Five years after the original film took the thriller world by storm, Don’t Breathe 2 finally arrives in theaters on August 13. Stephen Lang is back as the Blind Man, whose name is now known to be Norman, and the stakes are more personal than ever for him. Now that he has found a surrogate daughter in young Phoenix (Madelyn Grace), he will stop at nothing to keep her safe.
Lang spoke to Screen Rant about digging deeper into his character’s soul and collaborating with co-writer Rodo Sayagues, who experience his first time in the director’s chair for this film.
Screen Rant: In this film, we dive deeper into Norman’s psyche. What did you want to bring to the role this time around, and did you approach the character any differently?
Stephen Lang: No, I approached it with the same sense of responsibility that I did the first one. I just want to tell his story as authentically, as honestly, as simply, and as truthfully as I possibly can.
This is not the first time, but this is almost the epitome of the time that I played characters where I would say, “If I don’t love this character, no one will. But if I love this character enough, then people will recognize this character.” I’m not asking you to love me, I’m not asking you to understand me. I’m just asking you to recognize that I’m there, you know?
In that sense, there was no difference for me. But I was really pleased with the opportunity to dig a bit deeper and a bit wider; to expand the horizons of this character, and to experience his needs in a greater way.
Can you talk to me about Norman finally getting the daughter that he always wanted in Phoenix?
Stephen Lang: He’s given a daughter, in his estimation, not as any kind of reward in fact – but as a challenge and a responsibility to make his life worth something. To make his life means something and, in a sense, to pay the debt that he owes for being on this planet; for being given the gift of breath and life, it seems to me. That’s his understanding, I think, of what’s going on here.
All of that is quite divorced from affection, or anything from the emotions. It’s got to do with responsibility. Not to make too big a deal about it, but it’s almost a cosmic responsibility. The world of Don’t Breath owes a lot to myth, it seems to me. It’s kind of the relationship between man and gods, man’s position in the universe. That’s all mythic stuff, very much so. And also, it has the darkness of a fairy tale as well.
Writer Fede Alvarez and Rodo did an amazing job developing this story, and the script is great. And Rodo actually steps into the director’s chair this time around. Can you talk to me about his directing style and the collaboration process of working with him on this film?
Stephen Lang: Yeah, he’s extremely nuanced. Listen, he blew my mind for a guy who is occupying the chair for the first time.
If you’ve spoken to him, you know there’s a tremendous humility and gratitude that Rodo has. I believe that Rodo – as do I and Fede – we know how lucky we are and how fortunate we are to be given the opportunities we’re given in this business. And what a wonderful opportunity for Rodo. He’s smart enough to know what he doesn’t know, and he’s confident enough to advocate his point of view all the time. And he really understands that when he’s got Fede producing, when he’s got Pedro Luque being his cinematographer, and when he’s got me playing the Blind Man, he’s got collaborators who are going to do everything they can to help him get the job done.
I don’t mean to leave anybody out. We had a superb crew: Carlos Rosario, who designed the costumes, and so many people. All the other producers, the crew – and of course, Madelyn’s really terrific. And all our heavies. That was a brutal group of nasty people, and they were super.
Key Release Dates
- Don’t Breathe 2 (2021)Release date: Aug 13, 2021
