Aaron Eckhart and Jesse V. Johnson on Gritty Action, Real Stunts, and Thieves Highway

Jesse V. Johnson, known for his knack with hard-hitting action, teams up again with Aaron Eckhart in Thieves Highway. The film follows a determined lawman on a mission to stop a crew of cattle thieves targeting local farmers. It’s a raw, no-nonsense story, packed with the kind of tough action sequences Johnson’s made his name on.

Action’s Comeback and Honest Filmmaking

When asked about the current wave of B-grade action flicks making a comeback, Johnson reckons it’s down to studios missing the mark on what punters actually want to see.

I don’t think the films that people want to watch are being made by the studios, and I think we’re filling a vacuum — a void which people want to see. You know, people keep complaining about no one going to the movie theatres. If you’re making films that are unappealing, you’re going to have that problem. And they had that problem in the ‘50s. They had that problem in the early ‘60s. They had it in the late ‘70s, where the studios thought they knew what the audiences wanted, and they were wrong.

He points out that it’s often the outsiders, the rebels, who end up making the films that really connect with people.

Eckhart, meanwhile, keeps it simple.

I live under a rock, I don’t know too much, but I just like making movies. It’s funny because you make a comparison between theatre acting and film acting and all this, and I don’t know what that means. You’ve just got to be truthful. You go out there, no matter what size of a movie or whatever it is, and you’ve just got to go out and be truthful. Give it all.

He’s all about keeping things real, preferring to do things the old-fashioned way, and reckons these sorts of films give him the chance to do just that.

Why Action, and Why Now?

With a career that’s spanned all sorts of genres, Eckhart’s been leaning into action roles lately. He jokes about getting older, but says he’s just keen to keep having a good time on set.

I mean, I’m just getting older, and I’m lucky to be still walking, so as long as I can throw a punch and drive a car and all that sort of stuff, I feel like I’m lucky, and if somebody is going to hire me and pay me to do that. Also, a few years back, I decided to make movies that I was going to have fun in; that me, personally, when I went to set, I was going to have fun. And that’s what I’m making now. I have a blast doing these.

He takes the work seriously, but working with someone as passionate as Johnson makes it all the more rewarding.

The pair’s second time working together has only strengthened their partnership. Johnson recalls a hair-raising moment filming a high-speed car scene with Eckhart behind the wheel, realising just how committed the actor is to getting things right. Johnson’s spent decades around stunts and action, and he’s quick to praise Eckhart’s discipline and skill, both with physical action and firearms.

He is so disciplined and concise and fast with a gun on these multiple targets.

Training, Commitment, and Realism

Turns out, Eckhart’s not just acting tough — he trains every day, whether it’s jiu jitsu or working with Kali sticks for an upcoming role.

Well, I train every day, so I just trained today. Today, I’m doing Kali sticks because I’m going to be doing a movie Kali fighting. But I like to fight. I like to fight train. I like to make it feel real. And that’s why shooting, driving, all that sort of stuff is important. I think with these movies, you can’t rely on a stuntman to do it. You have to be in there and doing it yourself. It saves time and money, and that’s a big deal, but also sometimes, you look at the stunt guys and they’re great and everything but you go, “I could do that, so I’m gonna go try that.”

Johnson admits he’s almost nervous to talk up Eckhart’s skills, worried a big studio might swoop in and snap him up.

Audiences these days, Johnson says, are switched on. They know their stuff when it comes to action, guns, and martial arts, so you can’t fake it anymore.

They watch YouTube videos. They play video games where this stuff is highlighted and explained. They’re connoisseurs of guns and tactics and physical action and martial arts through UFC. So, their heroes on screen, they can’t fake it like Randolph Scott did. You can’t fake the gunshot, and the guy dies in the next frame. They want to see the tactics and the training behind that.

That’s why having someone like Eckhart, who lives and breathes the work, makes all the difference.

Law, Morality, and the Little Guy

Eckhart’s played his fair share of characters who start out on the right side of the law, only to be pushed to the edge by a broken system. He puts it this way:

a lawman who wants to abide the law but is driven to break the law because of a moral code because the law has deserted him. Because the law has become corrupt. And I don’t want to say anything bad, but I think there’s a fine line between a lawman and a criminal a lot of times, and I think that we see that in society today. It’s a violent vocation, and sometimes when you’re fighting for what you believe in, you have to go all in on it.

He’s drawn to stories about corruption, coercion, and control — the things he reckons most people have to battle at some point.

Thieves Highway manages to get viewers invested in a struggle that might seem far removed from their own lives. Eckhart says the issues at the heart of the film are universal — the pain of having your hard work stolen, the frustration of being let down by the system. Johnson adds that the story shines a light on the real struggles of small farmers, who are often left to fend for themselves against crime and big business.

And I think everyone feels that to a degree in life — that things are happening that they don’t have any control over, and the little man is constantly being crushed in favour of corporations and oligarchs and huge name brands. And in the meantime, the mum and pop farms are just being obliterated, destroyed by this awful crime.