By Travis Johnson
Actor, Joseph Julian Soria, has become an increasingly familiar face over the past decade or so, first making his mark in a guest role on The Shield before cropping up in a series of increasingly high profile guest spots on everything from Sons Of Anarchy to Supernatural, and feature films such as Boaz Yakin’s dog-on-a-mission movie, Max. He’s no newbie, but he admits to being particularly excited about scoring a role in The Purge: Election Year, the third installment in Blumhouse’s satirical horror/action series, for the simple reason that he’s been a fan since the get-go. “I was a fan of The Purge since the first trailer,” he laughs. “So to be a fan first and to then be a part of that world was an awesome experience.”
Like previous Purge films, The Purge: Election Year is set in a nebulous near future where all crime is legal in the United States for one night of the year, and the violence-crazed population are free to run riot in the streets. Soria plays Marcos, an immigrant who decides to help his boss, Joe (Mykelti Williamson), defend his corner store on Purge Night after they learn that they can no longer afford Purge Insurance – a potentially deadly choice. “Marcos looks at him as a father figure,” he says of the characters’ relationship. “He’s given him his little piece of The American Dream – a better life.”
Indeed, Soria cites Williamson, a familiar on-screen presence dating back to 1984’s Streets Of Fire, as a kind of father figure himself on set, with the young actor sharing most of his scenes with the veteran performer. “I was lucky to be able to get under his wing and learn from him about the business. Anytime he spoke, I listened. He’s definitely a mentor of sorts. I have a lot of love for him.”
The other big presence on set was Frank Grillo, the break out star of The Purge: Anarchy, who returns as ex-cop, Leo Barnes, now head of security for anti-Purge politician, Senator Charlie Roan (Elizabeth Mitchell). “Frank’s a real guys’ guy,” Soria tells us. “He’s a funny guy. He makes a lot of jokes, but he’s very professional too. He’s always reading the script – he works incredibly hard.”
And hard work was definitely needed, with the production shooting nights in chilly Rhode Island for an extended period, with plenty of action and stunt work thrown into the mix for good measure. “We had a lot of shoot ‘em up scenes,” he recalls. “Having all those squibs go off all over the place was pretty intense. One of ‘em went off really close. All I can say is that it was fun, and I’d love to do it again. I love getting down and dirty, and getting physical.” He’s also no stranger to the messier end of the horror genre, either. “I’m not unfamiliar with being doused in movie blood,” Soria laughs.
And while positing whether Soria will return to the Purge universe any time soon lies firmly in spoiler territory – the series has a notoriously high body count, after all – he assures us that we’ll be seeing more of him in the not-too-distant future. “I’ve been very fortunate,” the actor says. “I’m always wanting more. There are so many people in this game that I want to work with…there are so many talented people that I want to collaborate with.”
The Purge: Election Year is available on VOD, DVD and Blu-ray from October 26.
