Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with No Escape’s Ronen Rubinstein

Ronen Rubinstein has emerged as one of the breakout stars of 2020. Earlier this year, he won the hearts of audiences around the world with his portrayal of fireman T.K. Strand in Fox’s newest procedural drama, 9-1-1: Lone Star, which has already been picked up for a second season. He’ll next be seen starring opposite Keegan Allen and Holland Roden in the horror-thriller No Escape.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to catch up with Ronen to talk about the film, how the horror genre is experiencing a new golden era, and how the film challenges viewers to examine how they interact with their own digital world.

PC: Tell us about No Escape, your character, and what drew you to this project.
Ronen: No Escape is a fun high-octane thriller with some really fun characters and aspects to it. But there’s a lot of heart and drama too. There’s a beautiful romance between Keegan Allen and Holland Roden.

It follows Keegan’s character, who is this huge influencer/vlogger. He travels and does all these exciting adventures around the world and creates these vlogs for his millions of followers and fans.

His friends surprise him with a trip to Moscow to do the most epic escape room in the world. That’s where my character comes in: Alexei. I’m their point person. Alexei is a wealthy young man who’s very privileged, very Moscow. He takes them on this crazy ride of the most lavish restaurants and clubs and just a full experience of Moscow.

When he finally brings them to the escape room, that’s where the thriller aspect of the movie starts. It becomes this crazy thrill ride. That was one of the biggest things that drew me to the movie. It’s a fast-paced film from the moment you read the first page. It’s a lot of fun. It’s a big ensemble cast, and everyone is so neat. We all mesh so well.

Then for me personally, it was the chance to play a character that I’ve never played before. It was also a chance to play a Russian character, which is actually my first language. It was a really fun character who has a lot of layers. There’s a lot of mystery surrounding Alexei. You’re wondering throughout the entire film what his actual thing is. Is he a good guy? Is he a bad guy? Is he not either? That was a big part of it.

Obviously, with Holland and Keegan being attached to the film, I knew that it was going to have a lot of eyes on it. I’m literally knocking on wood. We’ve been doing incredibly around the globe, and Europe has really embraced this film. I’m excited for all the American fans to see it on Friday.

PC: Like you were saying, there’s a lot of mystery surrounding your character and his intentions. How did you prepare to tackle that duality?
Ronen: I really wanted to make sure that the character was grounded. There are a lot of clichés and stereotypes when it comes to Russian characters. It’s my first language. My parents are from the Soviet Union, so I had a lot to draw from, especially developing the accent. I wanted to make sure it didn’t sound over the top, but I also wanted to make sure it didn’t sound too subtle. It was very challenging to find that middle ground. A lot of that came from listening to my dad and mom speak and figuring out how someone my generation but that lives in Moscow would sound and their body language and swagger. I had a lot to pull from, luckily. Again, I wanted to keep him grounded and make him very likable, so then it does keep people asking questions. Is this guy actually bad? Is this guy good? There was a lot of layers to play with Alexei.

PC: The chemistry between the cast is paramount for this film to work. How did you all build that bond so quickly?
Ronen: My chemistry read was with Keegan Allen and Will Wernick, our director. From the jump, we had a great chemistry in the room. It was a lot of laughing. It was a lot of joking around. But then when it came down to the work, we treated it very seriously. Everyone grounded their characters as much as possible. That’s why the film works so well, because it’s very easy with this sort of genre for things to be over the top or corny, but everyone grounded their characters and their performances. When we were on set together as a group, everyone was cool and professional, so the bonding aspect of it actually came pretty easy. We were able to just focus on the work, and everything else was really smooth.

PC: We’re seeing a golden age for the horror genre as another medium to tell really cool stories. From an actor’s perspective, have you noticed that shift, and what does it mean to be a part of that evolution?
Ronen: Ah, man. It’s pretty cool. I did a couple of indie genre films in 2014 and 2015. Then I did a genre TV show called Dead of Summer on Freeform in 2016. I had a trajectory of doing these genre indies. Then I got my break doing a major television show, but it’s interesting to see the absolute love and dedication fans have to the genre. It’s one of the most fun experiences I’ve had in a movie theater. It’s the most fun I’ve ever had in a film festival. I’ve been fortunate to attend a few big film festivals, but I got to say the genre films were the most fun. They have the most loyal fans and they really care about the genre. They know the entire history of the genre, all the references, all the Easter eggs, and all the films. It’s a cool fan base to be a part of. To see the trajectory of me doing an independent film in 2015 called Condemned to this film, it’s a beautiful full circle to be a part of and to see how I’ve grown.

PC: The film does a great job challenging audiences to examine how they interact with their own digital world. Did your own perspective with social media change after being involved with this film?
Ronen: No. Luckily, I had a clear picture of what I want to accomplish with social media and what it is. I had a good idea of the power that social media harnesses. I personally use it to try to spread awareness, change, positivity, hope, and, most of all, love. I know not everyone uses social media for that but I’m not going to judge. I wish that some influencers and mega-famous celebrities on Instagram and Twitter would use their voice for something better and to motivate change and to make the world a better place, especially with the year we’re having. That’s the most important thing in the world. So that frustrates me, but I can only focus on what I have control over and my platform. The people that follow me are very loyal and dedicated. It’s nice with a film like this to raise that question, but personally, I think I’ve had a good head on my shoulder about what social media is.

PC: Like you were saying earlier, the film has been really well received around the world. What do you think is resonating most with audiences?
Ronen: First and foremost, it’s such a fun movie. It’s a cool group of people. It’s a diverse ensemble from all walks of life and all kinds of different characters. It always comes down to the performances. If the performances don’t work, the movie doesn’t work. It starts from the top with Keegan and Holland, and it trickles down to everybody. They carried the movie beautifully, and Will Wernick is an exceptional director. His writing is fun and exciting. That’s what resonates with people, especially because a lot of these countries are still having so much fun with subtitles or dub-overs. It says a lot about how the film was executed.

To keep up with Ronen, follow him on Twitter and Instagram. Catch No Escape in theaters, on Demand, and on digital today.

Photo Credit: Jasper Rischen