Three years and some change after Extraction punched its way atop Netflix’s content glut—and made the summer of 2020 somewhat tolerable—director Sam Hargrave’s follow up, Extraction 2, prepares to do it all over again. Men’s Health caught up with Hargrave in Malibu, where the director spends most of his time in and out of his Airstream, a refurbished ’65 Land Yacht. The Airstream, and its accompanying woods, holds the diet and training secrets for one of cinema’s most exciting action directors. Hargrave’s approach to filmmaking requires he be as fit as his performers.Hargrave began his career in stunts, working as a performer (he’s doubled Chris Evans as Captain America) and a coordinator (leading stunt teams on dozens of movies, including Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame). Hargrave says for his stunt work, many workouts were “aesthetic”—designed to help build the right muscles to match the on-screen actor’s physique. (Think bicep curls.) Now, his workouts serve a different purpose: keeping up with the pace and movement of the movies he’s started to direct.Extraction, Hargrave’s directorial debut, was Netflix’s most watched movie ever at the time of its release, drawing viewership from 99 million accounts in its first month. Unlike many similar action films, Extraction’s leadership consisted of stunt department veterans, meaning from the very beginning of production, action sequences were carefully planned and choreographed; they would be the real star of the film. Hargrave shot these sequences himself, many of which required him to run and ride alongside the actors and stunt performers—all while hoisting a very large camera. The film’s famous “one take” car chase and street fight sequence had Hargrave strap himself to a moving vehicle in order to best capture the action. He says the movie was the most physically demanding project he’s ever worked on. “I had to be in top shape, because I was following the actors and stunt performers around all over set all day and I was not going to be the one that ran out of breath and had to redo the take.”Watch our interview for more on Hargrave’s approach to his diet and training.Assistant EditorJoshua St Clair is an Assistant Editor at Men’s Health Magazine.
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