Joel Kinnaman is on the hunt for bloody revenge as a grief-stricken father hunting the gangsters who killed his young son. Silent Night marks legendary action director John Woo’s return to American cinema after 20 years. He’s in top form, orchestrating stylized violence and crushing despair with a unique twist. Silent Night has no dialogue from a protagonist who loses his ability to speak after confronting the attackers.

Kinnaman stars as Brian Godluck in a gut-wrenching and physically demanding performance. He acknowledges the role was “heavy” and often “felt like a dish rag just wringed out to the last drop.” Kinnaman doesn’t stay in a “dark bubble” when off-camera. He stays in a “light space” to decompress and does the “things that make him feel good.” It gives him “the energy to keep working” and “keep the crew in a mindset that we’re telling a story together.” It should “still be fun to come to work for everyone.”

Kinnaman comments that he stepped “into the Woo Woo” for “a pretty epic experience.” He considers the film “almost experimental” because it lacks dialogue. Kinnaman lauds Woo’s vision as “unique” while keeping audiences “sitting at the edge of your seat.” Silent Night is “hardcore” and “intense” but Woo “brought this cinematic beauty to the table.” He’s pleased with the film’s reception after showing it to audiences and “feels like we succeeded.” You can watch our complete interview with Joel Kinnaman above, or read it below.

The Woo Woo Experience
Silent Night Release Date December 1, 2023 Director John Woo Cast Joel Kinnaman, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Kid Cudi, Harold Torres Rating R Runtime 1hr 44min Main Genre Action

MovieWeb: You’ve made many action films in your career. What was it like working with John Woo, the action master?

Joel Kinnaman: Yeah, I got to step into the Woo Woo. It was a pretty epic experience. Especially on this one, because in some ways, it’s almost experimental. It’s a feature film that has a wide studio release but with zero lines of dialogue. That’s an unusual kind of film. What I realized really quickly was that John’s vision of this film was very unique. I think in many of your favorite films, you have these long stretches, long sequences that, very often, are the sequences where you’re sitting at the edge of your seat. There’s no dialogue in that part of the film. John just decided to make a whole film with that feeling. Now, when we’ve shown it to audiences, it feels like we succeeded.

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Joel Kinnaman: It gives the filmmaker this opportunity of not having to cut back from the person who’s speaking to the person who’s listening. He can just take the whole scene, and just in one take, and just design one beautiful shot that will just tell the story of that scene. So even though it’s hardcore action, and it’s a very intense film, there’s also a lot of cinematic beauty in this that John brought to the table.

Joel Kinnaman Transforms Into a Killer

MW: Your character goes through such a hard time. His son was killed. He almost gets murdered, and then he turns himself into this lethal killer. You’re crying, you’re doing the kettlebells, you’re working your ass off. There’s a level of intensity that never stops from the first second. Did it ever become too much? How did you come down from this performance?

Joel Kinnaman: It was heavy. It was heavy. There were some nights when I came home from work where I just felt like a dish rag, just wringed out to the last drop. I don’t know if that’s an American expression (laughs). Sometimes I still do that. It’s like Swedish expressions that I translate. Yeah, it was a heavy film to do. But I find when I do the heavier stuff, like Crime and Punishment on stage, three hours and 50 minutes of just insanity and heartache, I try to find myself, live in a light mind space, when I’m off work. I just do the things that make me feel good.

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Joel Kinnaman: I know there are actors that kind of go into this dark bubble and just want to stay in it. I think for me, I try to stay in the light space when I’m off camera. It gives me the space to really go deep, and I don’t hold back. I just go to the darkness while I’m shooting, because I’m staying in the light space when I’m off camera. It gives me the energy to keep working, to still be a good collaborator on set with everybody else that I’m working with, and sort of keep the crew in a mindset that we’re telling a story together. It should still be fun to come to work for everyone. But it still gives me the space and the sort of confidence to really go into those moments.

Silent Night will be released theatrically on December 1st from Lionsgate. You can check out the trailer below: