Apple TV action-comedy Mayday stars Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh as a mismatched American and Russian odd couple, but you might be surprised by which one of them lets their fists do the talking.
Despite Reynolds semi-regularly suiting up as the dual-katana-wielding Deadpool, it's Branagh's former KGB agent who's the far more adept fighter in Mayday. And according to the movie's directors, Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, the 65-year-old Branagh wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty when it came to the action, or the comedy.
"He was super hands-on," says Daley during a conversation with GamesRadar+ at San Diego Comic-Con 2026 to discuss Branagh's Liam Neeson-style action man makeover. "He did a lot of the rehearsals with our stunt coordinators. He did a lot of his own stunts, and just like he approaches everything, he had deep reverence and deep respect for the material, and was able to put a level of emphasis into all of it that we were so lucky to have."
In Mayday, Reynolds US Air Force pilot Troy "Assassin" Kelly crash-lands behind enemy lines in Russia, and is saved from a life sentence in a gulag by Branagh's Nikolai Ustinov, who happens to be obsessed with American pop culture, like McDonald's and Top Gun. Kelly is a very wanted man, however, so when push comes to shove, it's Ustinov who does the pushing. And the shoving. And the head-smashing.
Branagh's wannabe-defector is also a deadpan delight, landing laughs alongside blows. Mayday, then, is something of a change of pace for the typically affable Branagh, who more than holds his own opposite wisecracking motormouth Reynolds on the comedy front.
Source link
