The Brett Granstaff Interview:
LISTEN TO THE FULL BRETT GRANSTAFF INTERVIEW.
[This is page 2 in a three-page article. Be sure to read all three pages.]
I’ll be the first to say there is nothing fake about wrestling. It hurt — A lot!
-Bret Granstaff, Producer
Faith & Fitness Magazine: How did you decide to do this movie?
Brett Granstaff: I was supposed to be doing another film, a true story about a boxer. We had everything ready to go but there were a couple of issues and I just didn’t want to get into a situation where things didn’t seem right. My partner in Canada said, “Hey, I have this little faith-based movie. I’d like for you to take a look at it.” So, I bought the book, The Masked Saint, by Chris Whaley and found it to be interesting. I then looked at the initial script and said, “Let’s tell this in a shortened linier kind of way.” I wrote the script, they loved it and we decided to do the film.
It’s interesting, when I heard the story I was like, “Hey wait a minute. He’s a pastor and yet he’s a professional wrestler. How does this happen?” I like to say, “He’s a pastor that doesn’t always turn the other cheek so to speak.” It’s a story about redemption and about second chances. I love the message.
Faith & Fitness Magazine: Why do faith-based films? You can make better money doing others kinds of films.
Brett Granstaff: When I was in school the head of the department said if you want to make money do anything else because you’ll never make it in film. I’ve actually been successful in film making as a producer with my company Ridgerock Entertainment for the studio films. But, I created Ridgerock Faith because I want to do more faith-based movies because I am a person of faith. I personally appreciate faith-based films. It is always something I’ve wanted to do.
I think there is a market for it and I don’t think there is enough good content. My hope is to bring a higher production level to the faith-based films and get more people into the theaters. I hope to set the new bar – that we can do really high level Christian films, with a decent budget and have a really good message.
Faith & Fitness Magazine: Talking about “setting the bar”, I understand you did most if not all of the stunts for this film. That must have required a good bit of training?
Brett Granstaff: Yes, I did! I told them, “If I’m going to do this movie, I want to do my own stunts because I want to learn how to wrestle.” I mean that’s the fun part about movie making, right?! Looking back on that now I’m like, “Oh man, maybe that wasn’t such a good idea after all.” Actually, I really loved it. We brought in this guy, James Preston Rogers, who trained in the WWE training camp. I had eight classes, two hours each. So sixteen hours total to learn to do my stunts. It was a crash course — literally, pun intended!
The first day James said, “Hey bro, listen normally people take about six months to learn how to fall. You have fifteen minutes.” I said, “Excuse me, what’s that?” He asked, “Do you trust me?” I replied, “Yeah, I don’t really have a choice.” He said, “So I’m going to pick you up and I want you to close your eyes.”
So he picked me up, told me to breath out and slammed me as hard as he could on the canvas. I was like, “Ohhhhhhhh…..” He said, “Bro, you gotta breath.” I was like, “Thaaaanks.” So, I’ll be the first to say there is nothing fake about wrestling. It hurt — A lot!
Faith & Fitness Magazine: So in all that physical activity did God give you an epiphany of some sort?
Brett Granstaff: I don’t think necessarily in the wrestling but in the film in general we were definitely blessed. I think God loves watching out for us. That fact that we finished on time and on budget was just amazing. We filmed in Sault Ste. Marie (pronounced “Soo Saint Marie”) in Northern Ontario and they had their first snow in early September and we were filming yet in late November. I was just waiting for a big massive snowstorm and it never hit. We were blessed.
But also with the stunts and physicality for everyone we didn’t have a single injury. It is a good action film. We were truly blessed that we made it through with no injuries. We really prepared. Everyone had been doing extra training and extra workouts.
I always workout. My trainer was with me. He plays Detective Harper in the movie. I’ve been working out with him for more than 13 years. I’m generally just always working out and keep a good regimen. For the movie we kicked it up a notch. We started doing two-a-days. During the filming my schedule was from 7 in the morning and then finish about 7 at night, then after dinner I’d hit the gym about 11:30 at night. To keep from getting injured with that kind of schedule I think the Lord was watching out for us.
Faith & Fitness Magazine: Share about your regular workout lifestyle and identify your three favorite exercises?
Brett Granstaff: I’m a martial artist. So, I combine that two to three days per week with workouts four days per week. I workout with my friend Mykel [Jenkins] in his garage. He converted it into a gym. I call it the dungeon. It’s like mid-evil torture when you go in there. We mix it up every day. Sunday is our pull-up/sit-up day with different variations. Then on Monday, Wednesday and Friday it’s a combination of everything. I’m a sprinter and my lower body is strong. So, I throw in a chest workout every time for a little better symmetry.
My three favorite workouts would be: Pull-ups, you can’t cheat a pull-up. I love TRX and anything that challenges the core. Then bodyweight exercises like planks and pushups.
Faith & Fitness Magazine: You look pretty ripped for the movie. Tough diet?
Brett Granstaff: Yes, I’ll have a pre-workout drink. Then every two hours I’d have 3 ounces of my proteins and my greens. Something like chicken and broccoli or white fish and asparagus. I’d add an apple for a snack. I’d finish out with a protein shake. If I was particularly ravished I’d have a handful of almonds. It was like clockwork everyday.
Faith & Fitness Magazine: What makes faith personal to you and how does it impact your life?
Brett Granstaff: I moved twenty times while growing up so I don’t have a home church. I was raised Southern Baptist.
A funny story about this film that relates to me personally: I like to say that my character, Pastor Chris, always ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time. Maybe it’s actually the right place at the right time, depending on if you think God puts you right where you need to be. That hits home with me. Before, I used to give someone having a hard time some money. Now, I’m much more aware of my surroundings and who I run into and consider that God has me there for a reason to reach out and ask, “Is everything OK?”
This film has reinforced that for me personally. My outlook in life now is that I’m where God wants me to be. I just have to trust in His plan for my day to day living.
Faith & Fitness Magazine: The theme in this issue of the magazine is “Pause, Play, In that order.” Do you see that play out as you act?
Brett Granstaff: I mostly produce. For me you can never judge a character both in terms of when I act and how I live my life. When I’m getting into character I take a moment, pause, and ask, “What does this character have that I can take away with me? What is close to me – that is part of me, in which I can use myself? What parts of the character are completely NOT like me?” For these, I need to do a ‘what-if’ scenario.
That is what we talk about as an actor. You always want to be in the moment – always present. To do that you have to pause, let everything go, take that moment — that beet and ask what can I take from this character and use personally. If I can’t find something for myself then I have to imagine, let everything go and just BE.
In anything I do in business and life, I ask, “What is my first reaction?” Then I pause, clear everything out and then take a look at it again with fresh eyes. I want to reflect and make a ‘true’ decision.
[Continue to the next page for the Pastor Chris Whaley interview.]
