After his performance in Stomp the Yard, Columbus Short’s career simply shot up. And now, with Armored, Short has marked his first foray into the action genre.
Speaking about the new movie, Short said he had been initially looking for an action drama that had high risks, and was insistent that it not be like Justice League or Passenger 57. He was intent on working on a movie that was set in reality.
Short said, “I spend the second half of the movie in the back of the truck trying to MacGyver my way to ending the situation. Matt [Dillon]’s character, Cochrane, is my godfather in the movie, so it’s this story of betrayal between the two of us. This man I’ve looked up to my whole life, who’s taken me and my brother in, he turns his back on us and is doing something reckless. That starts the divide halfway through the movie. Then I’m in the back of the armored truck, and I’ve got to figure this out. But I’m an ex-Marine, so that comes in handy, my quick thinking and ingenuity.”
Interestingly, in Armored, Short is allowed to do his own stunts, which involves ‘parkour-ing’, climbing up buildings and jumping off trucks.
Speaking about the high speed movie action of choice, he said, “What I’m doing in this movie is not necessarily Parkour as much as it’s just this guy who knows how to maneuver through bars and obstacle courses, and he does it kind of stealthy so it looks Marine-like. I am neither one of those things, but I’m acting like I am. I’m kind of agile, but I had to do a little. It’s awesome. Now I’m going to go free running in the Promenade and show off my skills. I’ve been working with these stunt guys for about four months now, so we just talk it through and rehearse it. I can do most of the stuff without cables, but they have to put the cables on so you can be safe. But it’s great to challenge yourself to do things you’ve never done. My body’s beat up worse than it’s been beat up in my life, but it’s fantastic. It’s worth it.”