Mike Colter had a “great” time on the set of The Union with costar Halle Berry — including when she convinced the cast and crew to pull an epic prank on him while filming in London.
“There was one moment Halle got me, she did a little prank on me,” Colter, 47, exclusively shared in the latest issue of Us Weekly. “I got to the set probably about five minutes late. [Halle] was already on set, and there was a scene where our characters are encountering each other outside a cafe. I had to shoot early in the morning. So I got there and came on set and everyone’s staring at me. I’m like, ‘What’s going on?’ And Halle’s looking, like, she’s just really, really annoyed, really upset.”
Colter said that Berry, 57, started “going off” on him about being late. “‘This is not acceptable,’” he recalled the Oscar winner telling him. “She just starts staring at me and I’m like, ‘What is going on?’ I was completely stunned.”
“I’m looking around at the first [assistant director], and he’s not giving me anything. He’s just looking at me, and he’s a good actor. He’s really playing it straight,” he continued. “And I’m looking around and nobody’s nobody’s breaking. So I’m like, ‘Oh, am I late? Oh, OK. I’m sorry everyone. I apologize for wasting your time. I had no idea.’ I mean, I literally was sitting in the makeup chair, letting the makeup person do their job!”
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After a few – very intense — minutes, Colter said Berry finally couldn’t keep a straight face any longer and “broke,” but not before she convinced Colter he had really messed up.
“It was a good time because I really was not expecting that,” he said. “’I’m literally just out in the van three minutes after [everyone else] and suddenly they’re just standing around. I’m the one holding up production. It was pretty good. It was a good joke. She got me good.”
The Union, which hits Netflix on Friday, August 16, follows Berry as Roxy, a woman who ropes her high school sweetheart — a down on his luck construction worker portrayed by Mark Wahlberg — into a high stakes espionage mission. Colter, for his part, plays Nick Faraday, Roxy’s mysterious coworker who has a few surprises up his sleeve.
The action-comedy was shot overseas in London, Slovenia, Italy and Croatia. While Colter joined the cast later in the filming process, he immediately felt right at home thanks to Berry’s warm reception.
“[Halle] is really fun to work with,” Colter gushed of his costar, who he called a “great” actress. “I had a good time and she was really welcoming right away. … She greeted me, was really welcoming and connected with me right away. It put me at ease.”
Colter said that Wahlberg, 53, was also “very welcoming” on set, noting that the actor has a “natural wit” about him. “He’s a naturally funny guy,” Colter told Us. “I think you see his comedic chops in movies like Ted, and I’m a big fan of Boogie Nights. His character is not necessarily in on the joke at all times, but [he’s] being funny.”
Both Wahlberg and Berry, Colter said, created the type of environment needed for their fellow cast members to feel comfortable once director Julian Farino called “action.”
“I think it helps to have that from your lead actors because it allows the other characters to come in and do what they need to do,” he explained. “A lot of times, you’re [playing these] scenes with people who are veterans, and they have a lot of abilities. You want to be able to go head to head with them and not have to worry about stepping on their toes because it’s really mono a mono in those scenes.”
Colter is no stranger to leading a set himself. He starred in Netflix’s Luke Cage as the titular character for two seasons from 2016 to 2018, and he was cast in 2019 as Catholic priest David Acosta in the Paramount+ series Evil, which is currently airing its fourth and final season. Colter told Us that he’s “always having a good time” in his roles, and has a knack at finding the “fun” on whatever project he’s committed to at the time.
“We’re so lucky [as actors], we’re really just having fun because we are playing a child’s game at a very high level,” Colter explained, sharing that The Union was particularly enjoyable thanks to Farino. “He was so fun. He was such an easy guy to work with and commanded such a large production.”
Having a good time, of course, is easier when you’re in a beautiful location. Colter admitted that even things like fitness were put on the backburner as he enjoyed the amenities provided to him overseas.
“It’s like, ‘Why don’t I just take a walk on the beach? Why not just go lay by the pool? Why not go to another spa visit? I mean these European spas are just, they’re bar none,” he said. “I mean you got to take advantage of that when you’re there. Working out is great, but I think sometimes you need to relax too. It’s very important to get your blood pressure down and just relax, get a massage, a mani-pedi, facial, whatever. Just enjoy it.”
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While much of Colter’s role in The Union remains under wraps — no spoilers here, sorry — finding time to relax and indulge is something the character would likely support. Colter noted that the chance to play someone with “charisma” and “charm” was an alluring factor when being cast in the project, as was the film’s 007-type feel.
“It looks like the kind of films I grew up watching when I was a kid,” he told Us. “Watching those [James] Bond flicks with Roger Moore or Sean Connery or Pierce Brosnan, where you’re seeing them in a different location. They’re driving these expensive cars, there’s a car chase, they’re shooting [people] … It feels like it spans a little more global, a little more European.”
For more on Colter’s latest role, pick up the latest issue of Us Weekly — on newsstands now.
The Union hits Netflix on Friday, August 16.
