Beast Mode took on a different meaning along the Bothell-Everett highway over the weekend.
Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch crashed through the front door of a bank with a ski mask over his head, toting a rifle in an apparent bank heist.
But Lynch, who recently signed a four-year, $32 million deal to stay in Seattle, certainly doesn’t need cash. He’s just exploring a new hobby as an actor, playing a small role as a tough guy in the movie “Matt’s Chance” by Seattle filmmaker Nicholas Gyeney.
“I saw that in ‘Call of Duty,’” joked Lynch, crouching with his rifle aimed at one of his fellow bank robbers at the conclusion of the scene.
Earlier last week, Lynch shot a scene with the movie’s leading man, Edward Furlong of “Terminator 2” and “American History X.” Other well-known actors in the film include The Six Million Dollar Man – Lee Majors – Gary Busey and Margo Kidder. Gyeney expects shooting of the film to wrap up around August, with a Seattle-area premiere planned for Thanksgiving.
“He’s like a kid in a candy store,” Gyeney said about having Lynch on the set. “It’s a new experience for him. He got to hold the automatic rifle and play the bank robber, so it’s been a lot of fun for him.”
Gyeney describes the film as a dark comedy featuring the down-on-his-luck main character Matt walking in on his fiancée having an affair with another man. Furlong’s character then embarks on a quest for revenge after the betrayal.
Being on set provided Lynch with a first-hand look at how the movie business works.
And what did he take away from his experience?
“Everything is fake,” Lynch laughed. “I look at movies a totally different way now, like, ‘Man, nah, I know how they did that. That’s fake.’ But I’m just thankful to have the opportunity to do it as well.”
Lynch also is thankful for the new deal and a chance to stay in Seattle. He plans to use money from his contract to continue supporting charity work in his hometown of Oakland. He has a partnership with cousin and new San Francisco backup quarterback Josh Johnson to provide community outreach to children through the Fam 1st Family Foundation.
“It’s just something that I want to continue to do even after I’m done playing football,” said Lynch, who’s been involved in the foundation for six years. “I mean when I’m done, that’s probably what my focus and my 100 percent attention will go to.”
Lynch said he’s taking a wait-and-see approach before evaluating all of the moves the Seahawks made through free agency, but he likes the fact that his team’s roster remains largely intact.
“From my standpoint, it’s great to have Mike Rob (fullback Michael Robinson) back with me in the backfield,” Lynch said. “It’s good that they got Red (defensive end Red Bryant) done, because he’s a vital part of the defense. And with (Matt) Flynn coming in, I hope he’ll be able to come in and compete for that starting job with Tarvaris (Jackson), but you’ll never be able to speak on that until you see it for yourself. And right now with us having no workouts, it’s hard to say.
“But I’m excited to see what it turns out to be though.”
Lynch also has been keeping up with the New Orleans bounty scandal – the NFL’s three-year investigation of former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and his defense’s “pay for performance” program that included “bounty” payments for knockout hits.
The Saints apparently had their bounty program in place when Lynch put together his memorable 67-yard run to seal Seattle’s NFC wild card win over New Orleans in the 2010 playoffs, a scamper in which he pretty much ran over every defender on the Saints’ defense.
“It’s not like we don’t go out on the field and think, ‘Oh, I have to go out and dominate this person,’” Lynch said. “And if they’re not coming after me like that, then why are you playing, because I’m running like that.
“You take it how you want to. But the way I felt was if they still had those bounties going on when we played against them in the playoffs, I wonder who got the money? Or should I have got the money?
“But it’s football to me at the end of the day. And however they took care of it in their huddle to get themselves pumped up – I mean they won a Super Bowl and everything – so maybe it took that little extra effort. But I don’t think it was to intentionally try and hurt people. But it’s a dangerous sport. And at any given time something could happen.”
EXTRA POINTS
With Nike taking over as the NFL’s apparel and uniform supplier, the Seahawks will be introducing new uniforms at 8 a.m. PDT today in New York. Seattle safety Kam Chancellor will be modeling the team’s new uniforms, which reportedly will re-introduce gray more prominently in the team’s color scheme, including the possibility of a gray alternate jersey. … Arizona Cardinals free agent guard Deuce Lutui visited Seattle. Lutui, 28, played six seasons for the Cardinals, including five as a starter. But conditioning and keeping his weight down have been an issue of late. Lutui played for Seattle head coach Pete Carroll while both were at USC. The Seahawks also are scheduled to host New England free agent cornerback Antwaun Molden on Wednesday.
Eric D. Williams: 253-597-8437
eric.wiliams@thenewstribune.com
blog.thenewstribune.com/seahawks
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