Ade M’Cormack has definitely been on one of your favorite prime-time shows. Guaranteed. I know this because his resume includes Lost, 24, Cold Case, Heroes, Without a Trace, Gilmore Girls and more. He’s been a vital component of some of the most amazing plot lines in recent TV history and now he’s excited for his newest big screen project Battle: Los Angeles which will hit theaters on March 11th. Ade plays a Marine Corp medic who fights aliens and saves lives in the soon to be blockbuster movie starring Aaron Eckhart, Bridget Moynahan and Michelle Rodriguez. Becoming a Marine who’s capable of fending off an alien invasion requires hard work and Ade gave the scoop on his gritty “boot camp” experience and long hours in the gym.
Fitz: Battle: Los Angeles looks like it’s going to be one of those giant record-breaking films. Are you getting excited about that?
Ade: I am excited! I just saw the new trailer which is fantastic and I saw glimpses of me in it – the whole thing just looks epic. I’ve got the feeling it’s going to be big. And it’s funny cause when we were shooting the film it was hard to realize what the movie was really going to turn out to be. We spent so much time in front of a green screen with our director telling us that “aliens were in the sky shooting at us and there were aliens to the left and right of us.” So we really just had to imagine seeing all of this stuff instead of just seeing our reality which was just … downtown Louisiana. When I saw it all put together though, I was blown away.
Fitz: Did you ever feel silly just pretending to be attacked by an alien when there was nothing there?
Ade: (Big laughs) You know when we first started shooting I was worried that I may not be giving the director enough because the situation is so outlandish. It’s impossible to really comprehend the magnitude of a full-scale alien invasion! But the director did a great job of just sitting each one of us down and telling us that he really wanted us to imagine that this is really happening to us right now and to just go there. We almost had to take on the imaginations of children to play these parts.
Fitz: Tell me about your role.
Ade:I play Corpsman Adukwu, a medic who takes care of the wounded and my fellow Marines. I also get to kick quite a lot of alien butt! I thought that was quite exciting.
Fitz: How did you physically prepare for this role?
Ade:It was intense. Shortly before we filmed we went through three weeks of boot camp, which was at Camp Minden in Louisiana. We slept in tents and bunkers, woke up at 5 am for fitness training and played with learned how to use all sorts of big guns (M4, M16) and other weapons. Our Sergeant would wake us early to get dressed quickly and do hundreds of push-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks and then run 2.5 miles. We also learned military terminology so when we started filming, we could be as close to real Marines as possible.
Fitz: It sounds like you had the luxury of experiencing military training without the threat or fear of real war and consequence. Was it fun?
Ade: Yes! It was so much fun and I had a blast doing it. It was like being a kid in a candy store. I loved learning how to assemble and disassemble guns, and then shoot them with blanks. As a kid I dreamed of this stuff, so it was amazing to do it without really being in danger. I’ve always had enormous amounts of respect for the military, but now even more because I better understand what goes in to it. It’s hard work!
Fitz: What do you normally do to stay in shape?
Ade: I usually work out five days a week. I start each workout off with a ten minute warm-up on the treadmill or elliptical (sometimes I swim) and then I hit the weights. I work out mostly with dumbbells and train various muscle groups on different days of the week. If I want to bulk up I lift heavy weights with low reps, and if I want to get cut I do the opposite.
Fitz: Tell me about your eating habits.
Ade: Ha! Well, I love to eat … which is probably why I work out as much as I do. But I try to do everything in moderation. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth which is a good thing. Occasionally, I will have a milkshake or a hamburger. I try to eat pretty healthy though with six small meals a day, so I don’t worry too much about it.
Fitz: Back to your business. It seems like you’ve been on every hit primetime TV show in recent history. Do you still get excited when you’re hired for each role?
Ade: Yes! I love to work and I am always excited by each new role. I love creating a character and playing someone new and different, so I always view it as an exciting challenge. While growing up there were so many jobs I would have loved to do, but in some way with my work I get to do all of those jobs without having to commit to any of them!
Enjoy this Battle: Los Angeles Trailer. Opens March 11, 2011.
Fitz: Thanks again for the fantastically fun interview, Ade. Remember, if you’re ever in Florida … you can DEFINITELY come over for dinner!
