Simon West is the director behind action hits like Con-Air, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, and The Expendables 2. In 2025, he returns with Old Guy, an action comedy about an aging hitman portrayed by Christoph Waltz. In this interview, West talks about creating an action hero who is in his 60s, working with character actors like Waltz, and how action films can be boring if they don't have any humor.
Listen here. The following transcript has been edited and condensed for clarity:
Hello, everyone. I am Shaurya Thapa of Borrowing Tape, and today, I'm joined by director Simon West. Fun fact about Simon: he directed the music video for Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up." And then, of course, he went on to direct cult favorite action films like Con Air, The Expendables 2, and now the new action comedy Old Guy. Welcome, Simon, to the podcast. It's great to have you here.
It's great to be here.
Now, Simon, Old Guy is a film about an aging assassin who's paired up with a younger assassin as they get a new mission in Belfast. Now, how did this story develop, and how did you get involved in this project?
Well, the script was just sent to me through someone I work with who's out there looking for the best scripts. I read a lot of scripts that have been sort of filtered down. This one just popped out as having great characters and a great story. But most of all, I just love the lead character, like the idea of a hitman who is aging and losing his skills. But he's such an outrageous character. He still goes partying. He loves clubbing all night. He's in his 60s but still behaves like he's 30. And we're probably more likely 20, actually. And he's just a very funny, warm character to be a hitman. It's a side issue that he does contract killing for a living. He's really just some guy that's living his life to his absolute fullest, no matter what the consequences, and then he has to take on this apprentice reluctantly because his bosses want him to train someone to be as good as he was. And that's where the comedy and the personality differences come out because he has to take on this Gen Z kid who is the polar opposite to him. And they just don't get along at all. And again, that's where the fun and the character interaction plays out in the story.
You mentioned that your lead character, played by Christoph Waltz, is in his 60s. Now, considering that you yourself are in your 60s now — did you ever connect with the lead character in any way?
Well, the funny thing is I was on the set with Christoph, and I spent weeks choosing the car he drove because it's a car I had in the 90s. Then he chose his hairstyle and his beard, and the costume department chose his clothes, and I signed off on them. And I was on the set, and I realized, I looked at him, I said, God, the leather jacket you're wearing, I had that exact leather jacket in the 90s. So it was like a weird coincidence because I couldn't imagine where they could have got that jacket. Christoph and I got along great on this about the passage from the 90s to now and what's happened in between. Christoph — he's playing someone who's losing his powers, but Christoph himself is not at all. He's way fitter than he should be for his age. A lot of the time, I had to tell him to look older than he was because the character is supposed to be weakening and not being at his best. Christoph is obviously in peak physical condition and runs faster than anybody. So even though the film is called Old Guy, I had to remind Christoph that you have to actually look a bit like an old guy now, so tone it down.
Now, you've previously worked with action stars like Jason Statham, Sylvester Stallone, and Nicolas Cage. But Christoph Waltz isn't — even though he's acted in action movies, he isn't a name that pops up in my head when I mentioned the words "action star". But considering your experience in this genre, how is it working with Waltz and turning him into this old-age action hero?
Well, it's a methodology. I started a long time ago in things like Con Air because when I cast that, even though it was an action film, I really just went after all of my favorite independent film actors. People like John Malkovich, John Cusack, [and] Steve Buscemi; none of those guys were action guys. Even Ving Rhames, none of them were considered action guys. They were all character actors. But that's what was more interesting. And Nic Cage himself had just come off an Oscar-winning performance when he came on that film. So I actually prefer to work with experienced, accomplished actors than necessarily just an action person. It's a lot easier for me if the drama scenes are gonna be perfectly acted by someone that knows what they're doing. Otherwise, if you're just doing a pure action film, which is more fun and cartoonish and outlandish, then it's not so important; you just have a good time, and that can be a different type of person. And something like Expendables 2, that was really a nostalgia of bringing back some of the guys that were in that world in the 90s who were definitely pure action. They weren't considered dramatic actors, apart from Sly [Sylvester Stallone], who obviously had won Oscars for things like Rocky and everything. But it's always better to hire the best actor possible and turn him into an action person. Because it's more interesting and realistic having someone like Christoph running around, doing those scenes, it's more vulnerable. He's not a huge muscle man who's definitely gonna win this fight. It's more interesting for the audience to feel like he could lose at any moment. More vulnerable.
Some of your films, like The Mechanic and even Con Air, for that matter, have been gritty thrillers with high stakes. The stakes are high in Old Guy as well, but Old Guy still relatively plays out as a full-fledged action comedy, and it has its light-hearted moments as well. So, tell me a bit about this transition from serious action to action comedy.
Well, again, I think it harks back to when I started with Con Air. Con Air was pretty much a comedy with a lot of action in it. There's some very funny lines in Con Air, and that's half the reason I did it — it was because of what people said in the script rather than what the action was. So I'd say most of my films are action comedies. I mean, even The General's Daughter with John Travolta — very dark drama, but the detective had a sense of humor and cracked jokes with Madeleine Stowe, his partner. An action comedy now tends to be very extreme, tongue in cheek, winking with the audience, and self-aware that it is a comedy. But I think there's always been humor in action films. Otherwise, they're just really boring.
Fair enough. Now, jumping onto some technical details. How long did Old Guy take to film? Can you tell me a bit about the shooting locations?
Yeah, Old Guy was pretty quick. It was only a 27-day shoot in Belfast. And we shot in Belfast. In a little bit outside in a couple of other little towns, Bangor, and places like that. But it was all shot in that city and shot for Belfast. Most people shoot in Belfast and try to turn [it] into New York or some other location. Even Game of Thrones turned into somewhere else 500 years ago that was actually mythological. So I actually shot in Belfast for Belfast, which I think all the locals appreciated.
What's the best or the funniest memory that you have while filming Old Guy?
I don't know if it was anything really funny. Most of the time, it was like trying to beat the weather. We were being rained on, and everyone being soaking wet. I remember Cooper saying, "Oh, this is terrible the weather — this is so bad," and Christoph said, "No, no, this film's going to look amazing with this weather. It's horrible to film in, but it's going to look amazing." So, he was kind of right about that.
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