It felt like a big film with great possibilities: Monica Bellucci on '7 Dogs'

Actor Monica Bellucci said boarding “7 Dogs” felt like “being in a big film with great possibilities” to her.

The actor features alongside Bollywood actors Salman Khan and Sunjay Dutt, Martin Lawrence and Giancarlo Esposito, among others. Bellucci essays the role of Julia Leone, a powerful crime figure and one of the Seven Dogs, who operates across Europe. 

It will be released on August 21, according to a press release.

“The organisation was amazing, and this was my first time there in Saudi Arabia. The studio was huge. I felt being in a big movie with great possibilities,” she said in a statement.

“I am not used to action scenes, so it was kind of a new experience. It was fun to play this lady in prison and control,” she added.

The actor said her character required a different approach. “When you play an antagonist like Julia Leone, you have to refrain from judging her and just enjoy stepping into a different skin. Actually, this is the work of an actor.”

She also praised her co-actors El Arbi and Fallah. “I love their work because they bring that energy on screen and on set…It is a mix of genres. It is a thriller, an action movie, but sometimes it is also like a comic book, like a cartoon, with hints of comedy,” she said.

The film’s action and stunt sequences have been developed with the involvement of 87Eleven, the action and stunt company associated with the "John Wick" franchise.

Veteran stunt designer Stephen Dunlevy, whose credits include "Mad Max: Fury Road" and "John Wick", leads the film’s action and stunt design.