Kellan Lutz Talks “Desert Dawn”

Interview contains minor spoilers for Desert Dawn.

Last week, I had the pleasure of interviewing actor Kellan Lutz about his new movie, Desert Dawn. In this gritty action-packed crime drama, Lutz plays Luke Easton, a freshly-minted sheriff in the small town that he grew up in – and had previously left. His first big case is investigating the murder of a woman found buried in the desert, and the further he gets into the case, the more puzzle pieces emerge leading him into deep waters, revealing that this little town is hiding many secrets – including ties to a cartel.

Desert Dawn reunites Lutz with his his former Twilight co-star, Cam Gigandet, who plays Deputy John Sites. “You’re always watching Cam thinking, He’s the bad boy,” Lutz told me. “He’s the one who’s gonna kill Luke. But we got to play on the same side, the same team, which was quite the opposite from Twilight, right?” Getting the chance to act together in a different dynamic was just one of many ways in which Desert Dawn was designed as a vehicle for Lutz to show a different side of himself. “It was very, very fun and enjoyable for me,” he said. “I’d worked with Al Bravo, the producer, on a movie called Due Justice the year prior, and really enjoyed that work environment. And so when that movie was done, talking to Al and just picking his brain, I was like,Hey, if you ever have another movie that would fit the Kellan vibe, let me know. And so he sent me Desert Dawn.”

In addition to starring, Lutz also played a key role in developing his character, with director Marty Murray crediting his dedication to shaping and enhancing the story. “I saw what they were trying to do, I felt like it was a good movie and I was like, Hey, I have some ideas. Would you be open to hearing them? And you know, if you are, I’d love to do this movie with you. And so we just chatted, worked on the story a little bit more, worked on the character, added some nuances and got into a really great place.”

Desert Dawn tackles a lot of difficult topics in a very earnest way, from alcoholism to domestic violence. I felt a genuine sense that the filmmakers wanted to present a story of hope, showing a troubled hero who overcomes and rights wrongs. There are some very heavy scenes in this movie, and Lutz did a great job as an actor portraying grief in a raw and emotionally resonant way. He said that he prepared the crew in advance during the filming of these scenes and let them know he would be solemn on set that day in order to stay in character mentally – a process that is very emotionally draining. “Well, the body never forgets, right?” Lutz told me. “When it’s emotional, you feel it. Your body feels it. When you have to do take after take, after take, move the camera, do another take – you’re spent.” Fortunately, those efforts paid off and resulted in compelling scenes.

I really enjoyed watching the action sequences in this movie, as Desert Dawn provides us with ample fight scenes and gunplay – which I’m always a fan of! If you like tense crime dramas, action films, and rooting for the hero to win, I think you’ll enjoy this movie. The only thing that gave me pause was how Luke’s behavior is sometimes treated in the film. While he is an entirely sympathetic character who means well and has the best intentions, he has his own demons which sometimes cause him to fly off the handle and go too far while doing his job or bend the rules. One example of this is a scene at the end of the film that is very satisfying emotionally, but a bit idealistic. While I understand the point being made, I would suggest taking this merely as a fantasy wish fulfillment, to see such karmic justice with wrongdoers held accountable and victims uplifted. Perhaps we can look at this as something that can serve as inspiration to do better and work to create a society that strives to meet those earnest ideals. As Lutz told me at the end of our interview, seeing the horrors of the world lights a fire under him. “There’s evil out there,” he said, referring to the dark topics of abuse that this film takes on – as the film progresses, we learn that Luke has a sister who was abducted as a little girl and has never been found. This storyline in particular resonated with Lutz emotionally as the father to a daughter. “It just pisses me off. And that’s that fighter in me, that I wanna fight against the injustice and the monsters.”

Desert Dawn is available now in select theaters, on Digital and On Demand.