Keith Jardine beat Forrest Griffin and Chuck Liddell within the UFC Octagon and now he’s seeking to stun cinema audiences with Kill Me Once more, his first full-feature directorial debut. However whereas he could also be retired from MMA, the person they known as “The Dean of Imply” nonetheless makes use of the teachings he realized as an athlete to ace his film profession.
“As a fighter, except you win, you learn to fail: find out how to get off the mat and battle once more, and appearing is similar means,” explains Jardine, who retired with a 17-11-0 file in MMA. “I gained greater than I misplaced in combating, and in appearing, imagine me, I’ve failed far more than I’ve succeeded.”
Little question, within the ultra-competitive world of showbiz, Jardine has realized that he should financial institution on himself simply as he did as an athlete. “You gotta rise up off that mat after that failed audition. They didn’t such as you, no matter, you’re taking it as a failure. You misplaced. You didn’t get it. You’re making an attempt to pay your hire, and also you didn’t get that job, you recognize? In case you don’t get off the bed and make issues occur, nothing’s occurring. In order that fighter’s mindset helped me so much, and simply the work ethic. I simply put the hours in each day, no matter how I’m feeling.”
Happily, issues are undoubtedly occurring because of Jadine’s warrior-like work ethic. His first forays on-screen included a job reverse Jason Statham in Crank 2: Excessive Voltage and credit in Breaking Unhealthy and John Wick. Now, he’s constructing a stable repute behind the digital camera, too. In 2023, Jardine gained an unbiased Brief Award for his crime story, El Paso:1155, and now he’s taking over his first full characteristic as a director.
Kill Me Once more follows Charlie (performed by Brendan Fehr), a serial killer who turns into trapped in his personal nightmare. It’s a psychological horror that has many twists and turns, and was additionally written by Jardine, who’s love of tales from completely different genres influenced the plot. “It’s The Batman’s, the blockbusters, and all that motion of the 80s,” recollects the renaissance man.
“I used to be in highschool within the early 90s and my buddy made me watch Clerks (1994) Top-of-the-line films I noticed.” Jardine tells M&F that he additionally attracts from films like The Large Lebowski. “I keep in mind simply laughing out loud all through the theater,” he recollects. Jardine additionally has a fond place for Useless Man, starring Johnny Depp, a film he watched along with his dad. “This pertains to Kill Me Once more so much, as a result of there’s quite a lot of large twists on the finish, and there’s quite a lot of little Easter eggs in there,” he teases.
How Keith Jardine stays match for making movies
“Each morning, I work out, eat my big breakfast, and the remainder of the day appears to fall in line after that,” says the person who reached the semi-finals of The Final Fighter, Season 2 again in 2005.
Jardine nonetheless units his alarm for 5am and both hits the fitness center or takes his canines out for a dash. The massive breakfast that Jardine speaks of contains six eggs, together with tortillas. “I attempt to begin off good with actually clear meals,” he says. “I obtained these tortillas which might be solely plantain and baking soda principally because the components. So, I wish to make these and eat them with my eggs and a few avocado. I don’t actually fear in regards to the energy within the morning. I simply attempt to attempt to really feel good after which, relying on how intense my exercise was, I’ll have two extra meals within the day. One large one, one small one, and I’ll do my finest to not snack… as a result of I’m a hell of a snacker!”
Jardine, who was additionally a private coach at one time, says that being match isn’t about having the proper exercise. “Simply go have enjoyable,” he encourages. “Simply go transfer some weight round and learn to be make your physique succesful. It shouldn’t be one thing you dread. In case you go to the fitness center and also you solely contact the leg press machine, and do 4 units and go dwelling, that’s a hit!” You’ll be able to’t take the battle out of this filmmaker, nonetheless. “On daily basis, I attempt to get to some extent the place I lose my breath,” says Jardine. “Meaning I do max pull ups, or I dash up a hill or I do some energy cleans. You understand, if I do that when a day, I really feel I’ve finished so much.”
Keith Jardine’s Kill Me Once more will likely be launched in theaters and VOD platforms corresponding to Prime Video and Apple TV+ on August 8.