‘Needed Someone With Real Charisma’: ‘The Gray Man’ Makers on Casting Dhanush

The Russo Brothers' latest action-thriller The Gray Man, starring Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans and Dhanush, released on Netflix on 22 July. The Quint spoke to the makers of the film, Joe Russo and Anthony Russo, and Indian actor Dhanush, who marked his Hollywood debut with the film. The actor spoke about his experience working with the Russo Brothers, how he was offered the role, performing action sequences in the film, his equation with co-star Ryan Gosling, and more.

Sharing his reaction of when he first got the call for The Gray Man, Dhanush said, "I was very pleasantly surprised. I was like, 'Really?' Everything happened very quickly after that. I'm very grateful for the opportunity and the Russos for finding me. It was an amazing experience. And like always, things just happen to me."

The Russo brothers revealed how they finalised Dhanush for the role of Avik San.

"With our stunt crew, we were watching clips of action films for inspiration. We have a big reach. We have a really big stunt crew. So, we are always pulling in movies from all over the world, because we wanted to search deep. We had been looking for someone to play the role of this assassin. We knew we needed somebody with real charisma and physicality that was super believable. Because this character passes the Gray Man in the movie. After watching two or three of Dhanush's clips, we looked at each other and said, 'We've got to ask him to play this character'."

Joe Russo, Filmmaker

Talking about his co-star Ryan Gosling, Dhanush added, "He is being very kind and generous in what he talks about me. He is very fond of me, and I'm very grateful for that. He is a very sweet, kind human being. He has amazing energy, which is the first thing I notice in people. He has got a great energy about him."

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Video Editor: Arnab Chakravorty

(This article is from The Quint's archives and is being republished to mark Dhanush's birthday)