David Henrie, who makes his directorial debut in 2024’s Monster Summer, revealed that Mel Gibson was the first actor who he “immediately” thought of casting in the role of a retired police officer, “Gene”, who is one of the lead roles in the adventure-fantasy movie.
“It needed a really good actor who could go from this pessimistic third act in his own life, lacking hope, meeting a boy, renewing hope and going on this huge arc,” Henrie told Us Weekly in an interview.
“He has the biggest arc in the whole film. And I knew I needed a really good actor to be able to pull that off. And Mel [is] one of the best. I couldn’t think of anyone better, and he was great. He was such a partner.”
The 35-year-old actor-turned-director also gushed about how Gibson “really cared” about what he is doing, adding how he "really can’t wait for people to see how he did.”
Besides Gibson, Henrie tapped another “recognizable” face from the 90’s.
“To me, getting Patrick Renna in this film was a huge win and a huge hug to anyone who came up in the ’90s,” he said about the actor who is famous for 1993’s The Sandlot.
“I remember I was sitting in a rental car when all we had was a script and I was with my producing partners going, ‘Man, how do we cast this thing? I don’t know how we’re gonna make this movie, but let’s try,’” Henrie recalled the casting process forMonster Summer, which is set in 1997.
“And I just remember saying to them, ‘I would love for Patrick Renna to be in this film somehow. We gotta figure that out.’ And lo and behold, we made it happen," he continued.
“And he really does add a feeling to this film that I think just helps give a nostalgic hug to everyone watching,” Wizards of Waverly Place actor said.