When it comes to nefarious 80’s villains, “Jimmy” from Road House is tough to beat.
Former UFC two-division champion, Conor McGregor, will take over the role of “chief bad guy” in the upcoming remake, which begins streaming next month on Amazon Prime. So how will the reimagined “Knox” stack up against the original antagonist?
The actor who played the iconic miscreant in the 1989 classic, Marshall Teague, expects “Notorious” to hold his own against lead actor Jake Gyllenhaal, based primarily on McGregor’s existing skills in MMA, as well as his larger-than-life personality.
“They put it well, they said it was ‘reimagined’ and it’s definitely reimagined,” Teague told TMZ. “I can’t complain about either one of the guys, to be honest with you. Jake Gyllenhaal is a fantastic actor and Conor McGregor is an incredible fighter. His acting career … I don’t know that much about, but as far as his fighting is concerned, he’s top of the list. Both of them are. I watched [the trailer] and the one thing I found humorous was the sound of the hits in the fight. They’re just … I dunno, they’re a little off to me. That’s okay.”
Watch the new Road House trailer here.
“I think as far as his ability to play the chief bad guy, I think he’ll do fine with that — he’s done it all through his career so I think he has a lead-in on that,” Teague continued. “As far as his acting career? He looked okay. I haven’t seen enough of it to give you a real take on it, but he looks like he’s doing an okay job. I have to admit his first scene in the trailer was … ‘Hello, boys!’ … kinda threw me off a little bit. I was sitting there going, ‘Well, I wasn’t expecting that.’ But he’s Irish, they have a different way of announcing themselves.”
Director Doug Liman is boycotting the premiere after Road House was denied a theatrical release.
McGregor, 35, is expected to make his UFC return at some point later this year, presumably against former Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 31 coach Michael Chandler. No word yet on when or where that fight will take place, but fans are still hoping to see “Notorious” atop the UFC 300 pay-per-view (PPV) card in April.
For much more on the upcoming Road House remake click here.