Conor McGregor has discussed becoming the ‘top paid’ first time actor in Hollywood as he made his screen debut in Road House.
The UFC star, 35, who has not fought since July 2021, features alongside the Jake Gyllenhaal, 43, in a remake of the late Patrick Swayze’s 1989 film, set for release by Amazon’s Prime Video on March 21.
He plays Knox, who collides with Jake’s protagonist, Elwood Dalton, a former UFC fighter who becomes a bouncer for a dingy bar in the Florida Keys.
Admitting you have to ‘fake it until you make it,’ Conor said the positive response from critics has taken him by surprise after he was dubbed ‘his generation’s Arnold Schwarzenegger. ‘
Speaking to Richard Arnold on Friday’s Good Morning Britain, he explained: ‘I’ve never done a movie before so I am akin to a white belt, a beginner.’
Conor McGregor, 35, has discussed becoming the ‘top paid’ first time actor in Hollywood as he made his screen debut in Road House (pictured on Thursday)
The UFC star features alongside the Jake Gyllenhaal, 43, in a remake of the late Patrick Swayze’s 1989 film, set for release by Amazon’s Prime Video on March 21
He continued: ‘It kind of took me back because I was like, what if I’m no good here but you know, fake it until you make it sometimes.’
Conor also confirmed rumours that he was given the biggest cheque for a debut in Hollywood, adding: ‘That’s the fact, the highest paid first time actor of all time so it’s a nice feather in the cap.
‘There’s not an action star in Hollywood that could take me on and that’s a fact, so let’s see how it goes.’
Discussing the naked scene in the film, Conor revealed he took inspiration from his pal Arnold Schwarzenegger.
He added: ‘They cut it short by a few seconds! That’s how Arnold Schwarzenegger came into the movie business in Terminator, he was down, crouched over, butt naked also so I thought, maybe, why not.’
In the photos ahead of Road House’s release Conor is seen as he pulls Jake into a headlock.
Jake’s character’s unconventional peace-keeping methods as a bouncer bring him into direct conflict with some feisty characters, including Conor’s Knox.
Jake’s unconventional peace-keeping methods as a bouncer bring him into direct conflict with some feisty characters, including Conor’s Knox.
Admitting you have to ‘fake it until you make it,’ Conor said the positive response from critics has taken him by surprise after he was dubbed ‘his generation’s Arnold Schwarzenegger’
Discussing the naked scene in the film, Conor revealed he took inspiration from his pal Arnold: ‘He was down, crouched over, butt naked also so I thought, maybe, why not’ Conor said
Conor also confirmed rumours that he was given the biggest cheque for a debut in Hollywood, adding: ‘It’s a nice feather in the cap’ (pictured alongside Jake Gyllenhaal)
Jessica Williams, Daniela Melchior (in the Kelly Lynch role) and Billy Magnussen (in Ben Gazzara’s place), star alongside UFC fighter Conor.
Jake’s character, renamed Elwood for the remake, has a love interest portrayed by The Suicide Squad breakout Daniela Melchior.
No Time To Die actor Billy Magnusson, You hunk Travis Van Winkle and veteran Portuguese actor Joaquim de Almeida are also in the cast.
It comes as Hollywood writer Lance Hill sued Amazon.com on Tuesday to halt its upcoming remake of the 1989 film Road House, arguing the film violates his rights in the original’s screenplay.
Lance, 81, said in the California federal court lawsuit Amazon never received a license to remake his screenplay after he reclaimed his copyright in it.
He requested an unspecified amount of monetary damages and a court order to block Amazon from distributing the movie without a new license.
The remake, starring Jake, is set to debut as the opening night film at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, on March 8 and then move to Amazon’s Prime Video streaming platform on March 21.
An Amazon MGM Studios spokesperson said the lawsuit was ‘completely without merit.’
Hill’s attorney, Marc Toberoff, said that major studios should ‘respect the fundamental rights and artistry of creators on whose sweat and toil their empires are based.’
In the film, Jake’s character’s unconventional peace-keeping methods as a bouncer bring him into direct conflict with some feisty characters, including Conor’s Knox
Both men showed off their muscular physiques as they grappled with one another. In another photo Jake sported a bloodied and bruised face after a fight
The lawsuit said Hill wrote the Road House screenplay in 1986 and transferred his rights to the film’s producer United Artists later that year.
U.S. copyright law allows artists to terminate transfers and reclaim their rights after decades in some circumstances. Hill told the court that he notified Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which owns United Artists, in 2021 that he was reclaiming his rights to the screenplay.
MGM allegedly responded that Hill could not reclaim the copyright.
Amazon acquired MGM in March 2022. Hill said he regained his copyright last November, and that Amazon set a deadline to finish the film the day before the termination became effective.
Hill said Amazon took ‘extreme measures’ to meet the deadline, including using artificial intelligence to recreate actors’ voices during a Screen Actors Guild strike, but did not finish the movie until January.
Amazon’s spokesperson denied that the remake uses any AI in place of actors’ voices.
Hill frequently used the pseudonym David Lee Henry in Hollywood and he is best known for the cult film Road House.
Henry is credited with creating the story for the original Road House and shares screenplay co-writing credit with Hilary Henkin, 71.
Hollywood writer Lance Hill sued Amazon.com on Tuesday to halt its upcoming remake of the 1989 film Road House that starred the late Patrick Swayze, shown in a still from the cult movie
Swayze is shown in a fight scene from Road House
Reset to the Florida Keys, the remake is directed by Doug Liman, whose filmography includes Swingers, The Bourne Identity and Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
Jake has a longtime connection to the late Patrick Swayze, having worked with him on the beloved 2001 sci-fi thriller Donnie Darko.
‘He was always so loving and lovely to me,’ Jake recalled on Good Morning America in 2022 after wrapping production on the new Road House.
‘I take that all to heart in playing the role and there are some things I take from him, but generally we made a whole new movie and I’m really excited about it.’
He acknowledged that remaking Road House was a formidable task, saying: ‘They’re big shoes to fill, but Patrick was a friend when he was here.’
Patrick Swayze died at the age of just 57 in 2009, less than two years after being diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer.
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