Kenneth Branagh on Doing His Own Stunts for New Cold War Movie With Ryan Reynolds

Kenneth Branagh opens up about taking on an unusual physical role in the upcoming Cold War movie. The 65-year-old actor plays a gruff ex-KGB agent in Mayday, alongside Ryan Reynolds.

Speaking with Variety at the International Film Festival, Branagh discussed his work on the upcoming action comedy film. The British actor asked the film directors, “What’s the way to do it if you’re a man of a certain age and it’s not your natural genre?” Branagh said. Their answer was simple: “Get here early.”

Branagh followed the filmmakers’ advice and began physically preparing for the role. He wanted to become more flexible and make a lasting impression on audiences. His dedication paid off, with one stunt performer telling him, “We’ve never had an actor for this long.” The 65-year-old star’s commitment helped him make the character believable, despite action being outside his usual genre.

What is the plot of Kenneth Branagh and Ryan Reynolds’ new Cold War movie?

Mayday is an action-comedy film that takes place in the Soviet Union in 1987. It follows a U.S. Navy pilot who is stranded behind enemy lines during a top-secret mission in Russian territory. He eventually finds himself stranded in the Russian wilderness, where he teams up with a former KGB operative. The two form an unlikely alliance as they try to survive and escape enemy territory.

Filming took place in Montreal and other locations in Canada, and the snowy settings helped establish the film’s Cold War atmosphere.

Apart from Reynolds and Branagh, the film also stars Maria Bakalova as Anna Ustinov, Marcin Dorociński as Alexander Volkov, and David Morse as Harold Kelly. Lovell Adams-Gray, Clark Johnson, Alex Mallari Jr., Louis Cancelmi, and Alex Ozerov also appear in the movie.

Co-written and co-directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, Mayday will premiere exclusively on Apple TV on September 4, 2026.

Source: Comingsoon.net