Amazon Prime Video’s Citadel, one of the biggest titles on the 2023 TV schedule, aims to take viewers on a globe-trotting adventure that’s filled with exciting action sequences. As a result, a number of the show’s stars were called upon to do stunt work. Leading man Richard Madden certainly did his fair share, with the first episode even giving him some intense-looking moments. The 36-year-old star has done his fair share of stunts over the years, so it should come as no surprise that he’s learned a thing or two in the process. He actually just revealed the greatest lesson he’s learned from the work, and his co-star, Stanley Tucci, had a funny reaction.
At this point, Richard Madden, who’s been open about body expectations and more in the past, has done his own stunts on several high-profile productions. He, for example, got physical with dangerous gold-chasers in the historical limited series Klondike, a show he says was more demanding than Game of Thrones. The star also did wire work in Marvel’s superhero epic Eternals. Because he has so much experience under his belt, I couldn’t ask the 36-year-old Madden about the physical aspects of his roles while chatting with him and Stanley Tucci during Citadel’s press day. I specifically asked about the most invaluable nugget of knowledge he’s picked up, and his answer couldn’t have been more direct:
Stretch, stretch, stretch, stretch. Because otherwise, you get terrible injuries. You have to warm up and cool and warm down. Because yeah, I'm not as young as I used to be. So you get a lot of things happening when you can start getting into my mid 30s. So yeah, it's just about keeping yourself limbered up. It’s so boring, but that's what it is. Otherwise, you're just going to not be able to walk tomorrow.
If you’re someone who exercises regularly, then there’s a fair chance that you know the importance of stretching. It’s definitely not a good feeling when you’re engaging in rigorous physical activity and your joints begin to tighten up. (As someone who used to do a lot of running and still works out, I know that all too well). But if you’re in Richard Madden’s position, stunts can still be tricky regardless of how you warm up. The Bodyguard actor was very vocal about the filming challenges he experienced with Eternals, as he didn’t have that much fun with the flying scenes he had to perform as Ikaris. What he had to do in Citadel was arguably even more intense, and you can get a taste of that by checking out the trailer below:
Another person who’s well aware of the importance of keeping one’s self limber is Stanley Tucci, and he agreed with his colleague’s sentiments on performing physically demanding material. And in true Tucci fashion, he dropped a quip about his own work:
It’s true. I mean, it’s true, even if you’re not doing action sequences. [Laughs] If you’re my age, everything is an action sequence.
I can definitely appreciate the 62-year-old star’s honesty and will add that he doesn’t miss a beat in Citadel. As the witty Bernard Orlick, he guides Richard Madden’s Mason Kane, as he embarks on a dangerous mission that will take him to different corners of the globe. Along the way, he’ll cross paths with Priyanka Chopra Jonas’ Nadia Sinh, an old comrade. It should also be mentioned that Madden and Chopra Jonas excel during their fight sequences and, after hearing the former’s comments, I imagine that there was plenty of stretching done on the set.
You can see the fruits of their labor by grabbing a Prime Video subscription and streaming Citadel when it drops its first two episodes on April 28.
