about developing the character with Viggo [Mortensen], or was it all on the page?
Danny Huston: I received the script from a friend of mine and a wonderful producer called Jeremy Thomas. He slipped it to me. I read it with relish. I knew that Viggo was involved. I loved the way the script was written out of chronology, out of order, it created a sort of suspense. I was delighted to come across the mayor, Mayor Schiller. And in a way, he does fit the archetypes of a Western. He’s greedy. He represents capitalism, but in order to exploit. He also has to keep a certain calm. You don’t really want things to get too violent. Especially if they’re going to ruin the opportunities that he’s trying to create for himself.
Danny Huston: And Vicky Krieps is the lead along with Viggo in the film, a wonderful performance by her. She very kindly had this leather pouch she had coins in. She handed each actor a coin. You have to put your hand in and pick up the coin. Mine said wisdom. So I really took that on board. I thought, you know what? He’s a wise cat, this guy. He needs to exploit. He doesn’t need a combustible situation. So I took that on board. And it was one of the best pieces of direction I could have had.
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Viggo Mortensen & Vicky Krieps on Their Realistic Western Romance in the The Dead Don’t Hurt
Viggo Mortensen and Vicky Krieps discuss the different fates of unlikely lovers separated during the Civil War.
Westerns by Viggo Mortensen and Kevin Costner in 2024
MW: You’ve done two back to back Westerns. You’ve got The Dead Don’t Hurt here, and then you’ve got Costner’s new film, Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1. Talk about how different those two experiences were. What’s it like working with Viggo as opposed to Kevin Costner?
Danny Huston: Well, I guess let’s start from a script point of view. Viggo’s is a tight script. It’s like the skin of a drum. But his was told out of chronology and there’s a whole lot I haven’t really seen in a Western. It’s not linear. Whereas Kevin Costner’s is a saga. It’s like a fat novel. It goes through time. It has many characters. It’s incredibly ambitious. It’s a dream of his that he’s had for so many years. He takes us through this long period of time. It starts at this Apache river crossing. You see how everything in that particular place starts to change. Characters come and go.
Danny Huston: Where in Viggo’s film, you stay with the characters, basically. It’s within this one place where we’re in. In Kevin’s story, you may leave and never return again. It’s like a novel. It’s like a rich, gorgeous novel that you just want to lap up and continue watching. For me, it’s an extraordinary, majestic work that I celebrate.
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Trying Not to Crack Up with Liam Neeson on The Naked Gun
MW: I am a big fan of The Naked Gun. I love Leslie Nielsen. We recently interviewed Liam Neeson and he’s doing The Naked Gun. I see that you’re also in The Naked Gun. You probably can’t say much, but what’s it like? Is it like the original? Is it brand-new stuff? That’s a classic film to remake. That’s tough stuff.
Danny Huston: I’m here in Atlanta. I’m just about to start. I’m starting next week, the film is being shot now. I had a conversation with Liam the other day. It’s hopefully going to be silly and fun. It’s sort of a laugh-out-loud situation. The script is sharp and smart. Hopefully, Liam and I will be able to act together without laughing too much. Because one of the keys to it is playing it straight and not cracking up laughing in the middle of a take. So when we speak next — hopefully, we will speak again soon — I’ll be able to let you know how it all went.
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The Dangerous Men of The Dead Don’t Hurt
MW: A lot of your primary scenes in this film are with an actor, Garret Dillahunt, who I tremendously enjoy. That scene with him and Solly McLeod in the barn, who plays his son, is one of the highlights of the movie. Where he pulls the gun, and you’re like, “This guy’s crazy.” Talk about shooting that scene.
Danny Huston: What’s great is that I’m watching this father and son being so violent to each other. Literally, the son puts his gun up to his father’s forehead. And it’s as if it’s happened before. That’s the way they interact with each other. They’re desperately dangerous people that I have to deal with. But I’m also no idiot. He’s going to duck and fall onto that hay to dodge the bullet. He’s not into heroics at that point. I think that’s the sort of thing that defines the Schiller character. That he’s not into violence but to profit.
You can see it all play out when the excellent The Dead Don’t Hurt is released theatrically on May 31st from Shout! Studios. Watch the trailer below:
