Fencing, rugby, and martial arts led Nick Powell down a path to stunt work. Over time, he found himself working as an actor and stuntman on ‘Braveheart,’ ‘Goldeneye,’ ‘The Mummy,’ ‘The Bourne Identity,’ ‘Gladiator,’ and ‘The Last Samurai.’

Thanks to his work helping other first time directors, he eventually came to direct the new film, ‘Primal.’ Starring Nicolas Cage, the movie follows a big-game hunter and trapper who captures a rare white Jaguar, but ends up on a ship with a political assassin.

In this interview, Powell discusses working with Matt Damon on ‘Bourne,’ why proper fight editing creates authenticity, how he trained Tom Cruise for seven months on ‘The Last Samurai,’ why well-choreographed fights can be shot from every angle, and how they shot the extensive Coliseum fights in Ridley Scott’s ‘Gladiator.’

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