Dane DiLiegro Interview

Adam: During filming was there any like behind-the-scenes documentary material being done or were things kind of moving away with physical media kind of taking lesser prominence to digital now? Was there any sort of like interviews on set or things if they didn’t know it was going to go to streaming that were going to be on a physical release?

Dane: We had the… if it was 20th or Disney had EPK which is electronic press kit. There was a behind-the-scenes crew there filming things. Stills photographer. There were series of interviews being conducted on set. I did not take part in any of the interviews while during principal photography that we were shooting but I specifically remember a crew being there filming a bunch of things while we were shooting.

I don’t know if that’ll ever see the light of day again. They could take the files of that and just put it in the Raiders of the Lost Ark warehouse but who knows what the future holds. I’m sure Dan may or may not have access to some of that. I’d love to see it someday.

Aaron: It’s why I like doing these things because it’s our own oral history, our own oral documentaries of these films that we might not always get the chance to hear. So yes, that’s why I enjoy talking to folk like yourself so much.

Dane: I had to come on. When I first got this role, I became a super fan I spent a lot of time on your website. I spent a lot of time on deep diving. I had to become a super fan I had to understand what about Predators and a little bit of the history there. Obviously with the films, the films focus on what’s established in the films.

In terms of the comics and other lore, it’s tough because what is brought into the films isn’t necessarily what’s in the comics and I know a lot of fans are very passionate about all of Predator lore and canon but the things that I knew I had to stay true to and respect were what were in the films previously or what had been established through cinematography. The word Yautja is a comic term. It’s not used in any of the films. When I give an interview about this film, I can’t use that word essentially because it’s not film canon and I was instructed to stay true to the film canon essentially.

Aaron: What was it like working with Tom and Alec and Mike?

Dane: Oh, it was great. It’s unbelievable. I mean those guys should write a book. Alec has seen it all. The stories he has. Working for Stan Winston and hearing… I mean you’re on set with him for hours for three months straight and Alec is a very special person to me and Tom guiding me through this role and helping me out with all the suit stuff. His experiences on Pumpkinhead. His experience of all the Xenomorphs that he’s played. I mean the Predalien. I guess that doesn’t count as a xenomorph. Is it more Predator, is it more alien?

We don’t know but Tom really guiding me along the way with movements and how to handle the suit and all of that was amazing and then Mike Fields was my godsend. He was my right-hand man. He was with me after every take spraying me down, handling the suit. If something was wrong with the suit, he repaired it. He painted it. When I started to get a little not chubbier, but I wasn’t always down 25 pounds for the entire shoot, he loosened it up for me a little bit but yeah all of those guys working together, it was a pleasure Jon Miller was there. Geoff Redknap, Dave Penikas. All the boys. We’d have these giant ADI dinners and I loved hanging out with those guys, just hearing all the stories and learning things from them was incredible for me.

Adam: You were at the San Diego premiere of the film. Tell us about that experience. Was that your first time seeing the film fully put together?

Dane: I had seen the film back in March. Dan brought Dakota and I into the Fox Studio lot to watch an iteration of the film. It was quite different from the final product. Comic-Con was crazy. I’d never been to a Comic-Con before so that whole experience in itself with the press and everything and then we screened the movie and it ended and the standing ovation and just listening to the score and then the end credits and “Oh my god, there’s my name. This is crazy.”

And I remember the standing ovation. We stood up. I look over at Amber and I started crying. It was like a pinch me moment. This is real. We worked so hard on this a year ago and now people are standing up and clapping for it. I’m getting goosebumps now thinking about it but that was a very surreal experience for me.

Adam: Naturally we’ve got to ask if you’d be interested in returning to play a different Predator if Disney were to produce more? If so, what kind of Predator would you want to be? How would he be different than Feral, and might you even be fighting aliens?

Dane: Yes, I would be honored to get that phone call and come back. I would love to. How would he be different? I don’t know. Maybe more hulking but also still dynamic. I mean I feel like Feral Predator was like a very lean, very quick, very dynamic, he was muscular, but he wasn’t hulking. He was quicker in that sense so maybe a bigger stronger Predator who’s taller.

I don’t know but also still dynamic and maybe more on the ground. I mean Feral’s just so badass. He was so cool. It’s tough. How do you outdo that? I don’t know and then in what time period? What’s the geographic location? Are we on earth? I don’t know for the next one. Is there going to be a next one? I also don’t know that either and hand to God I have no idea what the future is what is planned. If there is something being planned, I am not privy to that information. I hope they make another one. I don’t know what the plot would be. I don’t know what the timeline would be on that.

Aaron: Did you say you wanted to do samurai? Could you do that with the suit?

Dane: 100%. A feudal Japan would be awesome. That would be really cool. I’m from Lexington, Massachusetts so that’s the revolutionary war. I’m sorry Aaron, that’s the first time we stood up to the British. Muskets would be interesting. Kind of like The Patriot with Mel Gibson, put a Predator in there. I see like dark misty fields, and you see this Predator coming out, getting hit with other muskets. Gladiators. Roman times would be interesting. Maybe more of a barbarian Predator. Huge giant muscles and swords and stuff. Has a Predator ever used a sword? Can you imagine like a full-on like roman blade, like hand-to-hand… the options are endless really.

Aaron: That’s actually everything from us but we did have just a small handful of questions from our community members and Superior Ironman would like to know if given the option, is there a weapon or gadget that you wish Feral would have used?

Dane: I think in the burnt glade scene when he uses the laser discs. That’s cool. I would have loved to see him maybe get a little frustrated at some point and then just a plasma cannon pops out and he just blasts everyone away and then walks away to continue what he has to do but that obviously goes against his code and obviously with the design of this character, they wanted to de-evolutionize his weaponry. I would have loved to see the net ball used a little more. I mean when it got used, it got used. It was very used but yeah, I mean a sword obviously. More hand-to-hand combat but I don’t know. There’s not really much I would change with this film.

Aaron: And the same guy Superior Ironman is also curious about how the hell the bolt gun and the med-pack stayed on the back of that suit? Were they sculpted onto the suit?

Dane: Very easy answer. Advanced alien technology. It’s just technology that we can’t comprehend yet. That’s like saying what drives the ship that he flew here with. Advanced alien technology. We don’t know. In the real world, they were just on there. They were attached the whole time. We had a couple of different backpacks. We had a couple different bolt guns. We had a soft bolt gun.

When Naru jumped on my back, it was just a foam bolt gun that that she could crush. When I was on my back when they threw the cargo net over me, there was a squishy backpack I had on. There are some scenes where you can’t see the gun, so we just didn’t even have the gun on at all. I don’t know. Maybe they’re surgically implanted.

Adam: Caleb, another one of our forum members, asks we’ve heard from other performers before that they’ve often taken inspiration from animal movements to help inform their creature performances. Was there anything in particular that you studied prior to playing Feral that informed your movements or that helped give you an idea of how you wanted to portray him?

Dane: One of the main animals I looked at was a panther. I wanted to make it look like this Predator knew where every route where every branch or every tree was. He’s run through the woods a million times. Instinctually knows where everything is. Believe it or not I actually watched videos of Mr Bean leading up to this because Mr Bean is a great non-verbal actor and he’s great at conveying emotion and telling a story without using words he doesn’t speak much.

If he does speak, he mumbles nothings, and I watched a little bit of Mr Bean going into this just to see what is he doing. How is he conveying a story without using words? So, it’s a little fun fact. I don’t think I’ve ever said that to anybody in any interview.

Adam: SizzyBubbles wants to know if there were any valuable takeaways to playing as the Predator? Any skills that you learn to carry on to your next role?

Dane: 100%. I trained for parkour for two months leading up to this role. I now have the basics of parkour. My trainer, Anelle, we did a lot of bow staff. We did a lot of bo staff, kali martial arts training, nunchucks, sword work. I had no idea how to do a flower with a sword before this film and now I can. I didn’t even know what a flourish was and then you can see in the film, I do a flourish when I pull the half combi sticks out of the ground right before I kill Ania with both combi sticks. So yeah, the martial arts and parkour training. Also just mentally just being zen inside that suit during the hot moments.

I have a couple of videos of me squeezing my arm after a long day and just all the sweat coming out. Pretty insane. If they released any of the production stills from the film, you’ll probably be able to see me and Taabe’s fight, like sweat just shooting out of my arm anytime I swung my arm. You’ll see a trail of sweat every time I’d swing, I’d spray him with sweat from the suits. Dakota, he loved it. He just wanted to be as badass as possible, and he certainly was in this film.

Aaron: That’s it. That’s actually all of our questions. I think we managed to get this down to the hour pretty nicely but before we do sign off and let you get back to fighting bears or other interviews, is there anything you’d like to say any anecdote or thought that we just haven’t given you the opportunity to express?

Dane: Well first of all a giant thank you. I’ve received countless messages from a lot of people saying that they appreciated my Predator, just behind Kevin Peter Hall and to be considered even in the same level or just below as Kevin is an honor. I was a little nervous with this movie coming out that a lot of people would not really appreciate the redesign, not appreciate what we were trying to do with this Feral Predator and the reception has been amazing.

People have for the most part welcomed what I did, what Alec did, what Dan decided ultimately with this Predator with open arms. I’m shocked. I can’t believe how well this film is doing and the reception it’s gotten but selfishly from the Predator standpoint of mostly a large number of people being receptive to our different take. Everything’s going to get compared to the jungle hunter. Everything’s going to get compared to Kevin and what he did and it’s a tall order. It’s a tall order to stand up to that and I’m just glad that for the most part everyone was receptive to it and obviously the end result you have this beast. This feral beast that’s dynamic and super badass.

I wanted him to be as badass as possible. Yeah, thank you. I guess it’s a major thank you and thank you to everyone on the website and the forum who are so passionate whether you approve of things or not, thank you for your passion because without everyone who supports and loves this franchise, it’s nothing whether it’s good or bad through thick and thin. There have been some interesting movies that have come out of this franchise. There’s been some really exciting ones and fans have stuck with us through all of it.

I obviously wasn’t involved with those other films but we’re still here, so the ball’s rolling and it seems like we’ve breathed new life into this franchise and I’m very excited about that. It’s easy to look at the description of this film before it comes out and say “Oh it’s an R-rated Pocahontas. It’s woke. It’s a Disney princess…” It’s so easy to say all of those things and I’m just glad the reception. I’m so glad that everyone likes it.

Aaron: Is there any way you’d like to sign post people to find out more about yourself?

Dane: My Instagram is dd. That’s the thing I’m most active on. I just signed with a personal appearance agent so I will be going to Charlotte next week to Mad Monster Party. I think I’m going to Germany at some point or maybe even Ireland or Scotland. I think I might be going to London at some point so yeah, I’m gonna start touring around. Dakota’s coming with me to some of these things so yeah, it’ll be fun so I can meet some of you guys.