Since his debut role in 1979’s Ryan’s Hope, Ron Perlman has appeared in 136 films and 97 TV shows. He’s voiced 33 video games and been in 10 theatre productions. There’s one project, however, he’d rather not talk about. Perlman met director Jack Huston on the set of a movie he insists “shall remain nameless” – but a quick Google search reveals it to be the 2008 box office flop Outlander.

The Jim Caviezel-fronted action flick may have lost nearly $40 million but out of cinematic adversity a lasting bond was formed. “There was a lot of drinking and partying when we were not making that piece of s*** movie,” Perlman tells me over Zoom. “I knew immediately that Jack was a good guy and that he was somebody that I’d want to keep in my pocket for life. He’s an actors’ actor. He is incredibly serious and professional without taking himself seriously or professionally.”

The roundly adored Perlman, perhaps best known for his eponymous role in Hellboy and starring in Sons Of Anarchy and Pacific Rim, regularly ran into Huston over the next 15 years. On one of these occasions, the Boardwalk Empire and Fargo star revealed to Perlman that he’d been working on a script which he planned to make his directorial debut – and there was a role in it for Perlman. “I immediately said I was in,” admits the actor, but Huston still wanted Perlman’s notes. Was the script actually any good?

“I read the script and I said, ‘I have no notes. This movie is ready to be made. It’s perfect!’ Every page was flawless. Every scene was a combination of great storytelling while being incredibly moving. It’s an honour and a privilege to be a part of the movie in any way, shape, or form.”

The script Huston presented to Perlman was Day of the Fight. The story follows Mike Flannigan (Michael Pitt), a once renowned boxer, as he makes a redemptive journey on the day of his first fight after leaving prison. Along the way he tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter (Milan Marsh), his ex-girlfriend (Nicolette Robinson), uncle (Steve Buscemi), and father (Joe Pesci), all while his trainer Stevie (Perlman) tries to get him ready for the contest.

Perlman used to be a boxing fan but fell out of love with the sport around 15 years ago, as “there were a few fights where it was just clear that the fix was in… I realised the public was being duped by a small handful of people looking to make a quick buck.” Nevertheless, over the years Perlman was repeatedly approached about playing the father or trainer in boxing movies, taking up roles in 2000’s Price of Glory, 2016’s Chuck, and now Day of the Fight. “The sport is so theatrical and explosive,” explains Perlman when asked why boxing is so ripe for filmmaking. “It’s such a huge thrill for the audience. Plus, the fighters come from nothing. They put everything on the line in the ring and it could all end in an instant.”

Perlman could see that Huston had “poured himself” into the story to make it as personal as possible and is so impressed by what his former co-star has created that he’s watched Day of the Fight three times already, on each occasion finding something more engrossing about it. “You know, the first time I watched it, I just wanted to make sure I didn’t embarrass myself. But the second time I spotted his filmmaking and his positioning of the camera. The third time it just kept resonating with me. Being able to notice different things each time you see a movie is everything to me.”

Perlman knows a thing or two about storytelling – and that’s not thanks alone to the 287 television and film credits to his name. In 2014 Perlman founded independent production company, Wing and a Prayer Pictures, and over the next seven years produced 14 projects, including the Matthew Broderick dark comedy To Dust and 2017’s All Nighter starring J.K. Simmons.

So Perlman was well aware how hard making a project like Day of the Fight, with its black and white photography, patient pacing, and character-driven narrative, must have been – truly a rarity in the modern movie landscape. “95 per cent of my filmography is low-budget indies because those are the only movies that are telling stories about humanity and people,” Perlman says proudly. “They’re not relying on men in spandex to lure the audience in.”

When quizzed about why adult dramas like Day of the Fight have become so scarce, Perlman blames the “tech guys who are responsible for financing most of the movies people see”, adding, “The people in charge of studios are no longer filmmakers. There’s this commoditisation and algorithm mentality, where they use a bunch of data that tells them what they think the audience wants to see. It’s reverse engineering and the opposite of what great filmmaking should be.”

It was this aspect of the industry that motivated Perlman to get into producing himself; he felt the public was being spoken down to and the movies being offered up were a disservice to viewers. He knew there was a huge amount of great filmmaking talent out in the cinematic ether but they were only able to make movies in spite of the modern Hollywood system. “I wanted to be a part of an ecosystem where we helped filmmakers,” he explains.

But going against the grain is never easy and Perlman openly admits he lost every penny he put into Wing and a Prayer. “At some point you still have to depend on that system to get the movie out in front of audiences. You have to spend on advertising to let people know it exists. That’s what Jack is going through right now. Making the movie is easy compared to releasing the movie but the current marketplace refuses to bet on anything that doesn’t have men in spandex. The distribution part killed my company.”

Yet, while Perlman has taken a step back from producing over the past few years, he still has the urge to help get movies made: “I’m looking to produce again because producing movies is a really big high for me. I now understand things a bit more. I’m better prepared.” In fact, he’s currently working on a project that he hopes to both star in and direct, marking his feature film debut as a director. “I’m finally ready, at 74 years old, to have another crack at it,” he laughs. “We all as artists want to be as challenged and as engaged as we possibly can be. There's no greater place to do that than in the director's chair.”

Even after 45 years, Perlman isn’t ready to give up the Hollywood fight just yet.

Day of the Fight is in UK cinemas from 7 March 2025 and will premiere on the Icon Film Channel on 3 February 2025.

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