Austin Abrams had never played a Resident Evil game before he took the lead in Zach Cregger’s adaptation, now playing in theaters. Abrams admitted to Deadline that the horror gaming genre “really goddamn rocks your nervous system,” and that he panicked playing Dead Space, a very different game but one with a similar frightening vibe.
“I can’t do this,” Abrams recalled telling himself while playing Dead Space. “I remember playing Dead Space, a very different game, but kind of a similar vibe, and literally just panic playing the beginning of it and being like, ‘I can’t do this.'”
Now Abrams is in the movie, running down a snow-covered road as zombies jump off roofs and splatter on the pavement around him. The stunt, which Cregger described as one that “would’ve killed” Abrams if it had gone wrong, was “harrowing” for the actor.
Abrams’ Stumbling Into The Role
Abrams was not a fan of Resident Evil before he got the part. He told Deadline he had not seen the movies and avoided the games because they felt too frightening to engage with.
“Not that I was like an anti-fan,” Abrams explained. “The movies, I haven’t seen, and the games were something that just felt too frightening to engage with. I mean that genuinely.”
He compared the series to an R-rated movie you avoid as a kid. “That was essentially what this was for me,” he said. “So, it wasn’t until coming into this project that I started to get familiar with them.”
Cregger’s adaptation brought Abrams back to work with the director whose last film, Weapons, launched his career. Abrams reunited with Cregger on Resident Evil, calling him “dude, I love Zach, I love working with him, I love what he makes.”
Building Brian From Scratch
Brian is an original character who does not appear in the games. Abrams worked closely with Cregger to develop him, turning what Cregger called an “avatar” into a fully realized person.
“One, you don’t wanna fuck up the shot,” Abrams said. “Also, you don’t wanna make a wrong move or something goes wrong. So, it’s kind of scary each time.”
“It was definitely doing the best you can to create a person that feels tangible, and they have a gravity to them, and also you understand them,” he added. “So, there was definitely a process there of discovering that, and also just who do you want to see in this situation.”
Abrams framed Brian as a blank slate he wanted to fill with purpose. “When I think of that word, I think of like a blank slate almost. That’s not necessarily interesting to see, and so it was, who do you want to see go through this. That was kind of a guiding light a little bit too.”
The Girlfriend And The Big Life Change
Brian’s relationship with his girlfriend drives much of the film’s stakes. Abrams described a moment where Brian faces a life-altering decision he has been avoiding.
“He learns that someone he really is in love with, that also is someone that wants to go to the next level of their relationship,” Abrams said. “And I feel like Brian has been, up until this point, he seems a little bit incapable and scared of that.”
The moment forces Brian to step up in a real way. “He essentially has this moment where this possibility of a huge life change where he would really need to step up in a real way, that I think he’s been avoiding up until when you see him,” Abrams explained.
The horror movie puts everything into perspective. “We have all of our little issues in life or things that feel really big, but then when something real happens, when you almost die, when someone you love dies, when it’s actually like, all of this could end—well, all this will end, not could end, it could end at any second. It puts everything into perspective.”
The Sewer And The Big Man
Practical effects were a highlight of the shoot. Abrams singled out the sewer sequence, where a towering creature lurked in the darkness.
“Practical sets are always great, so something like the sewer was a really cool practical set,” he said. “I mean, that that guy in the trailer, the big man in the sewer was really kind of crazy to look at, ’cause he really looked like a real, just humongous dude.”
He said he didn’t even know how tall that guy would have been. “I don’t even know how tall that guy would have been,” Abrams said. There was also a lighter touch later in the film. “It’s kind of hilarious and really kind of surprised me.”
The Stunt That Could Have Killed Him
The snow road stunt was harrowing for Abrams. Zombies jumped off roofs onto the pavement around him as he ran, and Cregger described the stunt as one that “would’ve killed” Abrams if it had gone wrong.
“You don’t wanna fuck up the shot,” Abrams said. “Also, you don’t wanna make a wrong move or something goes wrong. So, it’s kind of scary each time.”
The experience stayed with him. “It was definitely doing the best you can to create a person that feels tangible, and they have a gravity to them, and also you understand them,” he said.
Abrams On Zach Cregger
The working relationship between Abrams and Cregger was a key draw for Abrams. He called Weapons a reunion of sorts, even though the projects and characters were different.
“In a lot of ways, it kind of felt like we just picked up where we left off, even though it was a different project, and different character,” Abrams said. “But dude, I love Zach, I love working with him, I love what he makes.”
What Abrams Learned From The Genre
Playing Dead Space taught Abrams a lesson about fear. “Cause it really goddamn rocks your nervous system until you get used to it,” he said.
That nervous system-shaking quality is what drew him to the project despite his fears. Abrams saw the games as something too frightening to engage with, but the opportunity to play a lead role changed his perspective.
“I think he gets kind of put into perspective and starts to realize, ‘What do I actually want?'” Abrams said of Brian’s arc.
The Takeaway
Austin Abrams went from fearing Resident Evil to leading it. He admitted to being too frightened to play the games, yet took the lead in Cregger’s adaptation and ran down a snow-covered road dodging zombies.
The stunt was harrowing, the character building was deliberate, and Abrams found a way to bring humanity to a franchise he once avoided.
The movie is now in theaters, and Abrams is carrying the weight of that transformation with him.
| Moment | Detail |
|---|---|
| Dead Space panic | Abrams recalls playing the game and panicking: “I can’t do this.” |
| Snow road stunt | Zombies jump off roofs; Cregger says it “would’ve killed” Abrams if it had gone wrong. |
| Sewer creature | A towering “big man” in the sewer, described as a “real, just humongous dude.” |
| Brian’s girlfriend | Forces Brian to face a life-altering decision he has been avoiding. |
| Relationship arc | “When it’s actually like, all of this could end—well, all this will end, not could end, it could end at any second.” |
Key Quotes
– “The movies, I haven’t seen, and the games were something that just felt too frightening to engage with.” — Austin Abrams
– “Would’ve killed” Abrams if the stunt had gone wrong. — Zach Cregger
– “Cause it really goddamn rocks your nervous system until you get used to it.” — Austin Abrams
Source material: “‘Resident Evil’s Austin Abrams Recalls “Harrowing” Stunt Shoot For Zach Cregger’s Video Game Adaptation: “You Don’t Wanna F*ck Up”,” Deadline.
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.