Actor Stephen Dorff Discusses His Role as MMA Fighter Cash in the new movie Embattled.
Stephen Dorff (Cecil B. Demented, Blade, American Hero) takes on the role of Cash Boykins a two division MMA champion in the new movie Embattled. As much as Cash is a champion inside the cage, he is anything but outside of it. Cash’s youngest son, Quinn (Colin McKenna) has Williams Syndrome and neglected both of his boys after his divorce from is his first wife, Susan (Elizabeth Reaser).
Cash’s new wife Jade (Karrueche Tran) pushes him to reconnect with his boys, but when Cash begins mistreating Quinn, his eldest son Jett (Darren Mann), decides to face his own childhood trauma brought on by his neglectful father and teach him a lesson the only way he knows how and that’s in the MMA cage.
I spoke with Dorff about how significant Embattled, how Cash seemed to be a mix of Tank Abbott, Nate Diaz, Conor McGregor and really a broken man who doesn’t know how to do right by his kids.
Embattled is written by David McKenna (American History X, Blow, Get Carter) and directed by Georgian filmmaker Nick Sarkisov, who gives an Eastern European grit to the movie.
Official Synopsis:
Raised by an abusive father, Cash (Stephen Dorff) channels his aggression to become a World Champion MMA fighter. Now accustomed to wealth, adulation and global popularity, he faces a new challenge when his second son is born with Williams Syndrome. But this time, rather than stand and fight, he runs. While Cash continues to make his fortune in the ring, his eldest son Jett (Darren Mann) becomes the care-giver to his younger brother Quinn (Colin McKenna). When Jett decides to follow his father’s fighting footsteps and take to the fight game, he faces his past head on, embarking on a course inevitably pitting father versus son in a battle which, no matter the outcome, neither can win.
Embattled releases from IFC Films on VOD today, November 20, 2020 and is by far the best MMA film to date.
