By Julien Neaves

Copyright trinidadexpress

TRINIDAD-BORN, Los Angeles-based actor G Anthony Joseph made a splash on local screens as martial arts cop Joe Cameron in the 1990 television film Men of Gray and its 1996 feature film sequel Flight of the Ibis. But in recent years he has begun exploring villainous roles, including a fiendish turn as the main bad guy in new action thriller President Down.

Directed by Nick Lyon (Species: The Awakening, Operation Dunkirk) and starring Jesse Kove, Gail O’Grady, Gina Vitori and Lorenzo Lamas, the film follows a team of agents attempting to save the president of the United States (O’Grady) when her pacemaker is hacked by criminals demanding $100 million by midnight. The film had its red carpet premiere Saturday, September 8 at the Harmony Gold, Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood and had been released on free streaming site Tubi a week before. Joseph plays the criminal leader Dr Stephen Walsh and chatted about the new role during a Zoom interview last week with Kitcharee.

On auditioning for the part, he explained that since Covid-19, auditions are no longer “walking into an office” and the process is via a self-tape request. And for President Down he read for most of the roles in the film. “They’ve already figured out you’re good enough. They are just trying to figure out where you fit. I never thought I would fit Dr Walsh. Never in a million years.” He said one of the aspects from his audition that he kept with the character is the matter-of-fact-way he was when his character took over Air Force One to force the president to agree to his terms.

“People like this, not only are they crazy, but they seem quite normal. Walking on to the plane and pulling a gun and doing all the stuff I did was like getting up in the morning and having breakfast. Wasn’t a big deal. And I didn’t make everything a big deal. When I look back on the performance, every bit of that attitude permeated that creation.”

On the process of getting into the character, Joseph explained that days before, he would work out what he would be doing if he was really taking over a plane. “And I think that’s what the audiences are feeling. They didn’t feel like I showed up on set to do an acting job. They felt, ‘Oh my God, this guy really showed up to take over the plane.’ And I did in my mind. Because I have to get to that point where any character I am portraying—they have to forget they are in a movie. If I forget that I’m in a movie, then it’s going to suspend your belief for a very long time as you’re watching me.”

Joseph explained if he is playing a police officer, he would hang out with one of the martial arts students he’d taught in Trinidad, who is a top officer close to where he lives in LA. Similarly, if he was playing a detective or a doctor, he would find the real people and hang out with them. “Because if you are really portraying somebody’s life, you are not taking notes. You are doing what you can every day to live that person.”

But to play the psychopathic Dr Walsh, Joseph said he “delved” himself in countless readings and documentaries of similar psychopaths and watched all the interviews with American cult leader Charles Manson. From Manson, he captured his normalcy and his “off-into-another-world” stare. He recalled his sister saw a review of the film where he was compared to late English actor Alan Rickman’s portrayal of the villain Hans Gruber in iconic 1988 action movie Die Hard.

“They say that he was one of the best bad guys in history because of the normalcy he brought to the role.”

On beards and bad guys

Joseph, whose acting credits include Jag, The District, American Family, Contract Killers and Backlash, also plays a villain in the 2023 miniseries Pledge: Change is Good, directed by Ariel K Harris. In Pledge, which has been picked up as a series by Fox/Tubi, he stars as vicious vampire Dean Prichard.

He explained that the bad guy roles began about two years ago and were tied to his beard (his last clean-shaven role was in the 2021 comedy film Tales of a Fifth Grade Robin Hood with Jon Lovitz, another Fox/Tubi Original).

After that, he was called for an audition by a “fantastic director”, Rushan Jesani, for a film called Sundown, which is still to be released. Joseph is playing a “coyote”—people who smuggle unauthorised migrants into the US illegally for money. He said the character was a very bad guy and he had wondered why he was being called for the role.

Joseph booked the part, and the director asked him to grow a beard. He did, and while filming a scene in the desert and preparing mentally in the distance, the sound guy Pablo Mena snapped a photo of him and sent to him. He sent the photo for his managers to submit for roles. “That was the end of the good guy role—all because of that one picture Pablo took.” Joseph said when he would get called for bad guy roles, he would ask if they wanted him to shave the beard.

“They would say: ‘No no no, don’t do that’. So I’ve had a beard ever since.”

He added: “I always tell Rushan, the director of Sundown—you destroyed my good guy career.”

But he said playing bad guys is fun and he is not broken up about it.

A veteran martial artist, Joseph said he did not get to use his skills as Dr Walsh, though it can be seen in how he pulls his weapon. His fighting talents were last on display in the 2025 action movie Ballerina Assassin.

Returning to President Down, Joseph said the film was shot in Los Angeles and he therefore did not have to leave home. For the interior plane scenes it was shot on a “huge” sound stage, using only Aero Mock-Ups for planes. “Absolutely amazing. First time I have ever been there. So the beauty of shooting those scenes is—I don’t like to call it ‘work’—you got to go play at one place almost every day.” The Asylum Studios was also used for many of the other indoor scenes, and a real hospital was also utilised for the emergency scenes.

Action throwback

In a review of the film on MovieWeb, it was described as an 80s or 90s action throwback, and Joseph said this was done on purpose.

“But it’s a throwback to the films of the 80s and 90s. The feeling of it. The music. The type of characters…so it was purposely done that way. And the director Nick Lyon did a great job of getting that feeling.” He recalled that at the screening, people laughed at certain points and he realised: “They got it.”

“They are not laughing at you; they are laughing with you.” He noted that these throwback movies are coming back into fashion.

“Movies are becoming so sophisticated that sometimes you can’t figure the plot out. Who do they think is watching this plot? Do I have to have an IQ of 10,000?

“And sometimes people just want to be entertained.”

Joseph said he has been doing several interviews on the film and has more booked, adding that the movie seems to have “very interesting legs”. His character, Dr Walsh, has been receiving a lot of praise, but he tells his friends that he never believes his own press.

“I enjoy it for the moment. Good. What’s next?” He said people had known him for Men of Gray and Men of Gray II, but his role in President Down was receiving so many good reviews, “it’s like this is now redefining me. This role. That is what it feels like. For the future. Which is okay. Which is fine.”

He also took the opportunity to express thanks to the cast and crew of President Down.

“I’d like to thank the fantastic director Nick Lyon, DP (director of photography) Mark David, along with the wonderful cast: Jesse Kove, Gail O’Grady, Lorenzo Lamas, David Chokachi (who has constantly kept in touch with me), Paul Logan, Gina Vitori and Johnny Pacar for a great experience on set. The detailed stunt coordinator Lukas Stoiber, who made us all look good; and of course, the producers at The Asylum: David Latt, David Rimawi, William Butler, Greg Lightner, along with the executives at FOX/Tubi; and of course, casting director Darya Balyura, who believed in me to pull off the role of Dr Stephen Walsh.”

More projects and Men of Gray III update

And the 64-year-old Joseph is not slowing down with his roles. He will be appearing in the pilot remake of 1981 martial arts film Force of Five in a TV series called Oracle, a pilot called Fiesta, which is like: “Die Hard at a kid’s party”, and a film which will be released soon called On Paper (produced by the “fantastic powerhouse” Hollywood team Jaqueline Fleming, Chris Beal and T Bankole) where he plays a screenwriter who takes drastic measures to revive his down-and-out career.

“You think President Down was a drastic turn? (On Paper is a) drastic, drastic turn.”

Joseph said he has been so busy for the last two-and-half years that he is enjoying a respite at this time before the next project.

And what about the developments for the long-awaited Men of Gray III?

“I got up bright and early one morning right before Covid…and I turned to my wife and I said: ‘I’m done…I’m done producing. I just want to go back in front of the camera.’ Because I suddenly realised I never enjoyed it. I messaged my mother (who was still alive then) and she said, “Okay, what’s the next step?”

He continued: “Producing takes up so much of your life just to get one movie done. One movie. And I kind of veered away from what I loved, which is what I’m doing now. But maybe, maybe one day I’ll come back to it just to finish it (Men of Gray III). So much needs to be said about Trinidad right now. A lot. If I do, it will definitely be my final producing effort. ”

He also shared some advice to Trinidad producers, actors and directors.

“The people I admire are from there because I don’t know how they just continue to thrive and push forward with hardly any support.”

He stressed that with phones and platforms like Instagram and TikTok, “everybody is holding their own TV station in the palm of their hands now. And if you just remember what makes you so special—what you can give the world that they didn’t realise they needed until you gave it to them—when you find that uniqueness, you have an avenue by which to spread it. So nobody has excuses any more. And people forget that. It’s right there in the palm of our hands.”