Professional basketball-player-turned-actor Dane DiLiegro has his sights set on the Friday the 13th franchise.
In 2019, Dane DiLiegro was a professional basketball player, playing center for the Italian team Forli.
It’s a career move that seems as unbelievable to him as it may to you.
Dan DiLiegro as the Predator in ‘Prey’.David Bukach/20th Century Studios
“I had two characters in mind that I wanted to do.
One was the Predator, the other was Jason Voorhees forFriday the 13th.
To this day, I can’t believe that I got the opportunity to portraythePredator.
Prey star Dane DiLiegro.Gizelle Hernandez for EW
I still can’t believe it.”
“There just happens to be a Predator involved.
Honestly, you could have shot this movie with a different monster and it still probably would have worked.
Amber Midthunder in ‘Prey’.David Bukach/20th Century Studios
I like how it’s a different, fresh story and there just happens to be a Predator.”
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Did you always want to get into acting?
DANE DILIEGRO:Yeah.
I mean, when I was young, Pierce Brosnan was so amazing to me.
I don’t know why I idolized this guy.
I thought it was incredible.
But then, I fell into basketball.
It took off very quickly.
Now I’m talking toEntertainment Weeklyabout my role [inPrey] and it’s incredible to me.
You played a zombie onThe Walking Dead?
I think I one of the tallest walkers inWalking Deadhistory.
That was very early in my career.
I essentially walked in a circle for six hours.
I was a character inAmerican Horror Storiesas well.
They named the episode (“Ba’al”) after my character.
I was a fertility demon.
How did you get the part of the Predator?
So, this is crazy.
I initially was just the reference guy.
I didn’t even know what the project was.
I went in and I saw the Predator suit from the last movie on the table.
Oh, this isPredator!
What was the shoot like?
We were probably 97 percent on location.
We had a very small handful of days on a soundstage.
We were in the woods outside of Calgary.
Yeah, Calgary gets really hot in the summer.
You wouldn’t think that, but we had some 96-plus degree days.
So it was a lot to juggle.
Your Predator has both a different facial look and a different mask.
Could you talk about that?
One of the first things Dan told me was: It’s a very different take on the Predator.
He wanted to get away from that 1987 WWF wrestler-standoff-style.
This guy’s quick, he’s fast, he’s ferocious, and he’s instinctual.
You don’t see that in a lot of other Predators.
So, yeah, it’s a fresh take.
This is the first time an actor’s eyes are not the Predator eyes.
My face was in the neck of this character.
I shot this entire movie essentially blind.
There were two holes in the neck.
For the Predator to look forward I had to look straight at the ground and shrug my shoulders.
So all my fight scenes, all my acting scenes, everything, [I was] essentially blind.
How did you manage to take part in the film’s fight scenes without being able to see?
Lots of choreography, running through it again and again.
I can’s see you."
It was very real.
The danger was there.
And I think it added to the realism of the fights.
Me and Dakota our fight is so dynamic.
I was springing on him with full speed, essentially.
That was a very real thing.
We were there for 90 days.
That’s right, I forgot.
Have you shot anything sincePrey?
Uh, that I’m allowed to talk about?
Oh, man, you’ve gottentooHollywood, my friend.
I worked on a Marvel picture that just wrapped a few months ago.
And I am currently shooting a Lucasfilm production.
I definitely have my eyes on it.
I still have it to this day.
I was Jason for four Halloweens.
Preypremieres on Hulu August 5.
Watch the film’s trailer below.
