March 10, 2026 • 12 mins
In this episode of Pop Culture Weekly, Kyle McMahon sits down with Milla Jovovich to talk all about her new action thriller, Protector. Known for her legendary work in action, sci-fi and fantasy films, Milla opens up about what made this project different, including stepping further into the producing process and taking creative control in post-production.
Milla discusses how Protector embraces old-school filmmaking with practical effects, real stunt work, and a more grounded emotional core. She also shares why the film’s character, Nikki, is driven by guilt, motherhood, identity, and the struggle to balance personal purpose with family life.
Kyle and Milla also get into the bigger conversation around women in action films and whether Hollywood has truly evolved when it comes to writing complex female characters. It’s a smart, candid conversation about filmmaking, physical performance, character depth, and how far the industry has come for women on screen - and how far it still has to go.
If you love action movies, behind-the-scenes insight and conversations with the artists shaping pop culture, this one’s for you.
If you dig the show, subscribe, rate, and share - and tell your friend who's always stealing your streaming passwords.
📍 Watch now on YouTube or listen on your favorite podcast platform
🎧 Subscribe for more celeb interviews, streaming picks and pop culture deep dives!
🗣️ Want to be featured on the show? 📱 Leave a voicemail here!
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--------------------------
Kyle McMahon's Death, Grief & Other Sh*t We Don't Discuss is now streaming. Listen here!
--------------------------
Get all the Pop Culture Weekly podcast info you could want including extra content, uncut interviews, photos, videos & transcripts at Podcast.PopCultureWeekly.com
Read the latest at PopCultureWeekly.com
Get Social with Kyle on:
Kyle McMahon Facebook
Kyle McMahon Instagram
Kyle McMahon TikTok
Pop Culture Weekly YouTube
Kyle McMahon Website
Milla discusses how Protector embraces old-school filmmaking with practical effects, real stunt work, and a more grounded emotional core. She also shares why the film’s character, Nikki, is driven by guilt, motherhood, identity, and the struggle to balance personal purpose with family life.
Kyle and Milla also get into the bigger conversation around women in action films and whether Hollywood has truly evolved when it comes to writing complex female characters. It’s a smart, candid conversation about filmmaking, physical performance, character depth, and how far the industry has come for women on screen - and how far it still has to go.
If you love action movies, behind-the-scenes insight and conversations with the artists shaping pop culture, this one’s for you.
If you dig the show, subscribe, rate, and share - and tell your friend who's always stealing your streaming passwords.
📍 Watch now on YouTube or listen on your favorite podcast platform
🎧 Subscribe for more celeb interviews, streaming picks and pop culture deep dives!
🗣️ Want to be featured on the show? 📱 Leave a voicemail here!
📧 Join the newsletter to get exclusive content, interviews & more once a week! Subscribe here!
--------------------------
Kyle McMahon's Death, Grief & Other Sh*t We Don't Discuss is now streaming. Listen here!
--------------------------
Get all the Pop Culture Weekly podcast info you could want including extra content, uncut interviews, photos, videos & transcripts at Podcast.PopCultureWeekly.com
Read the latest at PopCultureWeekly.com
Get Social with Kyle on:
Kyle McMahon Facebook
Kyle McMahon Instagram
Kyle McMahon TikTok
Pop Culture Weekly YouTube
Kyle McMahon Website
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
In this episode of Pop Culture Weekly, it's all about
the new action film Protector with Mila Yoviovich.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Let's go.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
Welcome to pop Culture Weekly with Kyle McMahon from iHeartRadio
your pop culture news, views, reviews and celebrity interviews on
all the movies, TV, music and pop culture UKRABE Weekly.
Here's Kyle McMahon.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Net no no no, Hello, and welcome to pop Culture
Weekly with Kyle McMahon. I of course am Kyle McMahon,
and you're here where we celebrate pop culture, question our
life choices, and you know, occasionally get to talk to
people who have saved the world on screen more times
than most governments. Today we're talking about a brand new
(00:50):
action thriller called Protector, starring the one and only Mila Yoviovich.
And you know her. She's battled zazombies, she saved humanity
multiple times, and she's probably spent more time doing action
scenes in slow motion than anyone in cinematic history. And
today she's back in Protector and we are going to
(01:14):
talk about it. But first, if you want even more interviews,
deep dives, and pop culture breakdowns and even album reacts,
head on over to the Pop Culture Weekly YouTube channel
and hit subscribe. There too. A lot of fun stuff
coming up there. The links are in the description. All right,
so let's talk about Protector. Protector is a new action
(01:37):
thriller that centers on a highly skilled protectors who was
a former soldier, someone whose job is exactly what it
sounds like, and let's just say, survival is not always guaranteed,
and in this film, she comes out of retirement to
protect her daughter. And honestly, if there's one actor who
(01:59):
has proof and over the years that she can convincingly
survive literally like anything on screen, it's Mila Yoviovich. I mean,
think about it. Between the resident evil films, sci fi epics,
action thrillers, fantasy adventures, she really has built a career
(02:21):
playing characters who are smart and tough and usually the
last person standing when everything else goes sideways, and and
Protector she's bringing that same intensity, that same physicality, but
with a character that's a little more grounded and a
story that's a little more personal. Protector mixes action, suspense
(02:45):
and really character driven storytelling, which is the sweet spot
I think for this kind of movie, because you want
the adrenaline and you want the stakes, but you also
want someone at the center of it that you care about,
and that's some thing Mila Yoviovich has always been really
good at bringing to the screen. So when I had
the chance to sit down with her to talk about Protector,
(03:09):
I jumped at it. So without further ado, here she
is Mila Yoviovich. Thank you so much, Mila for joining me.
I really appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (03:22):
Thank you, Kyle.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
So, first of all, congrats on Protector. I really do
love it, and I wonder you know, you've built one
of the most recognizable careers especially I would say you
were particularly in action over you know, the last twenty
five years. When you read the script for Protector, you
(03:46):
know what made you say, this is something I haven't
done before that I want to tackle.
Speaker 4 (03:53):
You know. For me, what was really amazing was I
got a chance to take on a real producer's hat
and be able to have a part in kind of
not just rewriting the script, but taking the essence of
it and making it very cohesive as a movie. To
(04:16):
be able to be a part of the editing process,
the scoring, the color grading, all of that post production
was so eye opening and also gave me like a
real sense of empowerment. You know, I think as an
actor to be able to have so much control over
something is so novel because you do a movie and
(04:38):
in the end what happens with it is really not
up to you. So to be able to like have
control over this film in all these different ways to
make sure that the performance that I love the most
from myself from other actors was in there was so important.
(04:59):
And really how much, uh, the editing, the scoring, the
color grading, how much it changes from what you originally filmed,
and and reminded me of a lot of movies that
I had made where I kind of wondered, like why
did they use that take? You know, why did why
(05:19):
weren't they on me for that line? You know? So
here I got to really take control. In the last
year has been has been just editing the film and
scoring it and color grading it. And it was a
big big it was It was a big project for
me because not only you know, did it take a
(05:40):
lot out of me action wise. There's really no visual
effects in this movie. It really goes back to like
real old fashioned filmmaking, where you know, the actors are
doing the stunts, you know, the practical effects are there.
I mean, it's it's it's wonderful to kind of go
(06:01):
back to those roots, into those basics and make a
great movie, you know.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
And I love that you say that, because that's one
of the things that I loved about it is, you know,
I'm of course we'll famboy out over a big budget spectacle,
but I love that, you know, this movie Protector helps
remind us that you can have a great story with action,
with great performances, with heart and practical effects, you know
(06:30):
what I mean.
Speaker 4 (06:31):
Yeah, this it was really important because you know, we
were working so hard. I mean, it was over three
weeks of night shoot, six day weeks. It took a
lot out of everybody, but in the end, the crew
was so wonderful and everybody was so into it and
(06:52):
just getting it done and paying attention and really making
sure that you know, obviously that everyone was safe, but
at the same time that we got what we needed
from it. And I mean it was some of the
most difficult stunts I've ever done, and especially the schedule
(07:12):
was something that I'd never experienced before, you know, shooting
at that speed and really wanting to make sure that
we got what we needed was number one. So it
was a lot of hard work, but so satisfying.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
Beyond you know, beyond the action of the character, what
do you see as her emotional core?
Speaker 4 (07:39):
You know, I think for me, Nikki's emotional core is
the fact that she's got a lot of guilt, and
I think every mother can relate to that is the
guilt of raising a child. But also you know, who
(08:01):
am I as a human outside of just being a mother?
And I think you know, Nikki being in the military
for so long and sort of neglecting her family life,
you know, even for the best reasons, you know where
you can sort of validate it and justify it no
(08:24):
matter what. As women and mothers, you know, every day
is a struggle between you know, am I doing enough
for my kids? And am I still you know, just
me through it all and balancing that is so difficult,
And so I think definitely her love of her family,
(08:47):
but also you know, her love of what she does
and her incredible abilities that helped her in the military,
and you know, what she believed was helping protect her country.
It's hard to just leave that and and become a parent.
(09:08):
You know, it's it's a it's a big choice. And
I think that sort of conundrum I think most women
can relate to is like, you know, I'm really good
at what I do, and but I'm also a parent
that has to be there, and how do you balance that?
It's it's difficult.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
And you know, speaking of you know, women, not not
just in in film and in careers, but do you
think that Hollywood still struggles with writing complex women in
action films like that that actually treats them, you know,
(09:53):
treats them with the reverence they deserve and not some
kind of archetype or do you think we're past that now?
Speaker 4 (10:00):
I think, you know, I think it's a difficult time
for women right now on many levels, you know, not
just in film. You know, I think female rights in
general have a long way to go. And you know,
(10:25):
I think definitely in the last twenty five years since
I first started, I think women have played a much
bigger role in action in cinema in general, with respect
and getting paid equally. And you know, we've come a
long way, but we've got a long way to go.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
To Thank you, Mila, and you have been trailblazing that way,
so I thank you for that. I can't wait for
everybody to see Protector. Thank you, Thank you so much, Milaovaviitch. Honestly,
one thing, one of the things I should say that
(11:07):
I really love about talking with actors like her is
you really do get a sense of how much work
goes into making these kinds of films, you know, especially
with her doing so much action, the training and stunts,
the character work, like all of it. And she continues
to be one of the best action stars working today.
(11:31):
So if you want to check out Protector, it is
out right now in theaters or streaming or physical depending
I guess, and when you're listening to this, so go
do it. If you love a good action movie. And
if you enjoyed this interview, make sure you're subscribed to
pop Culture Weekly so you never miss an episode. You know,
I've always got more celebrity interviews, deep dives, movie and
(11:53):
TV discussions always up my sleeve. And you can also
watch interviews just like the one with Miila Jovovich on
the pop Culture Weekly YouTube channel, So make sure you
do that. Thanks for hanging out with me. And remember,
if Hollywood has taught us anything, I would say, it's
this When the world is in danger and government's panic
(12:16):
and scientists are arguing. Eventually, someone will say, has anyone
called Mila Jovovich yet? Thanks for listening. I love you,
See you next week we.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
Will thank you for listening to pop Culture Weekly. Here
all the latest at popculturewekly dot com.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
I want to be protected, but melayovvis. I want to
be protected but meliov Fitch
In this episode of Pop Culture Weekly, it's all about
the new action film Protector with Mila Yoviovich.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Let's go.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
Welcome to pop Culture Weekly with Kyle McMahon from iHeartRadio
your pop culture news, views, reviews and celebrity interviews on
all the movies, TV, music and pop culture UKRABE Weekly.
Here's Kyle McMahon.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Net no no no, Hello, and welcome to pop Culture
Weekly with Kyle McMahon. I of course am Kyle McMahon,
and you're here where we celebrate pop culture, question our
life choices, and you know, occasionally get to talk to
people who have saved the world on screen more times
than most governments. Today we're talking about a brand new
(00:50):
action thriller called Protector, starring the one and only Mila Yoviovich.
And you know her. She's battled zazombies, she saved humanity
multiple times, and she's probably spent more time doing action
scenes in slow motion than anyone in cinematic history. And
today she's back in Protector and we are going to
(01:14):
talk about it. But first, if you want even more interviews,
deep dives, and pop culture breakdowns and even album reacts,
head on over to the Pop Culture Weekly YouTube channel
and hit subscribe. There too. A lot of fun stuff
coming up there. The links are in the description. All right,
so let's talk about Protector. Protector is a new action
(01:37):
thriller that centers on a highly skilled protectors who was
a former soldier, someone whose job is exactly what it
sounds like, and let's just say, survival is not always guaranteed,
and in this film, she comes out of retirement to
protect her daughter. And honestly, if there's one actor who
(01:59):
has proof and over the years that she can convincingly
survive literally like anything on screen, it's Mila Yoviovich. I mean,
think about it. Between the resident evil films, sci fi epics,
action thrillers, fantasy adventures, she really has built a career
(02:21):
playing characters who are smart and tough and usually the
last person standing when everything else goes sideways, and and
Protector she's bringing that same intensity, that same physicality, but
with a character that's a little more grounded and a
story that's a little more personal. Protector mixes action, suspense
(02:45):
and really character driven storytelling, which is the sweet spot
I think for this kind of movie, because you want
the adrenaline and you want the stakes, but you also
want someone at the center of it that you care about,
and that's some thing Mila Yoviovich has always been really
good at bringing to the screen. So when I had
the chance to sit down with her to talk about Protector,
(03:09):
I jumped at it. So without further ado, here she
is Mila Yoviovich. Thank you so much, Mila for joining me.
I really appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (03:22):
Thank you, Kyle.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
So, first of all, congrats on Protector. I really do
love it, and I wonder you know, you've built one
of the most recognizable careers especially I would say you
were particularly in action over you know, the last twenty
five years. When you read the script for Protector, you
(03:46):
know what made you say, this is something I haven't
done before that I want to tackle.
Speaker 4 (03:53):
You know. For me, what was really amazing was I
got a chance to take on a real producer's hat
and be able to have a part in kind of
not just rewriting the script, but taking the essence of
it and making it very cohesive as a movie. To
(04:16):
be able to be a part of the editing process,
the scoring, the color grading, all of that post production
was so eye opening and also gave me like a
real sense of empowerment. You know, I think as an
actor to be able to have so much control over
something is so novel because you do a movie and
(04:38):
in the end what happens with it is really not
up to you. So to be able to like have
control over this film in all these different ways to
make sure that the performance that I love the most
from myself from other actors was in there was so important.
(04:59):
And really how much, uh, the editing, the scoring, the
color grading, how much it changes from what you originally filmed,
and and reminded me of a lot of movies that
I had made where I kind of wondered, like why
did they use that take? You know, why did why
(05:19):
weren't they on me for that line? You know? So
here I got to really take control. In the last
year has been has been just editing the film and
scoring it and color grading it. And it was a
big big it was It was a big project for
me because not only you know, did it take a
(05:40):
lot out of me action wise. There's really no visual
effects in this movie. It really goes back to like
real old fashioned filmmaking, where you know, the actors are
doing the stunts, you know, the practical effects are there.
I mean, it's it's it's wonderful to kind of go
(06:01):
back to those roots, into those basics and make a
great movie, you know.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
And I love that you say that, because that's one
of the things that I loved about it is, you know,
I'm of course we'll famboy out over a big budget spectacle,
but I love that, you know, this movie Protector helps
remind us that you can have a great story with action,
with great performances, with heart and practical effects, you know
(06:30):
what I mean.
Speaker 4 (06:31):
Yeah, this it was really important because you know, we
were working so hard. I mean, it was over three
weeks of night shoot, six day weeks. It took a
lot out of everybody, but in the end, the crew
was so wonderful and everybody was so into it and
(06:52):
just getting it done and paying attention and really making
sure that you know, obviously that everyone was safe, but
at the same time that we got what we needed
from it. And I mean it was some of the
most difficult stunts I've ever done, and especially the schedule
(07:12):
was something that I'd never experienced before, you know, shooting
at that speed and really wanting to make sure that
we got what we needed was number one. So it
was a lot of hard work, but so satisfying.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
Beyond you know, beyond the action of the character, what
do you see as her emotional core?
Speaker 4 (07:39):
You know, I think for me, Nikki's emotional core is
the fact that she's got a lot of guilt, and
I think every mother can relate to that is the
guilt of raising a child. But also you know, who
(08:01):
am I as a human outside of just being a mother?
And I think you know, Nikki being in the military
for so long and sort of neglecting her family life,
you know, even for the best reasons, you know where
you can sort of validate it and justify it no
(08:24):
matter what. As women and mothers, you know, every day
is a struggle between you know, am I doing enough
for my kids? And am I still you know, just
me through it all and balancing that is so difficult,
And so I think definitely her love of her family,
(08:47):
but also you know, her love of what she does
and her incredible abilities that helped her in the military,
and you know, what she believed was helping protect her country.
It's hard to just leave that and and become a parent.
(09:08):
You know, it's it's a it's a big choice. And
I think that sort of conundrum I think most women
can relate to is like, you know, I'm really good
at what I do, and but I'm also a parent
that has to be there, and how do you balance that?
It's it's difficult.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
And you know, speaking of you know, women, not not
just in in film and in careers, but do you
think that Hollywood still struggles with writing complex women in
action films like that that actually treats them, you know,
(09:53):
treats them with the reverence they deserve and not some
kind of archetype or do you think we're past that now?
Speaker 4 (10:00):
I think, you know, I think it's a difficult time
for women right now on many levels, you know, not
just in film. You know, I think female rights in
general have a long way to go. And you know,
(10:25):
I think definitely in the last twenty five years since
I first started, I think women have played a much
bigger role in action in cinema in general, with respect
and getting paid equally. And you know, we've come a
long way, but we've got a long way to go.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
To Thank you, Mila, and you have been trailblazing that way,
so I thank you for that. I can't wait for
everybody to see Protector. Thank you, Thank you so much, Milaovaviitch. Honestly,
one thing, one of the things I should say that
(11:07):
I really love about talking with actors like her is
you really do get a sense of how much work
goes into making these kinds of films, you know, especially
with her doing so much action, the training and stunts,
the character work, like all of it. And she continues
to be one of the best action stars working today.
(11:31):
So if you want to check out Protector, it is
out right now in theaters or streaming or physical depending
I guess, and when you're listening to this, so go
do it. If you love a good action movie. And
if you enjoyed this interview, make sure you're subscribed to
pop Culture Weekly so you never miss an episode. You know,
I've always got more celebrity interviews, deep dives, movie and
(11:53):
TV discussions always up my sleeve. And you can also
watch interviews just like the one with Miila Jovovich on
the pop Culture Weekly YouTube channel, So make sure you
do that. Thanks for hanging out with me. And remember,
if Hollywood has taught us anything, I would say, it's
this When the world is in danger and government's panic
(12:16):
and scientists are arguing. Eventually, someone will say, has anyone
called Mila Jovovich yet? Thanks for listening. I love you,
See you next week we.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
Will thank you for listening to pop Culture Weekly. Here
all the latest at popculturewekly dot com.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
I want to be protected, but melayovvis. I want to
be protected but meliov Fitch
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