Drea de Matteo reveals, "It turned out that Jean-Francois wanted me because he'd seen 'R Xmas, an Abel Ferrara film that I had done; he'd never seen The Sopranos. Although I love playing the Adriana [from The Sopranos] type, it was great to play Iris because she's fun and crazy and has a whole other thing going on - it's New Year's Eve, and she's the only one who really wants to celebrate."
De Matteo adds, "All the actors were terrific to work with. You always want to be surrounded by good company, and this group was. With Jean-Francois, I didn't feel like the language was much of a barrier. He always knew what he wanted and was very clear about it. Half the time we didn't even use the translator, even though she was there all the time. Jean-Francois says whatever he says with his hands, his mouth and his expressions, and you get it. And he pretty much understands what you're saying too.
"Although it's very exciting, AP13 is not just a full-on action film; it's very character-driven. There's one minute where the audience is rooting for one character. Then they're going to be rooting for another character, and then both characters. It's not as simple as wanting the good guy to win. The audience gets to be conflicted along with the characters, which is exciting."
De Matteo had never been in an action film before, so working on the movie presented her with some challenges beyond the typical acting ones. For instance, spending cold shooting nights in a mini-skirt, mesh stockings, and stiletto heels while running through the snow and fighting off assailants. The actress notes, "I'd usually try to do most of my own stunts, but there were certain things I just couldn't do in high heels. I don't know how I didn't break my ankle."
For his characterization of motormouthed junkie Beck, John Leguizamo was inspired to create a back story. Silver says, "John can't help himself; he's a fount of ideas. He conceived that Beck had a legitimate past, and was not just someone off the street with a drug habit - he's a law student gone bad! John would constantly throw ideas at James DeMonaco, 'Oh man, what if I say this? And what if I say that?' We incorporated so many of John's ideas into the script."
Leguizamo elaborates, "Jean-Francois brought a distinctive viewpoint and a great sense of humor to the set and to the script, which helped me to find the character. Beck went to college, then started dealing because he couldn't afford school since he was ghetto. Then he started using and failed the law boards. Now he's a constantly wound-up lowlife; he's into 'packing.' That's when you put heroin or meth in your ear and pick out a little bit when you want some without anybody noticing. When he meets Bishop, Beck is schmoozing, networking, like he's trying to get a job..."
For Leguizamo, working with the AP13 ensemble cast met and exceeded his expectations. He comments, "Working with real actors with real chops made this movie one of the highlights of my career. Ethan and Laurence are the real thing; what you see of them on-screen is no lie. We all figured things out together; there was no ego, no vanity, none of that nonsense. We had a lot of complicated scenes that played out like a chess game where every piece had to be right; otherwise it would ring false. And, by the time we started filming, Jean-Francois had learned English well enough that he could harangue you if he wanted to!
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