Frank Grillo Talks Captain America: Civil War & Crossbones

Over the weekend, several of the cast and crew members from Marvel’s upcoming super hero showdown, Captain America: Civil War,appeared at Wizard World New Orleans. Among that group: Crossbones, Frank Grillo.

In a rare moment of downtime for Grillo at a packed convention, we took a few minutes to talk with the actor about his role in the upcoming film, which marks his second appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Grillo’s first appearance came in the widely beloved Captain America: The Winter Soldier. He played the betrayal role of Brock Rumlow, who, by the end of the film, was left burned, scarred, and almost dead. Did Grillo know when he signed on for the role that he would end up becoming a focal point in a movie as groundbreaking as Captain America: Civil War? “Yes,” Grillo says, “When we sat down with Marvel, they knew it was an origin story. They weren’t quite sure where they wanted to take Crossbones but they knew they wanted Crossbones in some of these films but they definitely knew that that’s where they were going with the character.”

Naturally, the New York native went back and researched his new character. “Before I got the job, I started doing some research and I was look, ‘Oh, this guy’s a bad-ass!’ I don’t know if I’m gonna live but I want to be that guy,” Grillo explains. “I spoke to Brubaker, who created Crossbones. He’s a great dude and I got some of the back issues and stuff and read the origins of Crossbones and where he came from. The thing with Marvel is they don’t always follow to the tee what the character did in the comic books. They use him in different ways. You never know what’s gonna happen. I know Crossbones in the comics kind of offs Cap at some point and we’re probably not gonna see that happen. I’m not gonna kill him yet.”

As for Crossbones’ objective in Civil War, it’s simple – revenge. “Winter Soldier let off and I was in bad shape,” says Grillo. “I was just about to kill the Falcon – which is not hard. I think revenge is a big part of… Whatever Rumlow was feeling as far as being torn between which side he should be on, which I think he was, is gone now. I think he’s out for one thing and one thing only and that’s to revenge what’s happened to him.”

The actor can’t say for sure whether or not he’ll be playing Crossbones again the big screen (we’re not even sure if he survives this film) but he would love to get back into the super hero headhunting business. “Unlike being Captain America or one of the other super heroes who are absolutely essential for the stories, you never know with the villains,” he says. “They could use you, they could not use you, you know. You sign on for a few movies and if they wanna use you, I’m available.”

Prior to being cast as Brock Rumlow, Grillo’s fans hugely wanted him to be cast as The Punisher. That honor has since gone to The Walking Dead alum Jon Bernthal who happens to be a good friend of Grillo’s. “Let me tell you, he’s a bad-ass,” Grillo says of Bernthal. “He’s a bad-ass actor. I was with him yesterday, he’s a bad-ass dude. He’s a fighter and he’s a good actor and he’s gonna do it right.”

Captain America: Civil War hits theaters May 6, 2016.