Revival guest star CM Punk spoke to ComingSoon about his scene-stealing turn on the SYFY show as the villainous Anthony Check, whose storyline goes full throttle in the sixth episode. The WWE legend also discussed how his past in mixed martial arts and pro wrestling helps his acting work, and gave his thoughts on the new Fantastic Four movie. Revival Season 1 Episode 6 airs tonight on SYFY at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
āOn one miraculous day in rural Wisconsin, the recently deceased suddenly rise from their graves. But this is no zombie story as the ārevivedā appear and act just like they once were. When local Officer and single mother Dana Cypress is unexpectedly thrown into the center of a brutal murder mystery of her own, sheās left to make sense of the chaos amidst a town gripped by fear and confusion where everyone, alive or undead, is a suspect,ā says the synopsis.
Tyler Treese: Revival really built up to your appearance in what is a really fun episode. You had a voice cameo in Episode 3. We see you briefly in Episode 4. How was it just seeing the show really build up to this big episode slowly? Because it really feels like a big deal when youāre actually in the town, and then shit really hits the fan.
CM Punk: Oh, they made me feel special. Yeah, they really built me up. Great introduction to the character of Anthony Check. Iām a fan of the source material; therefore, Iām a fan of the TV show, and I watch it with my wife, so itās always fun watching it. Iām going, āMan, this showās so good,ā and then you get hit over the head with, āHey, babe, Iām in this show.ā So itās a trip. I think they handled the Anthony Check character really brilliantly. The anticipation builds up to him, you get him, and he is not there for a long time; he is just there for a good time.
You mentioned being a fan of the source material. I know youāre a big comic guy and youāve even written some comics, but you were familiar with Tim Seeleyās comics beforehand?
Oh yeah, absolutely. I actually spoke to Tim and Aaron Koontz on the set of a movie I did called Girl on the Third Floor. They came by and they told me they were looking to develop Revival as a television show. Thatās how long this thingās been trying to eek its way into the publicās purview. Iām glad itās finally here. Iām glad Iām even a small part of it. Itās exciting to me.
I wanted to ask you about this character because you put a really fun spin on Anthony Check. Obviously, heās a bit of a psychopath. Heās also a bit of a mamaās boy. You have a really dry sense of humor throughout this show. What I liked about your performance was that every sequence just had one little extra touch that made each scene memorable. Was that an effort? Were you really trying to underline each scene? Because it seemed like you learned so much about this character, even though he doesnāt have a ton of screen time.
Yeah, I think what pro wrestling has taught me to do with acting is to maximize my minutes. So, this is a character, like you said, one episode youāre introduced to him, but itās just a voice. The second episode, you see him on screen, the scene was maybe a minute long, but you get in and out of it like, āOkay, this is not a good person.ā Like, you set the table.
So when Anthony Check has his moment where he has arrived in Wausau and itās a pretty Anthony Check forward episode, youāre excited to see what he does. I got to play with the character a little bit. I got the dry sense of humor, and Iām just playing it a little bit differently. āCause in the comic books, I feel like the Check brothers are a little bit more redneck-y rural Wisconsin, and here Iām wearing leather jackets and Iām trying to be like a slick gangster. It was just a really fun role to play.
Itās a total blast of an episode, and it ends with a pretty intense fight scene. You get to live out your knife fight dreams that we all have. I know youāre a pro wrestler, you trained Jiu-jitsu, and you had MMA fights. For these choreographed movie tussles, are any of those skills transferable, or is it like a completely different skill set? How do you approach this?
CM Punk: No, theyāre transferable. Listen, especially when you work with somebody, Ms. Romy Weltman, sheās a small person. So the dynamics of being able to do more with that, I think, especially from a safety standpoint. Like I had to tell her, I implored her. I was like, āYou are not going to hurt me, no matter what you do. Like, try not to 100% punch me or choke me for real, but we can.ā
I think my background, like you said, in pro wrestling, jiu-jitsu, and MMA ā Iām more of a physical guy anyway, so I think that kind of helped, especially in this scene, to make it more violent. Thereās tricks you could do in movies and TV with cameras and special effects if certain people donāt wanna be touched or grabbed or struck. Iām all about being physical if it can make something heightened, if it can make it better. In this case, I think it did make it better. I havenāt seen it yet, but as you said, many other people have said to me, they really enjoyed the scene.
I just love this storyline that theyāre selling reviver parts. Itās just like an unlimited supply of body parts that you can sell on the black market, but youāre just torturing these people endlessly. What did you find most interesting about that storyline? Because itās really dark, but itās also kind of an ingenious plan. Thereās a good profit-making mind there.
I think Anthony Check is very pragmatic. I think he looks at it that way. He doesnāt necessarily look at it like itās torturing people. He looks at it like, āWell, this is brand new, and if I can sell somebody something at a marked-up price, and I can continue to sell that to them.ā To him, the ends justify the means. Heās trying to make a better life for his mom. āCause you said he is a mamaās boy. I think he looks at it like this is the perfect business plan and business scenario, and itās pretty cut and dry to him, and thatās what makes him a sociopath.
You mentioned watching the show with your wife, April Mendez, whoās also a very multifaceted artist. I just saw her in the movie Sacramento with Michael Cera. It was really nice seeing her pop up in there. Since you both are doing acting now occasionally, do you bounce ideas off her, or do you keep creatively separate? How do you two work that stuff out?
CM Punk: We definitely talk creatively and stuff like that because itās just that thatās our household, you know. But she has her projects she works on, and I have mine, and Iām not saying never do they intertwine. They will when the time is right. Iām not trying to impede her creative process by looking over her shoulder being like, āHey, you gotta write a role for me, babe. You gotta write me into this project youāre doing.ā It doesnāt work like that.
If she has an idea for me, sheāll capitalize it, and vice versa; if I have an idea for her, itāll come to fruition. But sheās somebody thatā¦ I mean, she, sheās one of the smartest, most creative people I know, so itās easy for me to just kind of roll over and be like, āHey babe, what do you think of this idea?ā And bounce it off her, and sheāll tell me if Iām on the right track or if Iām absolutely out of my mind.
Sheās such a great writer, too, like you mentioned. Youāve written Marvel Comics before, and obviously, youāre a big Fantastic Four fan with the āItās clobbering time.ā That MCU movie is out soon. Are you excited to see Ebon Moss-Bachrachās version of The Thing?
CM Punk: Iām a little bit envious, but yeah, I am 100% on board with it. This Thing looks like The Thing. So, I canāt wait. Weāve had some pretty stinky Fantastic Four movies in the past, so Iām looking for this one to be a palate cleanser.
Would you ever be interested in doing a superhero movie? Weāve had some pro wrestlers and MMA fighters pop up.
Of course. But I look at every project that comes across my desk as āIs this something that I have the time for? Can I sacrifice for this?ā I take āem as they come. My main thing about TV and movies and the acting side of things is I just wanna work with really cool people, really creative people, and I wanna learn while Iām doing it.
Thanks to CM Punk for taking the time to talk about the SYFY series Revival.
