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For several
years you worked as a manager for the WWF star, Nikolai Volkoff. How did
you two meet?
I was
working in the patrol division for the police department and there was a
Sunday afternoon indie card at a recreation center in the area that I
worked. I saw the advertisement poster in a local store. So being a tape
collector at that time of old matches, I figured I would attempt to talk
to Nikolai. Now I had never been to an indie show at that point, so I had
no idea of what that world would be like.
Well when I
walked in it was unusual from what I was used to seeing in the Baltimore
Civic Center. But as I was there in uniform waiting, along comes Nikolai
and he saw me in uniform and said "Hello sergeant." He went into
the locker room and changed and came out for what I would learn is the
ritual of selling photos before the card.
So we talked in between
Nikolai greeting fans and exchanged information and from there a
friendship emerged. Nikolai actually lived very close geographically to me
and we were able to get together on a regular basis.
Any interesting stories or reflections from your time in the ring
together?
You better
believe it! Nikolai has a positive mental attitude and really is a true
comedian. So the long hours on the road were made more bearable by being
with someone that you want to be with.
One thing
that we would do to keep ourselves occupied was to play games with the
toll booth people. Like asking a booth operator "Are you married or
happy?", the old Three Stooges line. Or asking if the job "Takes
it toll on ya."
Then Nikolai
would like to show people his balls. If you are in the business and have
not seen Nikolai's balls then you are not truly a member of the
fraternity. Of course I am talking about a magic trick, shame on you with
dirty minds!
You also worked a "real job" per se with the Baltimore Police
Department?
Correct, I retired as a
detective sergeant after 27 years of service.
Is Baltimore as dangerous a city as some rumors have it?
I have
nothing to gain or loose here, so I will give you a non political answer.
Baltimore has gone to hell. It's a true life horror story. Between the
drug infested neighborhoods, to the misguided, uninformed ultra liberals,
to the political hacks it has led a once great city into near ruin.
The Freddie
Gray case is an excellent example. Here is a case where police were
actually instructed to increase drug enforcement in the area where the
incident began. They did, they made an arrest and in the course of the
transport the prisoner ended up dead. How his injury occurred is still not
defined, there is only a theory behind the charges.
It is an
unfortunate incident but to turn it into a murder case is way beyond
comprehension. The riots that followed were a result of bad media
reporting, notice how the headlines always like to stress no matter what
the facts are, WHITE OFFICER shoots BLACK SUSPECT. Or in this case black suspect
dies in police custody.
Are the
police supposed to close their eyes if a suspect is black? Unless of
course the officer involved is an African American. But that's not even
true because of the Baltimore incident. It's a lot like the wrestling
business. News is news entertainment. Ever hear the term "If it
bleeds, it leads"? It's the same thing with wrestling, well the old
style, the classic wrestling. "Red turns to green" when you
bladed.
And now the
police have been turned into the heels and the criminals the baby face
because they are for whatever reason not responsible for this situation
that they have been cast into and the police should not respond with
force. Have you heard the rants of Bernie Sanders. He is what I describe
as a white ultra liberal that is a phony, misinformed worker.
First, we
are all liberals or we would be communists, not to be untrue to my
gimmick, but that's a fact. It's the uneducated ultra liberals that are
dangerous to society. They are marks for the money making leeches that
play off of the division among us.
Do these
people live in neighborhoods of color? No. Do they shop, eat or mingle
there? Come on, talk to someone that walked and drove through those
neighborhoods. The police are the ones that really care about quality of
life. It's like Hillary & Sanders making a point of the number of
people of color in jail. Well I ask, who are the victims in those cases?
Answer-In a large majority other people of color.
The police
departments are not those of the 60's or 70's. The racial and ethnic mix
is just that a mix. There is no leader setting police loose on
neighborhoods of color. Baltimore has the Vanguard Justice Society which
serves African American officers. So to insinuate that police departments
have institutional racism is misinformed and misguided.
If you stop
and consider these true facts, when you have an accident, the police
respond. I would say we are usually first on the scene of most house
fires. Domestic violence and child abuse and sex crimes victims are all
protected and avenged by police. And when our enemies come for us, all of
us, black, white, all religions, the police are the first line of defense.
The military cannot even defend themselves on their own bases.
I was in
Internal Investigations for several years, so I know there are problems.
Police recruit from the human race so you will never have a perfect world.
But to paint the police as the villain and to pervert the minds of those
that are misinformed is an atrocity. It's bad enough that we have the
"Momma's Babies" out in the world demonstrating about everything
and anything, but when the workers of these coddled wandering zombies
inflame the problem, we have what is basically an unsafe environment.
It won't get
better anytime soon. Let's look at this in your face, in the news example.
It's like Trump. He has a following because people believe that he is a
savior because he is not one of the political establishment. But he will
never be the nominee because he is not favored by the ones that control
the money in the world. I say world, not just the US. They fear the faucet
will be shut off.
I imagine you could tell some really hairy true crime stories
from your years there?
Too many, the job is not
one that you can do and be everybody's friend. Someone is gonna end up
unhappy. But you must do what is right, otherwise our society will cease
to exist.
Foremost, however, is your shift to the film world? What brought this
change?
Pro
wrestling of course, while doing documentaries someone told me that those
were acting credits. For me it didn't matter, I had no interest in acting.
Then I was invited to do a film, called Terror in the Pharaoh's
Tomb. That was the start, then I worked with Darren Aronofsky on pre
production work for The Wrestler. Then gradually I started
moving away from wrestling and into acting.
But I did
have quite an acting background because as a police we would do the set
security. So I worked on a multitude of projects over the years before I
ever got into wrestling. Spending 8-12 hours on a movie/TV set, well you
gotta stay alert of course, but you need to be occupied. You can't read,
there were no hand held devices back then. So I watched and learned from
the pros.
And I am talking super
pros like Bruce Willis on Twelve Monkeys I watched, and I
mean standing next to Jodie Foster as she directed Home For the
Holidays, Holly Hunter, and a host of regulars and guests for Homicide: Life On The Street as that filmed in Baltimore. And of
course the great Barry Levinson and John Walters.
You have recently worked on a film on human trafficking. Would
you elaborate on the film?
The movie is
called Brush with Danger and it's actually not about human
trafficking directly, but does reflect some
of the same problems. This movie is about a brother & sister that come
to America looking for a better life, but they come here smuggled on a
container ship and have no means of support. So what happens is they are
taken in by an opportunist, and that equates to what human trafficking
victims must endure when they are forced onto the streets to escape their
living condition.
I personally have a script
ready that deals more on the direct topic of violence against women and I
am hoping to get that made into a movie. I tried the book version but it
was too civil liability laden, so I changed the names to protect the
innocent as Jack Webb used to say.
What were
your functions in the making of this movie?
I was deeply
involved. Aside from being one of the main characters I was also the
casting director. That means I was involved in auditioning every person
that we used in the movie. I also was on set daily assisting Livi, she is
one of my closest friends in the world, so it's not just that I was doing
that as a job, but helping my friend and for myself learning even more
along the way.
I believe that you have to
know what every aspect of a production is about to be the best that you
can be at what you do. Like in wrestling, we should be in tune with what a
referee does, etc.
Does the movie have any ties to your experiences or interests in
working as a police officer?
Of course, my role is a
detective sergeant, so my expertise
came in handy. I was able to offer what real life is like for those living
on the street and the dangers that they face.
Human trafficking is a major problem no one seems to want to talk
about, wouldn't you say?
That is true. One reason
is that there is a misconception that human trafficking is a woman being
hit over the head and dragged away to be taken to a foreign land and sold
as a sex slave. Well what we as a community deal with on a daily basis is
runaways and women that flee abusive relationships that live on the street
and are taken advantage of. People shrug it off as just prostitutes, like
a person aspires to have that as a career. It's a victimization process
that needs to be addressed. And people really don't want to be involved,
they have their reasons, but we are fortunate that many do want to be
involved.
Are you hoping the
film calls more attention to the crime?
Yes I do. And the way the
kids are portrayed and what they endure will help send that message.
Who starred in this?
Myself, Livi and Ken Zheng
and Norman Newkirk. The film was Oscar eligible,
NOT NOMINATED! There is a huge difference, yet it was a great
accomplishment for Livi in directing her first movie.
Is there a webpage where readers may find out more about the film?
Yes,
Brushwithdanger.com.
Facebook has a page too
or my Facebook page or Google it.
Any interesting behind the scenes stories you would like to share
about the film?
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There was nothing unusual
about the filming of it. But I will say this, Seattle, as a city is also a
co-star because we shot on location. We didn't use establishing shots of
Seattle and film in LA. We did film a lot in LA, but what you see as the
streets of Seattle is reality.
Closing comments?
I
want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to put my career
information out to the public. Every time, every interview is another page
of who we are and lets people know what we are. Keep wrestling alive
people, the indies are all that's left of the old ways. The big
production, well good for them. But the grass roots of what pro wrestling
was is being done on the indie level. Don't let that word throw you. Indie
is not subservient or diminished, it just means, smaller budget, not
smaller heart!
Thanks for the interview!
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find Nikita Breznikov at adultvideouniverse.com
