Silent Night: Joel Kinnaman Tried Not Speaking for Two Months While Filming

John Woo is an iconic director known for many action films ranging from Hard Boiled to Face/Off, and now he's back with a new flick starring The Suicide Squad's Joel Kinnaman. Silent Night is the latest in a series of films based on works in the public domain, and being true to the title, Kinnaman doesn't speak in the movie. Turns out, the actor tried to go method with his performance by not speaking at all during the production, but his plan didn't last long. In fact, he didn't even make it through the first day despite making plans to not talk for two months. 

During an appearance on The Tonight Show, Kinnaman shared that he tried to "go full method on this one." Kinnaman recalled telling his fiancée, Kelly Gale, "Listen, this is gonna be a tough one for our relationship. I'm not gonna talk for the whole shoot and not talk with you either. So we're not gonna have any communication." Gale wasn't too keen on the idea, so the couple ended up consulting their relationship coach, who also didn't think it was a good idea. However, Gale decided to support Kinnaman, saying, "This is a sacrifice that I will do. And, you know, we will figure out a way to do this."

"Then, the first day of shooting starts. I get in the car... it's super quiet. The whole car ride to set," Kinnaman explained. "Then I get into the makeup trailer, and everyone was, like, hanging out and talking. And I'm sitting there in the makeup trailer, and I'm looking at the people that are talking, and I'm sitting there, and I'm like, 'If I'm not talking for six weeks, it's going to be six weeks where I don't talk.' So, then I just started talking. But, I had a really, really intense silent car ride to set, and I felt like that was basically the whole thing, so that kind of charged me up with enough silence that I needed for the rest of the shoot." 

What Is Silent Night About?

Here's the movie's official synopsis:  "From legendary director John Woo and the producer of John Wick comes this gritty revenge tale of a tormented father (Joel Kinnaman) who witnesses his young son die when caught in a gang's crossfire on Christmas Eve. While recovering from a wound that costs him his voice, he makes vengeance his life's mission and embarks on a punishing training regimen in order to avenge his son's death. Full of Woo's signature style, Silent Night redefines the action genre with visceral, thrill-a-minute storytelling." 

In addition to Kinnaman, the movie stars Scott Mescudi, Harold Torres, and Catalina Sandino Moreno. The film was helmed by Woo and written by Robert Archer Lynn. 

Silent Night is arriving in theaters on December 1st.