From the production studio responsible for the John Wick films comes Trigger Warning, an action-packed tale of a woman (Jessica Alba) who returns to her late father’s hometown to find it rife with corruption. At the head of Trigger Warning’s cast of ne’er-do-wells is Senator Ezekiel Swann, chillingly played by veteran actor Anthony Michael Hall. Swann is a senator who maintains an iron grip on the entire town and county, prioritizing power and control above all else.

From the production studio responsible for the John Wick films comes Trigger Warning, an action-packed tale of a woman (Jessica Alba) who returns to her late father’s hometown to find it rife with corruption. At the head of Trigger Warning’s cast of ne’er-do-wells is Senator Ezekiel Swann, chillingly played by veteran actor Anthony Michael Hall. Swann is a senator who maintains an iron grip on the entire town and county, prioritizing power and control above all else.

Senator Ezekial Swann “Represents Darkness” In Trigger Warning

Q: What can you tell us about the character you play in Trigger Warning? How would you describe him?

Hall: Well, first of all, it was a blast to do this. Ezekial Swann. He’s kind of a dark Senator. He represents, I think, evil in this film. You know, I love, in movies, going back to the whole cowboy period or even all the Marvel stuff, the scope of good vs. evil. These are simple terms and simple storytelling devices, but I think it’s really powerful.

There were so many kick-ass women who were in charge of this, at the helm, to produce this film, along with the ladies at Thunder Road Films. We also had a female cinematographer. It was just a great creative team. The experience of Thunder Road – they did all the John Wick films. So we had all of these great assets going into the project. The producers were Esther Hornstein and Erica Lee, who head up Thunder Road along with Basil [Iwanyk]. So, it was a really great production that we had.

And we also have this great stunt crew that does all the John Wick films. It’s called 87eleven. It was such an exciting project. We shot in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It was a cool script.

But Ezekial Swann, he’s kind of a dark guy. You know, I thought it was funny. It struck me as funny. It was the first project that, when I walked on the set, I had two grown men playing my sons. I felt even older than my years. But what’s interesting is that the roles are played by two really talented actors: Mark Webber and Jake Weary. They play Jesse and Elvis, my sons, who are essentially kind of like a Cain and Abel. One, Mark’s character, as you saw, has this kind of history with Jessica [Alba’s] character. There’s some love and a past there between them. And Jake – who I think is great, he really jumps off the screen – he’s kind of rough and tumble. He’s more of my “Raising Cain.” My Cain son.

The dynamic is very powerful. We represent, as a family, all that is dark, and all the badness coming up against Jessica’s character. So it was really fun to play. You know, when you play a bad guy like that, you just kind of dive into it. You just really get into it. And I had these talented actors playing my sons.

And Mouly Surya, who was the woman who directed the film, is a wonderful lady. She led the core group of ladies that were at the helm. She did a movie called Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts, which I saw. And it led to a phone meeting that my representatives at Title Management set up with me, and I just had a great discussion with her. She’s from Indonesia, and just has a fresh perspective, and is a very humble and sweet, kind lady. But what an excellent filmmaker! She’s got great instincts as a director. She would give us great adjustments, and always had great notes.

It was also very cool seeing her and Zoe – our cinematographer, Zoe White, who did The Handmaid’s Tale and a lot of really interesting projects like independent films recently as well. So that dynamic is always something I studied. You know, it’s typically two men, and it was great to be working with a female director and her cinematographer was awesome. So that’s the thing that I look at, the dynamic between the filmmaker and the cinematographer, because they’re really kind of leading the charge when you’re on set. Just a great experience. We had a lot of fun shooting.