Jack Huston makes his debut as a feature film writer/director with the indie boxing drama, Day of the Fight. The film stars Huston’s former Boardwalk Empire co-star Michael C. Pitt as Irish Mike, a disgraced boxer on the cusp of a comeback. Set over the course of a single day, Day of the Fight follows Irish Mike as he meets up with various people important to him in an attempt to straighten out his life before he takes on the fight of his career. The ensemble cast includes Ron Perlman, Joe Pesci, Steve Buscemi, and John Magaro.
Nicolette Robinson co-stars in Day of the Fight as Jessica, Mike’s estranged romantic partner and mother of his child. Their scenes together are among the film’s most poignant, with Pitt and Robinson’s performances imbuing these characters with a sense of reality; combined with Huston’s powerful script, the film never falls into cheap melodrama thanks to its focus on genuine human emotion and a sense of empathy towards all of its characters.
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ScreenRant interviewed Michael C. Pitt and Nicolette Robinson on their work on Day of the Fight. They spoke about making time to study each other and enhance their performances, and how important it is to establish a human connection while acting. Pitt shared his experience working out to get in proper boxing shape, while Robinson recalled her time as a singer on Broadway and how it elevated her character’s musical sequences.
Michael C. Pitt & Nicolette Robinson On Their Complex Chemistry In Day Of The Fight
“You were always being very positive and telling me to be more positive, and that helped me a lot.”
Screen Rant: I love boxing movies. I love New York City. I live here, and I love the themes of taking responsibility and putting your best foot forward, despite a lot of people wanting you to not succeed. Much of this movie comes together because of your scenes together, so can you tell me about your dynamic?
Michael C. Pitt: (To Nicolette) Do you want to start?
Nicolette Robinson: Sure. We didn’t have very much time when we were making the film. We had 20 days to film the whole movie. So it was all very fast and furious. I mean, we met on set. I was coming to test hair and makeup and he was shooting, and we met and thank God! Magically, we clicked, you know?
Jack had been saying that he thought we were going to really connect, and I think he was right. I mean, we talked a lot on FaceTime and we’d meet up and try to talk about our history together. Because I think that that’s such an important element to the characters, is like how much history, how much love, and how much they’ve been through. So we tried to sort of catch up, play catch up as quick as we could.
Michael C. Pitt: Yeah. Working with her was just lovely. And I don’t know why it worked, but it seemed to work. I think it’s a testament to just you being a professional. There’s a moment in the film that I really love where Nicolette has this little nuance. It’s the scene when we’re at the pizzeria. And she has this great moment that I really love, where they’re talking about their daughter.
She has this moment where she was kind of saying, in so many words, that she’s a single mother raising the daughter, and she feels that sometimes the daughter blames her for things that happened with me. And that was a nuance that I was like, “Oh… (grabs his heart),” but I thought it was great, you know?
Nicolette Robinson: Aww, thanks.
What’s the difference between acting with someone who you haven’t had the time with and just acting the, “we’re pretending that we’ve had a relationship,” versus getting to take a day to talk about your characters and get a shorthand?
Nicolette Robinson: I think we both loved this film so much, and we both came in really wanting to tell the story and give it as much justice as we could. So I think we just like, we were just ready to dive in.
Michael C. Pitt: Also, Nicolette is a great performer, and I think with any performance and even athletes, the “pros,” whatever it is, you use it. Whatever is, so if you don’t know each other and you have to, that’s actually the thing that you use to make it seem as though you do. I mean, I wish I could explain that a little bit better!
Nicolette Robinson: I think also, we just had to let our guards down. We had to just surrender to knowing each other. I think, If there was any part of us that was sort of timid about, you know, getting to know one another as humans, but also as characters… I think we just immediately let our guards down and let that relationship… It felt like we had known each other forever, you know?
Michael C. Pitt: And she’s a very positive human being… And that was just like a side note. Well, it really helped me, actually. I guess that would be the preparation. (To Nicolette) You were always being very positive and telling me to be more positive, and that helped me a lot.
Nicolette Robinson: I just looked into his eyes and that was like, that was the way that it just helped. (Laughs) I don’t know.
Michael C. Pitt: Kind of like we’re looking into your eyes right now. Like, I could tell, I can tell. I like you. It’s a bit like that!
That emotional accessibility and willingness to put yourself in that state is what makes you actors, and not holding it back.
Michael C. Pitt: Yes. Well said.
Nicolette Robinson: Yes, absolutely.
Michael C. Pitt Describes The Physical Training Of Day Of The Fight
“We trained as a boxer, we didn’t train for vanity.”
Speaking of preparation, Michael, did you have to get absolutely shredded for this role? Was that a pain in the ass?
Michael C. Pitt: Well, I have some great friends who are boxers and great friends who are trainers, on the East coast and also on the West coast. As far as my physicality, we trained as a boxer, we didn’t train for vanity. We didn’t train to make my abs look good. None of that happened…
I mean, they do look good though!
Michael C. Pitt: Oh, thanks. I’ll take it. (Laughs) I’ll take it. But, yeah, we trained. It wasn’t like a sort of comic book caricature of the physique because actually, that can make you less agile and less nimble in the gym. In the ring, rather. So I just trained as a boxer. I sparred a lot. I had a lot of friends who were really hard on me.
This is a New York City story, and it’s timeless in a way with the black and white. Does the acting change when it’s A: black and white, and B: this super realistic, but also urban fantasy kind of version of reality?
Michael C. Pitt: Yeah, that’s probably more of a question for Jack, unfortunately… I mean, I love the fact that it’s black and white. Um, I’m not sure if it changed much on our end.
Nicolette Robinson: Yeah. I think the black and white just enhanced the experience of it in post, but for us, we were just so locked into this world. It was just about grounding it as deeply as possible and getting the grit and the honesty of the situation.
Michael C. Pitt: I’m a New Yorker too. And it’s great to work in New York and to work… It’s rare and it’s great. Yeah.
Nicolette Robinson Relishes The Musical Sensibilities Of Day Of The Fight
“It just felt like it fit the moment, and hopefully brought some emotion through in a way that you couldn’t have gotten without the music.”
Nicolette, you are well-known on stage and screen. When your character is a singer, was there any kind of like, “Oh, of course, I’m going to be singing! Because that’s what I’m known for!” Was that already baked in?
Nicolette Robinson: I think it helped that I sing. I think Jack really wanted this character to have the musical element to her. But no, I mean, the way I approach… It’s rare when you get to be in something that’s grounded, and just like reality and humanity, and then you add the music element, it can often be done in maybe, like, a corny way.
I think that Jack really made this feel like it wasn’t that. It just felt like it fit the moment, and hopefully brought some emotion through in a way that you couldn’t have gotten without the music. For me it’s just another layer of being able to access all of the emotion that fits into this film. I mean, there’s so many intense emotions that we have to go through within this film, that I think it was a lovely surprise, but it’s never expected for me. I’m just trying to be as honest as I can.
Michael C. Pitt: You should sing something.
Nicolette Robinson: (Laughs) No.
Michael C. Pitt: Do a little… She has a voice of an angel.
I actually live in Far Rockaway. I live literally a one-minute walk away from where you shot Boardwalk Empire.
Michael C Pitt: Really? That was an amazing moment in New York, and it really kickstarted a lot of jobs in New York, which is great. I mean, that whole production… Now, I mean, there’s studios… At the time, I think that was the biggest set ever built on the East Coast, when we started, but now there’s so many productions.
More About Day Of The Fight (Originally Premiered 2023)
A once-celebrated boxer is about to fight for the first time since leaving prison. To prepare, he takes a redemptive journey through the streets of Brooklyn, reconnecting with those he loves the most. While trying to right the wrongs of his past, he risks everything for the fight of his life.
Check out our other Day of the Fight interview here:
Day of the Fight
arrives in theaters on December 6.
Source: Screen Rant Plus
Day of the Fight
Day of the Fight follows a former renowned boxer as he navigates a journey of redemption through his past and present on the day of his first fight since being released from prison.
- Director
- Jack Huston
- Release Date
- September 5, 2023
- Character(s)
- Mike Flannigan , Uncredited , Jasper Brooks , Tracy
- Runtime
- 105 minutes