Before Transformers: Rise of the Beasts hit theaters on June 9, Collider’s Steve Weintraub was able to sit down with two of the film’s stars, the human heroes Anthony Ramos (In the Heights) and Dominique Fishback (Swarm). The duo joined an ensemble vocal cast in the prequel, from director Steven Caple Jr., in a unique position that required them to bring all of their emotion and energy, often while acting opposite cardboard in lieu of Autobots, they tell Weintraub. In their interview, which you can watch or read below, Ramos and Fishback reflect on their experiences on set, from their most challenging scenes to filming on location in Peru where the film became the first to shoot at the peak of Machu Picchu.
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In Rise of the Beasts, ex-military tech expert Noah Diaz (Ramos) and artifact researcher Elena Wallace (Fishback) cross paths when their unique talents land them in possession of a crucial and powerful item. When they unknowingly set off a chain of events, Autobots, Maximals, and Man must unite in order to stop an ancient evil entity with its sights set on Earth. Set in 1994, the prequel begins at a time when Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) is still wary of humans, and Noah’s accidental bond with Mirage (Pete Davidson) allows him and Elena an in with the Autobots on their quest to protect the ones they love from Scourge (Peter Dinklage) and the Terrorcons.

Thanks to the introduction of Maximals, led by Optimus Primal (Ron Perlman), this soft reboot takes audiences to the breathtaking jungles of Peru, where, Ramos and Fishback tell us, “the heat was crazy,” but that it was a “really special” experience which allowed Caple Jr. to capture “some of the most beautiful shots you’ll ever see.” Check out more below on how they filmed sequences opposite Michelle Yeoh’s Airazor, Liza Koshy’s Arcee, John DiMaggio’s Stratosphere, and why sometimes their human costars were more difficult than Bots.

COLLIDER: Nice to see both of you. I am a fan of both of your work. Besides Transformers, obviously, they should go see it, if someone has not seen anything you’ve done before, what is the first thing you’d like them watching and why?

DOMINIQUE FISHBACK: I mean, I say Swarm even though they might be scared of me after, it’s okay. Because I started in theater in school, and when I graduated I decided to write a one-woman show… where I play multiple characters, and I didn’t think that on a series I would get a similar opportunity to play multiple characters. She’s different pretty much in every episode, especially the last one. I’m not gonna spoil it, but it was really exciting and it showed versatility. That was my dream when I first started wanting to act; I wanted to show versatility, and I feel like it shows. And then they go watch this, and then it’s like, “Oh, it’s completely different!”

Totally.

ANTHONY RAMOS: In the Heights, I would say. You know, I got to really show a lot of sides in that…

FISHBACK: Versatility, multiple versions…

RAMOS: Versatility, I guess [laughs].

FISHBACK: He takes my answers all the time [Laughs].

RAMOS: Oh my God. Yeah, you know, just different… shape-shifting in In the Heights, so yeah.

FISHBACK: I used to sing the songs on the set of Transformers.

RAMOS: Yeah, it was really sweet.

FISHBACK: Any time I saw him I would be saying something, and he would sing it with me, and I was like, “Oh my God,” fangirling.

For both of you, this is a huge production; what surprised you about making a film on this scale with this scope because you filmed a few years ago and you have to wait to have it come out?

FISHBACK: What was surprising for me was that it was really intimate. A lot of times, obviously, there’s no robot, so this has me and Anthony acting to air, you know? And it felt like a small project even though it’s so big.

RAMOS: Yeah, I mean, I haven’t seen [it]. Today I’m watching the movie for the first time, but at least seeing the trailer and working in ADR and seeing what Pete did, especially with Mirage– It’s just, you’re in this bubble a little bit when we’re shooting, and if I’m not shooting with Dom or if I’m not shooting with Tobe [Nwigwe], I’m shooting with nobody, you know? So I’m just talking to the air and doing these emotional scenes.

I mean, like, there’s a scene with Mirage that’s super emotional, and I’m hitting Mirage on the chest, and I’m like, “Raj!” And when we’re shooting it, one of the grips just had a piece of cardboard and he’s just standing over me, and I’m doing this emotional scene, and I’m just hitting this piece of cardboard that this guy is holding over me. So shout out to our crew, they were amazing. So it’s just really seeing the movie after and seeing the characters and how they built out, and looking at them. Even when I look at the poster, I’m like, “Dang, Primal looks crazy,” you know, seeing all of that. It’s really cool.

Image via Paramount Pictures

You’re going to be very happy when you see the movie.

RAMOS: Thanks.

The CGI looks fantastic. It really does. One of the things that’s really cool in the film is the stuff in Peru, it adds so much. Because you guys actually went there, can you talk about filming there? I don’t think they’ve ever filmed where you guys were.

RAMOS: It was special, it was really special. Peru, as soon as we got there, I knew it was gonna be different, man. We got there in Machu Picchu where we were staying at our hotel, they had this big yard, so this the shaman came, and me and Dom, we went out there with Lorenzo [di Bonaventura] and Steven [Caple Jr.], and the shaman blessed our production and blessed the time that we were gonna have there. And it just almost felt like we weren’t– not that we were alone, but it felt like the country was behind us now.

FISHBACK: A government official came and gave me and Anthony a plaque to celebrate us filming there.

RAMOS: But it was special, man. I think we were one of the first people to ever shoot on Machu Picchu. We went to the jungle, we shot in Tarapoto for like two weeks. The heat was crazy, but some of the most beautiful shots you’ll ever see, Steven captured. Like, we were really in the elements.

FISHBACK: They’re not green screen, like it’s real, all of it.

It adds a lot, and also, I think he used some great drone shots in the movie.

RAMOS: Oh, 100%.

Image via Universal
 

So, I’m very curious, what sequence in the film did you guys think was going to be kind of easy and ended up being a huge pain in the ass?

RAMOS: [Laughs] That’s the one that I was falling asleep in, for me. I literally was looking at Dom…

FISHBACK: [Laughs] Of course I am giving him my emotional thing and he’s falling asleep. I’m like, “Damn, I must be that boring.”

RAMOS: Yo, this shit was– Like, I’m talking about, we in this plane at like three in the morning, we’re doing this overnight scene, and I’m just looking at her, and she said…

FISHBACK: It was about my dad, yeah.

RAMOS: Yeah, when you’re telling me a story about your dad, I’m literally looking at her like this. [Mimes falling asleep]

FISHBACK: So when you see that, just know I was emoting to a sleeping Anthony.

RAMOS: I’m not even gonna lie, we had to reshoot that scene, we had to shoot that scene. So that’s a scene that, on paper, I thought it was gonna be a walk in the park, and was one of the hardest nights on this entire film.

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is in theaters now. Check out Collider’s interview with director Steve Caple Jr. below.