VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: Ryan Phillippe Reflects On His Experience Filming ‘Prey’

Actor Ryan Phillippe shared his experience on the set of his new action thriller film Prey.

Phillippe revealed what about the film he originally connected with. “The idea of being on this plane that goes down in a reserve, for big prey, for big game, it just captured my imagination pretty immediately,” Phillippe told uInterview founder Erik Meers, who first interviewed the actor for the cover of Paper magazine in 2001.

He continued, “You know, I like survival movies, and I felt like this was one where any of us could put ourselves in that situation, mentally, and it’s terrifying, you know, and so it was a really easy sell in regards to what the idea of the movie was, and I like that a lot of times, I think that in its simplicity there is relatability to that because you can imagine what if it happened to you, or whatever.”

Phillippe reflected on his scenes with costar Emile Hirsch, particularly one where he chokes Hirsch’s character.

“I remember in the scene where I’m choking him that he said he had a neck vertebra that was out of place,” he said. “It was dangerous to provide too much pressure, so I really had to fake — and I didn’t want to choke him anyway, I like him!”

He added, “But usually when I do physical stuff, I don’t mind when people do a little bit of actual contact with me… But I remember being so scared that I was going to hurt his neck.”

On his favorite scene in the film, Phillippe remembered, “I like the moments of jeopardy a great deal because I think that’s what initially drew me to the project. There’s a thread of conversations with god, and there’s that notion also of sacrifice, you know, especially for Emile’s character, and so I think the moments that those themes are highlighted are among my favorite.”

Prey is now in theaters and available on demand.