Fighting the Good Fight, Sean Faris Comes of Age in Never Back Down

Good luck finding a more confident young actor than Sean Faris, the energetic new star of Never Back Down, a martial arts infused coming-of-age tale using an angry young man set-up to deconstruct, then rebuild the mind and heart of a teenager growing up without a father, in a world of aggression and trials.

As Jake Tyler, a conflicted Midwestern teen uprooted to a new Florida high school with sky-high testosterone levels and violently competitive fight competitions, he goes head-to-head with a resident big man on campus (Cam Gigandet) while falling for the bully’s girl (Amber Heard) and confronting his own demons. A hard-line martial arts instructor, played to perfection by Djimon Honsou, intervenes and teaches him strength of mind and heart.

I caught up with Sean Faris recently to discuss Never Back Down, and found an appealing certainty and cool to him, a quality he uses to great effect during the film’s considerable physical challenges. Yet in the role of a young man at the crossroads of anger and renewal, his vulnerability with mentor Honsou is equally impressive. When the chip finally comes off Jake Tyler’s shoulder, actor Faris shines.

Lee Shoquist: You have some rigorous fight sequences in Never Back Down. My first impulse is to wonder if you sustained any permanent damage to your ribs. Your martial arts preparation studies must have been intense, not to mention your diet.

Sean Faris: I had never taken any type of marital arts training other than the three months before the film. We had six hours a day of one-on-one time. In the three months that we trained, we probably gained the knowledge that it would take someone two or three years to learn. When training, I must have trained to throwing up at least six times. The whole point in the training process is to never give up until you cannot do it anymore. I ate tons of protein—fish, meat and chicken to stay lean. We ate very healthy, and I still eat very healthy because it feels good. I actually lost 17 pounds in the last three weeks of shooting because of all the fight scenes, which were 12 hours a day!

LS: The fight scenes are impressive all right. But what interested me more is how your character channels his anger and frustrations into something constructive. He is dealing with significant personal, family and social problems here.

SF: Right. I don’t want people to see this movie and get all amped up. I remember when I was a kid, I would see a Jean Claude (Van Damme) movie and I’d be running around kicking the wall for the next week. Jake has a lot of anger and rage built up inside because he blames himself for his father’s death and his mom does too. And that is what I want people to understand. The message is not to go out and fight for revenge. That is where he starts. But once he meats Jean Roqua, the message is to fight for the right reasons—for love, to protect and to defend, and not to hurt somebody because you are insecure and angry. The message I want people to take home is what he learns in the story and how his life changes in the process.

LS: There are inevitable comparisons being made to Fight Club.

SF: Yeah, because these guys are fighting for glory in a tournament. Cam’s character just wants to be "the man" and the number one guy. The difference is that in Fight Club they are fighting for a release. So it is very different. And in the end, for my character’s sake, it is to fight for the right reasons.

LS: Djimon Honsou, as always, is powerful here as Jake’s mentor in martial arts—and life.

SF: I believe he comes from a Thai kickboxing background, but they were teaching him how to coach rather than fight. Djimon beat the hell out of me. He elbowed me in the head and he body-slammed me a ridiculous amount of times, and he is by far the most powerful person I have come in contact with.

LS: And yet ironically, in his best work, like In America and scenes here, he is notable for his stillness.

SF: That’s the thing. I felt so fortunate with him because I got to watch a twice Academy Award-nominated actor do his thing. And I got to be in the scenes. He has so much presence. He commands respect but doesn’t demand it or ask for it. I would work with him any day of the week. He is a wonderful person. For Djimon, I would do anything.

LS: It is an important relationship in the film and I think something that will resonate with teenagers today, particularly young men in need of a strong role model or father-figure. The film makes it quite clear how important his guidance is to Jake at this time in his life.

SF: Oh yes. That’s why my character breaks down in front of him at the market and ultimately comes to terms with changing—because it is the first time that he has had someone to look up to for guidance. At first, he doesn’t trust anybody. In the absence of his father, he is afraid of losing again. And he has just got all that rage inside of him. But then eventually the lesson he learns from Djimon’s character starts to get to him, and he begins to learn what is going on in his own heart. When Jake sees him at the supermarket and wants to come back, it is much more than just coming back to training. He needs to come back and have someone help guide him through the rough times. And I think as much as Jake needs Jean-Roqua, Jean-Roqua needs Jake as well. In Jake, he is seeing the battle that he has fought within himself, and it changes him.

LS: Jake is being tested in the film and it is a rite of passage into manhood. I would image you feel that pressure as a young actor. For you, what is worth not backing down from?

SF: I have never backed down from a challenge and I will never give in to a challenge. You have to always go for it, and believe in yourself. You have to pick yourself up anytime you get knocked down, and keep trying. This industry is interesting. Every time you finish a job you are unemployed, and you have to build up a name for yourself. As an actor, I am in the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), and there are only two percent of screen actors working at any given time. And there are thousands and thousands of people in SAG. So for me, I have to always fight to better myself. Never think that you know it all and that there is not more to learn. The moment that you stop learning is the moment that somebody is going to pass you by. I just keep moving forward.

Channing Tatum is my number one competition right now. He broke earlier than I did and he’s got more fan base. But he’s going to have to deal with me in the next year or two! I’m going to become a thorn in his side because now my chance is here. He’s going to be saying, "Who is this Sean Faris kid? He will not quit taking my damn roles!" I hear he’s a wicked nice guy, and I’m a nice guy. So maybe we will end up being friends and we will have a friendly competition going on.

I really would like to have done Stop/Loss. I would have liked to have done 21. What I really want to do is a Jason Bourne type of thing. I’d like to do really deep, gritty stuff too, and I’d like to do comedy. I want to be a jack-of-all-trades. My next film is extremely important. That’s why I want to do a piece that will be an art-house, highly respected actors’ piece.

LS: You obviously have a passion for what you do. How does it make you feel?

SF: It feels like the greatest adrenaline rush you have ever had. It’s very hard to put into words. Everything else that goes along with being an actor is not why I am doing it. I don’t do it for fame and fortune or to be Mr. Popular. When I wrap a film, I don’t go back to Hollywood and celebrate. I go to Texas to hang out with my grandma and my dad, to fish and hunt and be with my family. I want to work a lot and then spend time away to be normal.

LS: You are not in the young Hollywood social world at all, and we never see you in the gossip blogs or out in any particular party scene. What do you think of the whole thing?

SF: It’s a damned shame. It’s not my life or what I want. It’s just ridiculous and they ask for it. They really do. And for the ones that don’t ask for it, go somewhere else if you don’t want it. You don’t need to live in Hollywood. It’s not that great. I just want to be on-set, shooting great scenes, doing good work and having that rush and feeling like I am on top of the world because I am living my dream.

-Lee Shoquist