Mike Tyson plays a mercenary who will help the heroes in Medellin, action thriller filmed in Colombia and available this Friday on Prime Video. “When I was a kid, half the dogs in my neighborhood were called Tyson, as this boxer was so popular, says Franck Gastambide to 20 minutes. It is an understatement to say the emotion I felt when I directed it. »
The suburban friends embodied by Franck Gastambide and his lifelong accomplices (Ramzy Bedia and Anouar Toubali) are very happy to find this overtrained man when their “little brother” (played by Brahim Boulhel) is kidnapped by Colombian drug traffickers. Neither one nor two: these broken arms decide to go get him on the spot and get themselves into a first-class mess.
Tyson, an “accessible” guy
“I did not expect to come across such an accessible man, admits Franck Gastambide, especially since we really shot in Colombia in a neighborhood founded by the drug trafficker Pablo Escobar, who is still considered a benefactor by many. many inhabitants. The clash between these brave, reckless guys, ready to do anything to save their friend, and the local gangsters takes an unexpected turn with the arrival of Mike Tyson, a gruff and fatherly figure. He is completely in his place both in the many very successful action scenes and in more intimate sequences.
“If, when I was a kid, I had been told that I could spend four days talking to Mike Tyson, I would not have believed it, explains Franck Gastambide. I thought he would lock himself in his trailer between each take, but he was so available that I admit I sometimes had tears in my eyes. The actor-director willingly admits having made the rounds of his French friends to comment on this unforgettable experience. “I am still this kid from Perreux, in the Paris region, who could not imagine that he would succeed in the cinema, he confides. I’m not ashamed to say that I kept some fan wonders. »
Fan? Certainly, but not only. With movies like pataya And Taxi 5 or the series ValidFranck Gastambide has established himself in the French landscape. Medellin could open the doors to an international career. If he dreams today of one day being able to direct Sylvester Stallone, it is now him that lots of young people must wish to meet.