Review Fix Exclusive: Paul Elia Talks ‘Dirty’ And More

Review Fix chats with “Dirty” star Paul Elia, who discusses the film and what makes it a special one. In the vein of “Se7en” and Oldboy,” it’s a gritty mystery noir experience that thinks fans of the genre will love.

For more on the film, click here.


Review Fix:
Why did you decide to play this role?

Paul Elia: I had nothing else better to do – kidding.

Detectives live really interesting lives. When I was in Detroit, I was working graveyard shift at a gas station. I remember a detective named “Lee” who came in every night and would go on and on about his experience as a detective. It was really fascinating to me; after we would talk, I would often play his stories in my head and think “What would I do in that situation?” Also, when I first read the script, I really saw a lot of me in the character I played. Jackson (my character in the film) is neurotic, loud, pessimistic, and a push over, a lot of qualities I have already!  

Review Fix: How did you prepare for this role?

Elia: When I was in Detroit, I was a working on the show Detroit 1-8-7. The show was about detectives in Detroit. I used everything from that experience while I was on set shooting “Dirty”. I already had an understanding of how detectives operate and view situations which was very helpful. I did some ride alongs with LAPD officers, had a Narco Detective I would meet with once a week and just pick his brain, and hang with Roger Guenveur Smith. 

Review Fix:What films did you grow up watching? Did they play a role in your performance here?

Elia: I loved cop movies. My favorite cop was Al Pacino’s “Serpico”. What I liked about Pacino’s portrayal is that Serpico was a character with an opinion. I tried to make sure Det Jackson (my character in Dirty) also had a strong opinion about the way he viewed the world.

Review Fix: How has this film made you a better actor?

Elia: To be the lead in a feature is the best experience. It really taught me to be patient, calm, and just relax. Because I was doing 14 hour days, I tried my best to save my energy so I can give the best performance in every scene. I think that whole experience taught me more about acting then any class I ever took. After the film was over I felt an “ah ha!” moment and said to my self “So this is what acting is” which is something I never felt before. What I learned is to really just keep things simple and don’t over think a scene. Ever since then I really grew as an actor and as a human being.  

Review Fix: How do you want this film to be remembered?

Elia: The way this movie came about was really special. I would like this movie to be remembered as “the movie that every said could not be shot”. literally everyone we sent the script to told us “This movie will never be made for under 3M dollars” and we shot it for 90K. I hope this film inspires others to shoot their own projects and tell their own stories. 

Review Fix: Who do you think will enjoy this film the most?

Elia: Single men and girls that think I’m cute. 

Review Fix: Bottom line, why should someone watch this film? 

Elia: This is a fun film.  This is truly one of those movies that will entertain you. The acting in this movie is very impressive. Adrian Gaeta, chaz bono, Tony Denision, and Roger really kill it. Also I’m a nice guy. 

Review Fix: What’s next?

Elia: I recently was the lead in a project for Interscope records called “Sremmbreak” with the rap group Rae Sremmurd. Also a feature film titled Dance with Whales with academy award nominated director Sergi Bedrov. I am also doing stand-up all around the country. Follow my IG and Facebook for more updates.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13819 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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