HOWELL – Independent filmmaker, actor and writer Kevin Interdonato is excited about the release of his new film “Dirty Hands,” an action thriller that he stars in, wrote and directed that is headed for a nationwide release after securing a domestic distribution agreement.
The township resident’s feature film has been acquired by Saban Films and was released across the United States on April 24. Interdonato was born and raised in Howell Township, where he continues to maintain ties to the community while building his film career.
Sadly, only days prior to its release, Interdonato and the world learned of the untimely death of his co-star actor Patrick Muldoon who died of a heart attack at age 57, on April 19. Muldoon captured the hearts of soap opera fans, having played boxer Austin Reed on the NBC daytime soap opera “Days of Our Lives” for more than 400 episodes and the popular villain Richard Hart on the primetime soap opera “Melrose Place” from 1995 to 1996.
Muldoon will appear posthumously in the new film alongside his former girlfriend and long-time friend Denise Richards who he co-starred with in the iconic 1997 science fiction film “Starship Troopers” directed by Paul Verhoeven, based on the 1959 novel by Robert A. Heinlein. He played the role of Zander Barcalow.
Muldoon’s sudden unexpected death hit Interdonato hard.
“It was quite a shock,” he told Jersey Shore Online.com. “He was always full of life no matter what we were doing. He was an absolute pleasure on set and off.”
“We had a fight scene and while he is a few years older, he was really amazing with that,” Interdonato added. Action sequences were supervised by fight coordinator Jason Mello, whose previous credits include “Fallout.”
The main cast of “Dirty Hands” consists of five actors, Interdonato, Muldoon, Richards, Michael Beach, and Guy Nardulli.
Interdonato described “Dirty Hands” as a gritty crime thriller drama set against the backdrop of Chicago’s criminal underworld. It follows brothers Richie and Danny Denton, whose lives unravel following a drug deal gone wrong with deadly consequences. Rival gangs also serve as antagonists causing tensions to intensify within the brothers’ criminal organization.
“We filmed three weeks in Chicago but the story behind this was three years in the planning,” Interdonato said. The distribution deal was negotiated by Elisabeth Costa de Beauregard Segel of Storyboard Media.
Interdonato said the plot is driven by the bond between the two brothers who are forced into a violent fight for survival over the course of one night. In a world of elite underground fighters, the two brothers try to prove they are the best while pitted against a greedy rival and a merciless hired gun. They soon have to choose between winning and vengeance.
The filmmaker added that the film’s story carries a theme to the classic 1937 John Steinbeck novella “Of Mice And Men” about two migrant ranch workers, George and Lennie, during the Great Depression, who dream of owning their own farm but are thwarted by harsh realities, loneliness, and tragedy, exploring themes of friendship, the American Dream, and the powerlessness of the marginalized. The narrative follows George and Lennie as they find work on a ranch, but their dream is jeopardized by Lennie’s accidental killing of a woman, forcing George to make a devastating choice.
Interdonato said that similar to that book which was adapted to film many times, “the brothers have a bond. My character chooses to support his brother at the risk of his marriage and his life.
The local filmmaker produced the film through Take No Prisoners Productions alongside Nardulli, who also served as a producer under Safety24 Productions.
“Dirty Hands” is the second feature film for Interdonato’s as a writer-director-star. He told Jersey Shore Online.com that he continues to be happy with being an independent creator who can produce his own vision of stories that he has written.
His prior film, also a crime drama “The Bastard Sons,” received a release in January 2024 through Vertical Entertainment. He has also appeared as a writer and producer on the horror thriller “Malicious,” directed by John Fallon.
Beyond his work in independent film, Interdonato is known to television audiences for his recurring role on the Showtime crime drama “City on a Hill.”
A trailer for the new film can be found at youtube.com/watch?v=mDX2_d5FysY
