In Snag, an Australian lone wolf's quiet existence is shattered when he learns that the woman he once loved and thought was dead is alive and held captive by ruthless gangsters. Now, to take on this dangerous criminal organization, he must seek out allies and storm into a world of violence to rescue the love of his life in this gritty, modern-day violent fairytale.
Among those Snag encounters on this journey is David Zayas' Ramon. Neither we nor the title character knows whether he can be trusted, but the weapons expert is a force to be reckoned with and finds himself pitted against CJ Perry's seemingly unstoppable assassin.
The actor talks us through his scene-stealing role in the new action movie, explaining what he brings to the table and how it feels when your co-star is directing the project. He also reflects on creating a backstory for Ramon and explains what it was like getting hands-on with weapons again.
Zayas also looks back at his return as Angel Batista in Dexter: New Blood and shares his thoughts on potentially reprising the role in a future sequel or spin-off series.
You can check out our interview with the Snag star in the player below.
When we first meet Ramon, he’s got his hand on the trigger as part of this very tense exchange with Snag; what about that back-and-forth did you most enjoy?
I think the work I had to do was, ‘What happened before this? What kind of relationship and encounters have I had with him prior to the first time they introduce me in the movie?’ The fact that he’s got his hand on the trigger makes you unaware of whether it was left off in the right way or not. They’ve got that…in this world that Ben created with Snag, not everyone is black or white and good to bad. There are a lot of complicated issues dealing with this kind of world and I enjoyed the fact I could use my imagination to see what happened last. What happened the last time I saw him? That’s how you create the choices you make while shooting those scenes.
In terms of working with Ben as your co-star and director, does sharing the screen with the guy who’s usually behind the camera change how you approached your scenes as an actor?
No, it doesn’t change my approach. I get a lot more specific information about what’s wanted in the scene when the person I’m in the scene with is also directing and co-wrote it! There’s really no difference. I loved working with Ben. You could tell he was the guy in charge because he was so involved with his own character and, unbeknownst to me, he’s going behind the scenes to deal with the technicality of directing this movie and the style that he wants to direct it in. Then, as an actor, we’re just working off each other.
You’re part of a great action scene, and there are some brilliant moments between your and CJ Perry’s characters. She comes from that pro wrestling world, so how did you find working alongside her as this Terminator-like villain?
Well, she’s just so pleasant to be around [Laughs]. I was surprised. You would think that character is going to be a big guy with all those weapons, but it wasn’t. She was just as ferocious as any man I could imagine doing that part. It was great to observe it and react to it in the scene. Like I said, CJ is just amazing. She’s fantastic.
I know you’ve handled weaponry in a lot of projects you’ve worked on, but was there much in the way of training or preparation for this role?
They were very good with how they handled weapons in the movie. The people who were involved and the safety people and stunt coordinators were on top of every specific moment when there had to be a gun involved. I appreciated that because it’s not always the case. In this case, I felt very safe and I knew everything would be added afterwards so there were no live rounds or anything like that. Also, I was in the military and a police officer for fifteen years so I’m very familiar with guns and weapons even though I don’t really like them. I’m very familiar with them because I had to be for my past jobs.
I’m guessing you were able to avoid walking away from the movie with any minor bumps or bruises?
I don’t want to spoil it! You don’t want to know what happens to me [Laughs]. Let me rephrase that…the audience doesn’t want to know how I do before seeing the movie…
There’s clearly some history between Ramon and Snag, so was that something you spoke with Ben about or even gave thought to privately in order to better find who this guy is?
I spoke to Ben about the scene, but as for the history of it, that was my own imagination. I think it’s good for the scene. My interpretation of our last meeting could be very different from his character’s interpretation, and I like that variable and how he makes certain choices based on that. I believe there’s a line that goes, ‘I don’t remember where we left off and whether we were okay or not.’ That’s the kind of world these characters live in so I used my imagination for my own tracking of how this scene should work. He had his and, after some adjustments, we found a really good part in that scene to actually connect with.
I’m a huge Dexter fan and loved seeing you return as Batista in New Blood - how did you feel about your character finally learning the truth the way he did and what ultimately became of Dexter?
Well, the name of the show is Dexter, so it’s his story and his journey. Ever since season one, I was just part of someone telling his story and creating circumstances where the audience can see where Dexter’s mind is at. First of all, I was ecstatic that they even called me to be part of New Blood. ‘Would you like to come and do a couple of episodes?’ I said, ‘Just tell me where to come and I’ll be there.’ It was fun to do, fun to watch, and that’s the character I spent the most time with in the business. It’s something that…Batistsa is true to my heart and I love that character. He’s still alive, just so you know [Laughs].
There’s been a lot of Dexter prequel, sequel, and spin-off talk lately; are you hoping there could be more Angel in your future?
Maybe! I’ll welcome it.
When I spoke to Ben, he said he’s got some sequel ideas written down for Snag, so do you think we could see more of Ramon down the line given how ambiguous that final scene is?
I would love to work with Ben again and I would love to play this character again. Yes, I would welcome that.
I loved seeing the way this movie used a combination of English and Spanish, so what does it mean to you to work on a project like this and see that mixture handled in such a respectful and important way?
I think it’s wonderful. I think it’s great. Ben was very open as to the interpretation of English to Spanish. Some of the other actors are amazing Latinx actors…there are so many great characters in this story and to have a portion of them be Latin and Latino…you know, we don’t get too many opportunities and should get more to tell our stories. I enjoyed it. Ben is a thoughtful guy and knows how to present certain characters and how to be authentic and positive about it.
Snag arrives in select theatres and on Digital starting April 28. The movie will be available on Demand on May 12