We Will Entertain
Condemned star Steve Austin enters a whole new ring
Interview by Gregory Johnson

“This is the movie people would expect me to make as my first project,” WWE wrestler-turned-action star “Stone Cold” Steve Austin explains, “but I hope my old fans — and hopefully some new ones — enjoy the movie.”

The movie is The Condemned, in which Austin plays Jack Conrad, a convict placed on a remote island with nine sadistic killers and presented with a brutal but straightforward option: kill or be killed.

Though the action genre is not too dissimilar from his wrestling career, Austin is unconcerned with being typecast.

“For so long, people have seen me do what I do, and that’s be loud, drink beer, cuss people out, drink more beer and beat people up,” the hulking, 42-year-old Texan says.“I was a professional wrestler, and sometimes I think people think that’s all that I am. But I’m actually a lot more and this movie will prove that.”

Austin’s decision to shift from the ring to the screen was motivated by a serious neck injury suffered in 1997.

“As I lay there on the canvas and couldn’t move,” he recalls, “for a second I thought I was Christopher Reeve.” Though Austin (born Steven James Williams) was eventually able to return to the ring, the injury dispelled his illusion that he was indestructible.

“I liked the fact that wrestling is an individual sport rather than needing to rely on a team,” he says of the difference between the two lines of work. He says he did find working with so many different actors and feeding off their performances to be a difficult adjustment. However, one particularly gratifying turning point experience occurred during a rehearsal in which he was reading his most emotional scene.

“I was saying goodbye to a former lover, and the line was, ‘I love those kids like they’re my own.’ I looked up to see [scene partner] Madeleine [West] had tears streaming down her face.”

More than willing to admit his novice in a new arena, Austin, who has a three picture deal with producer WWE Films, seems eager to continue working and mastering the craft. “I can’t wait to start my next project and use everything I learned filming The Condemned.”

Austin, a self-professed adrenaline junkie, is still trying to find a solid substitute for the rush of performing in front of tens of thousands of screaming fans, but he has begun to discover a personal satisfaction after filming individual scenes.

“When I’m in my trailer after a shoot, running over the take in my head, I enjoy the feeling of personal approval almost as much as the approval of my fans.”

Though some will question the egregious violence in the film — due in large part to the star’s considerably young fan base — Austin seems unconcerned.

“I didn’t sign on to make a difference or to try to change the world,” he states. “I signed on to make a kick-ass action film, which I think we did.”

At this early stage, it is difficult to predict exactly where his career is headed, but it is a safe bet that Austin, a man whose favorite films include Cool Hand Luke, Hard Times, and The Mechanic, will be, umm…stunning audiences with his tough guy action persona for the foreseeable future.•••