‘The Union’ Star Mike Colter Reveals His Secret Role in Netflix Spy Movie

There are many secrets that Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry’s characters strive to protect in their new Netflix action comedy “The Union.” Interestingly, Mike Colter’s role in the movie mirrors that secrecy in real life.

Colter’s character surprises us by suddenly disappearing in the film’s opening scene, only to return later in a completely unexpected way.

Given that Colter’s role encompasses a significant plot twist in “The Union”—which will not be spoiled here—he is content to let his performance fly under the radar until viewers have the chance to watch the movie themselves.

“It’s fun to keep your mouth shut because it’s a spoiler, but I’m fine with that,” Colter said during a recent Zoom interview. “This sounds anti-Hollywood, but I’m not someone who needs all the attention. If I have a good time and my role serves the film, that’s enough for me. It was fun being the plot twist or the spoiler.”

“The Union,” debuting on Netflix on Friday, stars Berry as Roxanne Hall. She returns to her hometown in New Jersey 25 years after leaving behind her life and high school boyfriend, Mike McKenna (Wahlberg).

Mike soon discovers that Roxanne is a spy for a covert government organization called The Union. Led by Tom Brennan (J.K. Simmons), The Union is a group of working-class agents working tirelessly to recover a hard drive that identifies every law enforcer in the Western Hemisphere, from police officers and military personnel to FBI and CIA agents.

Since the stolen data also contains information on every member of The Union, the organization needs a virtual nobody to retrieve the hard drive before it is sold on the black market. Roxanne convinces Tom that Mike is the ideal candidate because he’s physically fit and a fearless construction worker who routinely stands on beams 1,000 feet off the ground without a second thought.

Colter also plays Nick Faraday, one of the group’s spies caught in a failed operation to recover the hard drive early in the movie.

Colter expressed his enjoyment of working on “The Union,” particularly due to its unique spin on the spy movie genre.

“The Union” doesn’t fit the classic James Bond mold but instead offers a new take by presenting its spies as a rough-and-tumble group of working-class heroes equipped with the skills to keep the world safe.

“I used to be a cinephile during my college years and through the ‘80s and ‘90s. We’ve all seen so many films and so much content that we look for fresh takes on things,” Colter noted. “Maybe there’s no such thing as a completely original take, but the tongue-in-cheek action element [of ‘The Union’] is great,” Colter added. “It has a pinch of romance, a pinch of comedy, and an espionage element, but we don’t take things too seriously and have a bit of fun with it.”

Reflecting on his career, Mike Colter made his movie debut 20 years ago in the supporting role of Big Willie Little in Clint Eastwood’s Academy Award-winning film “Million Dollar Baby.” Since then, he has garnered nearly 50 screen credits in several hit projects, including the title role in Netflix’s Marvel series “Luke Cage” and a lead role in the hit paranormal series “Evil.”

Playing a spy in “The Union” prompted him to consider whether a real-life counterpart to his character’s off-the-books organization exists.

However, when contemplating if such an organization exists in reality, Colter admitted he is unsure if he wants to know if there’s a Union-like group preventing near-disasters while the country remains blissfully unaware.

“I think when you think of espionage and spies or who killed who and who took over the world and took the microchip of secret information, it’s better not to know any of this stuff for the common man,” Colter stated.

Directed by Julian Farino and also starring Jackie Earle Haley, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Jessica De Gouw, Alice Lee, and Patch Darragh, “The Union”—rated PG-13—premieres on Netflix on Friday.

Source: Forbes