Josh Duhamel and Allan Ungar Reunite for Action-Comedy London Calling – INTERVIEW

Josh Duhamel and Allan Ungar talk brotherhood, LARPing, and action in London Calling.

Quiver Distribution will release London Calling in theaters on September 19, 2025. Directed by Allan Ungar and starring Josh Duhamel, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Rick Hoffman, and Aidan Gillen, the film blends crime, comedy, and heart. Written by Omer Levin Menekse, Ungar, and Quinn Wolfe, the story follows a hitman who, after fleeing the UK from a job gone wrong, is forced to babysit his new crime boss’s son and teach him how to become a man.

Building Trust After Bandit

London Calling is the second collaboration between Duhamel and Ungar following their 2022 film Bandit. For Ungar, the trust they built the first time around carried directly into this project.

“Bandit was an interesting experience for me as someone who’s very meticulous and rigid with the way I map out how I’m going to shoot,” Ungar explained. “Josh came in and brought this sense of humanity, magic in the moment, and levity that I didn’t think I would find in the character of Robert Whiteman. Going into this film, we had built that trust. When I sent him this script, two days later he texted, ‘I love this. We have to make this movie.’”

Duhamel shared that Ungar’s precision and commitment make him a standout collaborator. “I really admired his attention to detail, his preparation, his willingness to collaborate, his trust in me,” he said. “Those things really allowed me to trust him back. I’m going to try to make him look as good as he can, and I know that he’s going to make me look as good as I can. You just want to know that you’re kind of in it together.”

That level of involvement even extends off set. “Allan just sees every bit of this whole process all the way through,” Duhamel added with a laugh. “Even now, he called and gave me the full blowdown on you. I know some things about you you have no idea that I know. No stone unturned, pal.”

Finding Heart in the Unlikely Duo

At its center, London Calling thrives on the dynamic between Duhamel’s reluctant hitman and Jeremy Ray Taylor’s awkward teen. “This movie hinged on that relationship,” Duhamel said. “I didn’t want to be there with him. He thought it was cool, but didn’t really know how to fit in. That awkwardness had to be palpable. Jeremy does an amazing job of being awkward—it’s great.”

He praised Taylor’s devotion to the role. “Jeremy’s a really, really good actor. Great young man. He’s actually a powerlifter, but Allan told him, ‘No, we need you soft and cuddly. Promise me you’ll stay soft and cuddly.’ And he did. He’s fearless that way. Super funny. Huge heart. He understood how this dynamic works and was just down to try different things.”

Ungar agreed, saying the contrast between hitman and teen drives the film’s humor and emotion. “It’s a bigger movie—more action, more characters, more conflict—but it all comes back to watching Josh humanize this antihero in unexpected ways,” he said.

LARPing, Gamers, and Humor

One of the film’s most surprising elements is its LARPing sequence. When asked about it, Duhamel joked, “I get to LARP for a living.” Ungar, meanwhile, admitted, “I have not. I’m a huge gamer, which people know, but I’ve never LARPed.”

The pair laughed about the idea of a spinoff centered entirely around LARPing, with me insisting, “I just want LARPing in it.” Both of them quipped back, “You only watch the LARPing sequences.”

The Possibility of More

Could this story continue beyond one film? Both Duhamel and Ungar left the door open. “Maybe he becomes the mob boss,” Duhamel suggested of Taylor’s character. “I’d watch that.” Ungar added, “Let’s see what people say,” making it clear the future rests in audience hands.

For now, the pair is excited to bring London Calling to theaters on September 19. It’s a film that mixes crime and comedy with a dose of heartfelt connection—and yes, even a little LARPing—for an experience both filmmakers hope audiences will find as unexpected and entertaining as they did making it.

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