INT: Paul Dion Monte

Last Updated on July 28, 2021

ARROW IN THE HEAD
INTERVIEWS
PAUL DION MONTE

 

I’ll
always remember actor Paul Dion Monte (who’s cousins with Sly and Frank
Stallone) as the poor grocery clerk who gets “his” at the beginning of Sly’s
COBRA. Freaking classic bit! Paul recently machined gunned through the site
to talk shop about his upcoming horror film AWAKEN THE DEAD, his acting
stint on ROCKY BALBOA and his future projects. You got the floor Monte!

 

Would you call yourself a horror fan? If so what are some of your favorite
horror movies?

I am a fan of film first and foremost, but always “get down” with Horror..
These films have always pushed the limits of the film biz in general.
Whether it be in a classic sense dating back to the Dracula ( 1931) which
basically introduced modern “Goth” ,Ratings being set to “R”, the low/ cost
enjoyed by high earnings has always reflected first and foremost from the
Horror/ Indie crowd…

 

Horror as a whole has pushed the CGI folks to the limit
as well, forcing them to strive and achieve in ways with restricted budgets
that are unheard of (for their time). The first title that really got my
hooked was A Clockwork Orange (1971), The Shining (1980), American Werewolf
in London (1981), and of course, you have to include all of Tarantino &
Robert Rodriguez’s works such as Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

 

You’re presently starring in the low budget, action/horror shoot em up
“Awaken the Dead, what was it about the project that appealed to you?

Honestly, I’ve never done a Zombie film, not having any idea what a
following these films had, such as your site, I was approached by Jeff
Brookshire with the opportunity…hence, The Hard Assed Ex-Marine, Nick came
to life (and I gained 15 lbs to play him)

Did you do your own stunts in the picture? If so which one was the most
challenging to accomplish?

I love doing Stunts I’ve learned from one of the best action stars ( Sly
Stallone) a lot about doing your own stunts, and from some of the best 2nd
unit guys as well ie: Terry Leonard, Vic Armstrong, and Charles Picerni.. I
had a couple of fight scenes, some tuck, & roll gags, no biggie… What kicked
my ass was in Pre-production The Make-Up FX guy had to do a full head
plaster cast, and I drowned in the plaster a bit ( they do not do the straw
in the nose gig as you see in the movies) so when the nostril holes got
clogged it was hair raising to say the least.

In your opinion, what separates Awaken the Dead from all of the other
Zombie movies on the block?

Awaken the Dead is a film with a style and Glory of it’s own, it’s not a
“copy” of Dawn Of The Dead, Shaun Of The Dead, or any of the others, but it
does have a specific place in the Zombie genre.

 

 

If
Awaken the Dead does well, any chance for a sequel? Would you be interested
in reprising your role?

I would love to but without giving the Story away, I don’t know how it could
happen… I’m confident you will see a sequel, the acting from both Gary, and
comic relief from Nate is going to surprise you.

You also have a part in the upcoming ROCKY BALBOA? Who do you play and
what can you tell us about the character?

I play a Corporate friend of Rocky’s Son, Robert ( played by Milo
Ventimiglia) and Robert is trying to find his way in the world but is
haunted by his fathers shadow everywhere he goes… so essentially I play a
corporate prick that always bullies him around a bit.

In
your opinion will ROCKY BALBOA make up for the lackluster Rocky 5?

That’s why, in my opinion, Sly had to do it… without giving anything away,
I think it will be a final episode to Rocky that we all will appreciate and
it will take you back to where you were in your life when you first saw
Rocky…

 

You’ve actually appeared in many of Sly Stallone’s past vehicles; Cobra,
Over the Top, Rambo 3, Tango & Cash, Rocky 5, Stop or my Mom will Shoot and
Demolition Man. Which was your favorite on set experience and why?

On films of their magnitudes, each experience is it’s own story, i.e. Rambo
III was the highest budget film in history for it’s time, Cobra was my
first film ever, and had Andrew Robertson, Reni Santoni, and The legendary
Ron Jeremy ( I was 18 and didn’t know of Ron’s Porn career until later); I
thought “wow I’m doing a film w/ The Psycho from Dirty Harry!”.

 

Sly has
taught me as a father figure would everything that I could absorb about
films of that magnitude, just be being onset. Believe it or not Rocky Balboa
was actually a lower Budget film (approx 24 mil shooting in 37 days) and
I’ve never seen Sly so dedicated as he was on this set… every day he
cranked a minimum of 18 hours… This project is truly something that he is,
and can be, proud of. I can’t wait to hear what you have to say about it.

What’s next for you after ROCKY BALBOA, any other projects lined up?

Yes, Jeff Brookshire and I are collaborating on a film that he wrote called
Rag Man… this will be pure action; and to my knowledge, the first film to
use a Smith & Wessen 460, which is a mean looking’ gun… hopefully it will
be the next Dirty Harry genre in the Indie crowd.

 

Will we ever see a film written and or directed by Paul Dion Monte? If so
what genre would you tackle?

I wrote a film about the life of Singer Ronnie Van Zant and was about to
shoot it on Oct. 15’2001… Well then 9/11 happened, and put that in the
hole since I was shooting in Jacksonville, Fl. My crew got scarred not only
from a uncertainty from flying at the time; but from the Anthrax scare that
was going on at the time in Fl as well… That episode kind of put me back
in the Labor of acting, I lost a lot of my own financing on that project,
but live and learn. After Ragman, I’ll be producing a couple of reality
shows that Frank Stallone and I put together, and we’ll see where that takes
us.

Love scene or an action scene which is more fun for you to do?

They both have their individual choreography… I would prefer to be in bed
with a gorgeous gal than in the swamp covered in mud, freezing, bleeding
looking up my pants for leaches or lord knows what else:-) What’s funny is
each scene has a action life of it’s own.

I’d like to thank Paul for
dropping by and sharing the love! Break a leg in your future projects
man!

 

VISIT THE AWAKEN THE DEAD SITE HERE

 

READ OUR REVIEW OF AWAKEN THE DEAD HERE

 

VISIT PAUL DION MONTE’S SITE HERE