‘Killing It’ Stars Craig Robinson and Rell Battle Reflect on Role Challenges and Having to ‘Bring out New Weapons’ [Exclusive]
This interview was conducted prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike.
The python killing game may have been the feature focus of Peacock‘s Killing It, but the actual creatures of mystery are the humans.
The heartfelt comedy combines the sweetness and out-of-the-box comedy of a series like Detroiters or The Office with the spicy edge of Breaking Bad.
Actors Craig Robinson and Rell Battle, who play Craig and Isaiah Foster, found that the roles of down-on-their-luck brothers with deep trauma can be both hilarious and emotional. Every character owns a breakout moment that leaves viewers cackling one minute and sobbing the next.
Battle had an extremely emotional Emmy-worthy moment alongside Robinson during Killing It Season 1 where Isaiah finally addressed childhood trauma.
“I call him Denzrell,” Robinson joked with Showbiz Cheat Sheet about Battle’s performance.
The ‘Killing It’ brothers ‘probably need therapy,’ Craig Robinson says
Joking aside, Robinson acknowledged that the character ranges foster a need to draw from a variety of skills. “There’s a lot of trauma, a lot of problems, he explained. “They probably need therapy, brothers therapy. But they love each other. But he can’t help being him and being him.”
Battle said playing Isaiah has been transformative as an actor. “I’ve never been on a project where I had to kind of go into a bag and bring out so many different pieces of a skill set,” he said. “Usually I’m just being the comedic part or more being more of a serious character or I’m just being like the best friend, whatever. And in this show, myself, Craig, and Claudia (O’Doherty), every day is a different perspective. We had to bring something different to the character.”
‘Killing It’ forces you to ‘bring out new weapons’
“You’re never going to be the same person,” Battle continued. “And I think that’s a testament to just what we have to bring every single day. And it’s definitely a challenging role. But it’s the most fun and most fulfilling I think I’ve had. So they make you go into your box and constantly to bring out new weapons.”
Robinson added, “You get to reach certain depths. And the challenge of the different relationships that I have with these different characters. And watching them grow and just figuring out how to connect with each other on these different levels. It’s been a challenge that stretches you out as an actor and forces you to grow.”
Craig Robinson and Rell Battle tease ‘Killing It’ Season 2
Killing It Season 2 still focuses on snakes, but this season the snakes are the people. Robinson said that the guest stars this season are next level. “The guest stars are on a whole other level,” he dished. “It’s incredible the people we get to work with and namely the swamp family. Man, oh, man, you would have thought that the two daughters, the brothers, sisters had worked together for years.”
“And then, Craig gets his farm and he’s happy and excited and it doesn’t last long,” Robinson said. “You definitely have some challenges to go through this season every single time.”
“It’s almost like the more successful the characters get, the more money, more problems,” Battle teased. “To be clear, the more successful you get, the more snakes that come out of the woodwork. And we’re starting to see that in every element of life.”
Episodes of Killing It Season 2 start streaming on Aug. 17, 2023, on Peacock.
