[Editor’s note: The following contains some spoilers for Love Hurts.]

The Big Picture

‘Love Hurts’ marks the feature directorial debut of Jonathan Eusebio and combines action with character investment.
Eusebio tailored the story to Ke Huy Quan’s strengths, making him an unconventional hero worth rooting for.
The film explores themes of redemption, second chances, and dealing with past choices.

Part action flick and part romantic comedy, the upcoming Love Hurts tells the tale of overachieving real estate agent Marvin Gable (Ke Huy Quan) in the suburbs who receives a mysterious envelope from former partner-in-crime Rose (Ariana DeBose). But when you have a crime lord brother (Daniel Wu) in a world of hitmen, the past will not stay buried and life comes back at you fast.

Making his feature directorial debut with Love Hurts, Jonathan Eusebio has transitioned from stunt performer to fight coordinator to second unit director before going all in with this blend of genres. He knows the expectations will be high, and he hopes audiences will have a great time going on the journey with this unconventional hero.

After checking out the trailer, Collider got the opportunity to chat one-on-one with Eusebio about the pressure he felt to deliver more than just action, loving the quirkiness of the characters, tailoring the story to the strengths of Quan, once they knew he was the actor that had to take on this role, how Quan did everything that was asked of him when it came to the action, the fun dynamic between Quan and DeBose, the fact that he’s still processing the making of his first film, and whether he hopes for a sequel.

Director Jonathan Eusebio Didn’t Want To Make a Typical Action Movie With ‘Love Hurts’
Image via Universal Studios

Collider: You’re clearly overqualified for someone making their future directorial debut with this film. But your qualifications also lend themselves to certain expectations that people wouldn’t necessarily have with someone that doesn’t have the background that you do. What pressure have you put on yourself with this film? Did you set a high bar for yourself that you wanted to reach?

JONATHAN EUSEBIO: With every project I go into, I always want to improve upon or do better than what I’ve done before, but because it’s my directorial debut, there’s a lot of pressure other than just doing the action. I always feel like action without any investment in the characters is just mindless action. I really tried to make sure we liked all the characters in this movie and at least there’s some investment in them before we get into the action stuff.

28:19 Related ‘The Fall Guy’s David Leitch Discusses Practical Stunts & Ke Huy Quan Becoming an Action Star in ‘With Love’ [Exclusive] Leitch and producer Kelly McCormick also discuss finding out Steven Spielberg loved the film and give updates on ‘Nobody 2’ & ‘Violent Night 2.’

How did this particular script come your way? What made this the project that you wanted to be your directorial debut?

EUSEBIO: (Producer) Kelly McCormick brought me the script, years and years ago. There have been different incarnations of it. What I liked about it is that it still lends itself to the action world that I’m in, but I loved the characters, I loved the quirkiness of the characters, and I liked the fact that it’s a love story. That’s a little bit different from the stuff the other stuff I was getting, which were straight revenge or hitman things.

Were there any major changes made before you shot the movie?

EUSEBIO: The premise is there, but I had to shape it to my sensibility. When we figured out we wanted Ke [Huy Quan], we basically rewrote the whole story revolving around Ke’s strengths. We rewrote it for Ke.

‘Love Hurts’ Director Jonathan Eusebio Thinks Ke Huy Quan Is the Perfect Unconventional Action Hero

What qualities did you see in him that made him someone who could breathe life into this character in the way that you saw it?

EUSEBIO: I wanted to have an unconventional hero who was unlikely. And because Ke is so uplifting and charming and smiling, and everyone loves them, I thought it’d be nice to showcase, not just his range as an actor, but his physical prowess. I wanted to make sure the audience felt like he was doing things they wouldn’t expect him to do.

What surprised you about what he was able to do with the action? Did anything change with the action once you saw what he was able to do?

EUSEBIO: When you’re doing fight scenes, you have a base choreography and go with that, but at the same time, a lot of choreography changes, depending on location, the way the set is, and the actor’s ability to perform the fight scenes. Ke did all of it, aside from jumping through windows or getting smashed on the floor. What surprised me was that he could do more and more and more. Everything I asked, he could do it.

Related With ‘Love Hurts,’ Ke Huy Quan Is Living Out His Action Star Dreams The Academy Award winner also talks about his decision to do all his own fight scenes himself, against the advice of Michelle Yeoh.

Since we’ve only gotten this glimpse in the trailer, how would you describe the character at the center of this and the dual life that we learn he’s living?

EUSEBIO: I like the whole premise of an unconventional and unlikely hero, so when we see this character in the beginning, we see this life he has. He has a very happy, very uplifting, sunny, serene existence. And so, when his past comes back, we’re like, “What is he trying to cover up? Who is this person?” The movie lends itself to that kind of emotional journey throughout, of a person dealing with themes of redemption and second chances, and how you deal with the choices that you’ve made.

We also see that this woman has come back into his life. What can you say about that dynamic? What did you enjoy about seeing what Ke Huy Quan and Ariana DeBose did to play off of each other?

EUSEBIO: It’s seeing two actors at the top of their game, trying to play off each other. That was fun for me. That was more fun than actually doing the fight scenes, just seeing how they interact and how they play scenes together. You’re seeing them do these performances live, and that’s very fun to see. If you enjoy what you’re doing, it comes off on screen. I feel like everyone had a good time. I had such a great cast. They put one hundred percent into it and it shows.

‘Nobody’ Really Set the Bar for Seeing an Average Joe Survive Extraordinary Circumstances
Image via Universal Pictures

Do you feel like what this film and what Ke does in this film compares to Nobody and what Bob Odenkirk was able to pull off with that?

EUSEBIO: Yeah. We were using that to set the bar. Nobody set the bar for that. And it’s the same kind of premise. You get a guy that you wouldn’t expect to be this fighting machine or this whirlwind of action when it starts out. You’re just seeing these average Joes surviving these extraordinary circumstances. We took that model and we ran with it.

Ke’s character is an overachiever in his new life, which is a fan place to find him.

EUSEBIO: That’s the thing, he has this life that he likes, that’s this so-called happy, perfect life. The theme of this movie is that it’s not easy to break up with your past, so how do you deal with that? A lot of it is just him trying to figure out how to deal with the choices he’s made in the past and make himself a better person.

There’s a quote in the trailer that says, “Hiding ain’t living,” which is really true. Do you feel like that’s something that is universally relatable?

EUSEBIO: Yeah, that’s the whole point. This is a romantic Valentine’s Day-themed movie about love. When you think of, “Hiding ain’t living,” you should be true to yourself. What’s your true self? Don’t hide who you really are. That can work itself out, literally or figuratively, but you should be your true self and be okay with it.

Related 10 Best Ke Huy Quan Movies and TV Shows, Ranked By IMDb One of 2022’s most remarkable and celebrated comebacks.

What has it been like to show this film to family and friends and get their reactions?

EUSEBIO: Anytime you put yourself out there or you put something out there creatively, you hope they feel the same thing you’re feeling. The responses I’ve been getting are very positive, but we won’t really know until we see the whole finished product on the release date. You’re putting a part of you out there and you’re just hoping everybody enjoys it.

And I’m sure there are things that you don’t even necessarily realize you’ll get a bigger reaction to because you’ve seen it so many times and you’re too close to it.

EUSEBIO: Yeah, that’s true. I’ve watched it so many times. It’s nice to see what an audience reacts to. That’s the beauty of going to the theater because everyone is experiencing the same thing in real time. You just want to see what everyone’s reaction is, with a bunch of people watching.

What did you think the biggest challenge of making this film would be, and how did the reality compare to it?

EUSEBIO: Anytime you’re stepping into a different level or job, it’s a challenge. I’ve worked on a lot of movies. I started as a performer, working my way up to second unit director. When you work your way up to the main director, you don’t really know what that is until you get in that chair and you realize there’s so much stuff going on. I enjoy the whole process. I love it. But I’m still in the process of it. I’m still on the journey of it, but I love it and I think it’s so fun. Hopefully, at the end of this journey, I can look back and go, “Wow, this has been such a great ride.” So far, it’s super exciting. I just want to see what happens when I get to my destination.

‘Love Hurts’ Director Jonathan Eusebio Believes Ke Huy Quan Is a Great Leading Man
Image via Universal Studios

Is the goal with this to make Ke Huy Quan an action star? Do you want to do more than one of these movies, if this is successful?

EUSEBIO: Of course, you always want to continue the story of the character. This is Ke’s first major leading man role. I think he’d be a great action leading man. He delivers such a layered and deep performance. The guy can do anything.

Love Hurts is in theaters on February 7, 2025. Check out the trailer: