In Samaritan, thirteen-year-old Sam Cleary (Javon "Wanna" Walton) suspects that his mysterious and reclusive neighbour Mr. Smith (Sylvester Stallone) is actually a legend hiding in plain sight. Twenty years ago, Granite City’s super-powered vigilante, Samaritan, was reported dead after a fiery warehouse battle with his rival, Nemesis.
Most believe Samaritan perished in the fire, but some in the city, like Sam, have hope that he is still alive. With crime on the rise and the city on the brink of chaos, Sam makes it his mission to coax his neighbour out of hiding to save the city from ruin.
Ahead of the movie's release on Prime Video, we sat down with stars Javon "Wanna" Walton and Dascha Polanco to discuss their roles as mother and son, Sam and Tiffany.
During our conversation, Wanna reflects on getting to work with Stallone, sharing the advice given to him by the legendary actor and revealing what it was like to land a punch on Rocky himself. Dascha also compares this project to playing Green Lantern in DC League of Super-Pets before they both talk about forming a unique bond on the set of this movie.
Check out our interview with the Samaritan stars below:
Wanna, I’ve got to ask: did you actually get to sucker punch Sylvester Stallone making this film and, if so, what was that experience like?
Dascha: [Laughs]
Wanna: This was so long ago, I’ve got to remember! Yeah, I did. It was like a little pad work, almost. That part was super cool. [Laughs] When I sucker punch him, yeah, I got to hit him. I definitely held back a little bit, but it was cool. The guy has still got abs, man. It was rock solid so I was like, ‘Damn!’ [Laughs] It was crazy.
Dascha, you’re coming off another superhero role as Green Lantern in DC League of Super-Pets, so as an actor, what’s it been like to be part of both that lighter DC Universe and the harsher world Samaritan takes place in?
Dascha: It was definitely two different types of perspectives on what a superhero is. And the type of superhero movie the audience typically sees. I got to play a mom who is a hero as well, but I also got to do my own stunts. I was in the presence of Sylvester Stallone and got to work with Pilou and Wanna. I must say, the generosity…it was really easy for me to find and to depict this role. For Green Lantern, obviously, I’m doing the voice and it’s more comedic. This is more serious and you see the resilience. It’s definitely two different types of superheroes that we see.
Wanna, you get to see a lot of action in this film, so what did you enjoy most about working on stunts and did Stallone impart any words of wisdom about those?
Wanna: I think what I enjoyed most about the stunts in general was doing them all on my own and that it was different kinds of stunts. One of them that you guys will see is me climbing up a building which was crazy. That was a lot of fun, though. I loved that. I love doing crazy stunts like that. I’m all about that kind of stuff. I think, words of wisdom, it was how he improvs and really being able to watch him and learn from him in that way. His acting ability just in general. He’s an amazing actor and I learned a lot from him.
Sam is a kid getting into some trouble and Tiffany is really struggling to balance work with being a mom; what sort of work did you guys do behind the scenes to tap into their dynamic and portray it on screen?
Dascha: Well, I think for us, it was quite natural.
Wanna: Yeah.
Dasha: I think we’re both the type of people, and I don’t want to speak on [Wanna’s] behalf, but it’s easy to get along with us. When we first met, they set up activities as there are some productions that like you to do things, and we went to Topgolf and bonded there. There were also moments where I would see myself in Wanna and how he doesn’t give up. He’s going to go in there, and whether it’s a monologue or one word, he’s going to deliver 150%. I saw myself in that and admired him for that. For me, that’s one of the qualities of what we’re speaking about as heroism. It’s ageless. It doesn't have to be seen or be magic or surrealism. There’s heroism in true character traits and relationships. It was fun. When we were off, we were having a good time, and when we were there, we were playing. Whether it was doing our own stunts or running back and forth to an elevator…
Wanna: Yes! I think we were able to just connect and we had that chemistry right away. It wasn’t something that usually happens. It was nice to have it right away and feel that connection. It made it a lot easier. Just being on set in general. We had a lot of fun and we kept it super playful between each take to keep us in good spirits. There are a lot of really long days on set and long hours as Dascha knows. It’s a lot of heavy work, so if you can have fun and mess around a little bit, it’s definitely good to do that. It really helped us.
Samaritan premieres exclusively on Prime Video globally tomorrow, August 26.