The more we hear about the forthcoming Twisted Metal series on Peacock, the more promising it sounds. The latest example of this can be found in an interview with co-star Stephanie Beatriz as she recounts the “brutal” production experience.
The Anthony Mackie-starring Twisted Metal focuses on a delivery driver tasked with transporting packages from one walled-off American city to the next. The series takes place in a post-apocalypse where all the criminals have been excised from each major city in the country, leaving the no-mans-land in between a Mad Max-like hellscape full of costumed villains and anarchic barbarians. Not only that, but these roving road warriors have vehicles modded to be gigantic weapons with machine guns to match.
Such a premise would no doubt be greatly enhanced if the stakes were somewhat real for the actors rather than having every scene acted out in the comfort of a green-screen-filled studio. Luckily, it seems the show really did complete much of its filming on real locations, if Beatriz’s account is any indication. As the actor explained to Comic Book:
“Anything that we shot that was outside was particularly brutal, only because it was about 104 degrees on average every day in New Orleans […] So, if you can imagine that costume in 104 degrees… not great! In of itself, that was its own form of torture.”
Don’t get us wrong; we’re certainly sympathetic to the hardships that it sounds like Beatriz went through and only want the utmost safety and well-being of any actor in a show or movie. At the same time, we can imagine that portraying the kind of angst of a post-apocalyptic warrior-type will come through all the more authentically with such a real-life struggle backing the performance.
In terms of Beatriz’s character in the show, that is still quite mysterious for the most part, but we do know her name: Quiet. According to the Comic Book article, Quiet endures several hardships in the show, including “being water boarded, branded, tazed, and much more.” However, all of these torturous-sounding scenes were only simulated, of course, except for the apparently unbearable heat.
Check out Twisted Metal on Peacock on July 27.