After years of missing out on some major roles, Australian hunk Luke Bracey finally gets his shot at stardom with the Christmas Day release of “Point Break,” in which he takes on the role of Johnny Utah that was made famous by Keanu Reeves in Kathryn Bigelow‘s original 1991 cult classic.
While Bracey is counting on “Point Break” to give him his big break, he’s also excited about his upcoming turn in Mel Gibson‘s “Hacksaw Ridge,” which chronicles the extraordinary true story of conscientious objector Desmond Doss, played by Andrew Garfield.
During the bloodiest battle of WWII, Doss saved 75 men without firing a gun. Believing that the war was just but killing was nevertheless wrong, he was the only American soldier to fight on the front lines without a weapon.
Bracey co-stars alongside Vince Vaughn and Sam Worthington as Smitty Ryker, the alpha of the platoon that Doss belongs to.
“The movie’s going to be pretty sick. Mel Gibson is a genius. It’s an amazing story, a true story. I can’t believe I hadn’t heard of it,” Bracey said. “You can’t make this stuff up.”
While Gibson certainly has a reputation for being a demanding director, Bracey was up for the challenge of working with him, and got the inside scoop from two of his “Point Break” collaborators — director Ericson Core and second unit director Mic Rodgers.
Core served as the cinematographer on “Payback,” which starred Gibson, while Rodgers has served as Gibson’s second unit director since “Braveheart.”
“I talked to them and they told me a bit about him, so I kind of had an idea of what I was going to run into, I guess,” explained Bracey. “[Mel] is one of the most intelligent people I’ve ever met. He just knows everything about anything,” he continued. “It was an experience not many people get. I felt really lucky. It was an absolute privilege.”
While the actor was a little intimidated to work with the Oscar winner, he said that’s par for the course as a young actor. “I think the day I sign on to a movie and I’m like, ‘oh yeah, this will be a piece of cake,’ I’ll give up.”
Watch Bracey’s Drinking With the Stars interview above, and let us know if you’re looking forward to “Hacksaw Ridge” in the comments section below.