Exclusive: Snag Co-Stars on Their Scene-Stealing Supporting Turns

With a violent, crime-riddled fairytale like Snag, you can count on the supporting players — playing assassins and weapons dealers — to help carry the film. Directed by and starring Ben Milliken alongside lead actor Sofia Castro, Paramount Global Content Distribution’s new offering is a shoot-em-up adventure that succeeds with the help of veteran actors David Zayas (Dexter) and Jaime Camil (Kimi).

Snag centers on an Australian lone wolf’s quiet existence that becomes shattered when he learns the woman he once loved and thought was dead is actually… alive! And she’s held captive by ruthless gangsters, mind you. Now, to take on this dangerous criminal organization, he must seek out allies and storm into a world of violence…

We recently caught up with co-stars Zayas and Camil, who spoke about their violence-prone roles in Snag and what went into prepping for their parts. They also touched on past projects and other movies and series they’re working on. Read our exclusive interview below.

David Zayas on Creating ‘Something Unique’

MW: Could you talk a little bit about your character, and why you were drawn to playing Ramon?

David Zayas: Ramon is an interesting character, and we’re not really quite sure what he does, but except that it may involve weapons. So I think what interests me about this role is [that] I always am attracted to roles dealing with loyalty, dealing with risk. And I felt that this character carries both with him.

Zayas: Also, there’s something to be said about, I always try to do this in every role, there’s a certain kind of integrity that I want to see in the role that I choose. If it’s not there, I don’t usually do it […] and it doesn’t have to be a good guy. It could be anybody, could be a killer, it could be anybody. But if there’s something about his integrity that I could relate to, it’s very interesting to me. And I felt that in Ramon, in dealing with this character and imagining what happened the last time we met, or the time before that, or what can happen in the future. All that is in my imagination. That is attractive for me for this role.

MW: You’ve been in a lot of projects in the past where you’re a cop, detective, law enforcement, etc. And like you said, Ramon deals in weapons, so was there anything special about getting ready to play this character in particular? Did you do any sort of research?

Zayas: I never say, “I got this.” That doesn’t exist in my vocabulary. I am constantly in a battle with myself and try to create something different, something unique, something real, something truthful. And it’s never easy. It’s something that keeps me hungry, it’s what keeps me wanting to try and prepare as much as I possibly can. So for the role of Ramon, I did some research of guys that are, you know, CIA guys. I’m reading CIA guys who are facilitators with other countries and weapons and all that. So I tried to get into that.

Zayas: I also wanted to get into the lifestyle of the location, how it would be to live in that location, how I would have to act and the way I would have to make certain choices that I normally wouldn’t. So yeah, it’s always really interesting to do a little research and find out different things, whether or not it will be useful to the character. It’s something that I enjoy checking out.

MW: Are there other projects that you’re currently working on, that you’d like to share about?

Zayas: There’s the last season of The Blacklist, and I just finished a play on Broadway this winter. Hopefully I’ll do some more theater this year, more film and television […] I look forward to every day because you never know what’s going to come up.

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MW: I’m a big fan of the Dexter franchise. Having been on the show for so long, what was it like coming back for the recent miniseries reboot?

David Zayas: Like riding a bicycle. It’s like we never left. Now, I didn’t have any scenes with [Michael C. Hall], only Jennifer [Carpenter]. But coming into that character, the voice of that character, I had done it for so long, eight years. I kind of just slipped right into it. Yeah, it was a lot of fun. I was so happy to be a part of it.

Jaime Camil on Playing a ‘Fun’ Assassin

MW: You play a great character in Snag…

Jaime Camil: Thank you very much. Yes, it was very well written. I have the writers and them to thank for that. And of course, Ben [Milliken] was an amazing director/star of the movie, of course, with my dear friend Sofia Castro, my fellow Mexican. I think they both did an amazing job. Their professional chemistry is so powerful. And Ben, we have become good friends. We see each other once a week. His son is a good friend of my kids. So yeah, he’s such a sweetheart and such a clear director. He knows exactly what he wants in every single scene. And you appreciate that as an actor because you’re not overshooting or overdoing scenes because the director might be a little insecure here and there. So that’s really refreshing.

MW: What was it about Snag and the character Marco that first drew you to the project?

Camil: Maybe it was just working with Ben. I mean, I love the script. I’m a ‘junkie’ for scripts, I love reading scripts, and if the script is compelling and keeps me reading, I love that, whether the character has one line or 10, 10 pages or 100, I don’t care. If the character is consequential to the story, then I’m in.

Camil: So I love the script, and then the audition with Ben, a Zoom audition, we clicked right off the bat. So that was very easy, but of course it’s fun to play assassins, not gonna lie. They are really, really fun […] I love the fact that you think that Marco arrives to probably kill [Ben’s character], but then they have to end up being best friends because that’s how assassins greet themselves — by fighting. I don’t know why, but that’s how it goes.

Related: Coolest Movies with Hitmen and Assassins, Ranked

MW: Speaking of assassins, I loved your character in Kimi. What was it like working with Steven Soderbergh on that project?

Jaime Camil: Amazing, incredible. I mean, he’s Steven Soderbergh, right? I’m like, “Wait, I’m gonna be in a movie directed by the Steven Soderbergh?” He was very cool. And Zoë Kravitz was such a sweetheart to work with. She’s such a generous actor and so talented. It was just fun. It was super awesome.

MW: You have some cool fight scenes in Snag. Did you do any sort of special training to get ready for those?

Camil: Yeah, I used to own a boxing gym here in Los Angeles. And I did eight years of karate in my black belt, and I jumped from airplanes, and I do motocross. I’m an amateur adrenaline ‘junkie,’ 100%. So it comes very natural to me. But we had great fight choreographers and stunt coordinators who helped us […] I’ve done fight scenes before in projects, but not like jumping from a haystack and flying the elbow at [Snag co-star] CJ Perry.

MW: Are there other other projects you’re currently working on?

Camil: We have Schmigadoon! out on Apple TV+ […] and we’re super happy with that project. I’m also going to be a part of Acapulco season three on Apple TV+, fun project.

MW: And you were cast in Jane the Virgin, which is such a classic. Do you stay in touch with the cast?

Camil: Yes, 100%, of course. We’re friends for life. And Gina [Rodriguez] just became a mom, and her baby’s so beautiful. And I believe they’re trying todo some sort of limited season of Jane the Virgin, like, “where are the characters 10 years after?” And hopefully that thing happens because it was magic working with those guys.

From Paramount Global Content Distribution, Snag is now in select theaters and available to purchase on Digital. It will be on demand May 12.