How a bomb disposal expert prepared Bond hopeful Aaron Taylor-Johnson for his new role – by blowing up a pig’s head

by

For the past twenty years, Nick Orr has worked as an expert in handling explosives, both in the British Army and with aid organizations in countries at war, putting his life on the line in countless dangerous situations. Recently, however, he took on a unique assignment: providing guidance for a major, high-budget movie.

The new thriller, Fuze, opens in UK cinemas this weekend. It stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson as a former soldier and bomb disposal specialist who’s called upon when a World War II bomb is found during construction in central London. What starts as a bomb scare quickly becomes a complex situation involving a heist, and also features Theo James and Gugu Mbatha-Raw in key roles.

Orr, a veteran with experience in conflict zones like Afghanistan, Mali, Iraq, Kuwait, Ukraine, and Gaza, received an email asking if he’d be interested in advising on the film. He was told his resume was the only one the team reviewed before offering him the job. Soon after, he spoke with director David McKenzie and actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson via Zoom to discuss the specifics of the role.

Want to see this content?

This page uses a security feature called Google reCAPTCHA. We want to be upfront about it: reCAPTCHA might use cookies and similar technologies. By selecting ‘Accept and continue’, you’re giving permission for reCAPTCHA to load and function as needed.

In a recent interview with TopMob, he explained his approach: ‘I ask clients what they’re looking for, then present them with options – everything from realistic and achievable ideas to wildly imaginative ones.’

McKenzie insisted on keeping things realistic, and I agreed that would be simple because we were already committed to that approach – it was something I’d prioritized for a long time. That’s when the conversation really took off.

From then on, Orr reviewed the script and offered advice during filming to make sure everything stayed true to life.

You know, one of the coolest things he did was basically an ‘explosives boot camp’ for the actors before filming. He figured they could do a lot of research on their own, but there’s only so much you can learn from a book when it comes to, well, explosives! So he brought everyone out to a shooting range run by a buddy of his to get them properly acquainted with everything.

He asked what we planned to do with the items. I replied that I wanted to frighten them, but as safely as possible, and to help them understand the effects of explosives.

So what exactly did that involve?

He explains they detonated a pig’s head obtained from a butcher to realistically demonstrate the effects of explosives on living tissue. He acknowledges it’s a disturbing demonstration, but emphasizes its accuracy and its value in helping people understand the consequences.

One exercise involved detonating a 5kg explosive in a quarry. He recalls being about 30 meters away and feeling the shock wave. The actors hadn’t experienced anything like that before, which made their reactions during filming much more realistic and accurate – a result he was very pleased with.

McKenzie wanted the portrayal of explosives and bomb disposal to be as accurate as possible, so Orr knew they had to avoid common movie clichés. He explains it was crucial to steer clear of the over-the-top, fiery explosions often seen in action films, like those directed by John Woo.

He explains that the dramatic effect often seen in James Bond movies – someone being flung across a room by a grenade explosion – isn’t realistic. While a grenade will certainly cause injury from shrapnel, it wouldn’t physically propel a person through the air like that.

You witness a massive explosion, sending people flying through parking lots. It’s incredibly destructive – imagine a watermelon hit by a speeding train. That’s the kind of impact on a human body. It’s far beyond what you see on most screens. In my opinion, Saving Private Ryan is the only film that realistically portrays that level of devastation.

One of the things that bothers Orr most about how the military is shown in movies and TV isn’t necessarily about bombs or explosives – his area of expertise – but a common mistake in how soldiers are generally portrayed, which immediately pulls him out of the story.

He explains that actors don’t have the physical burden of real soldiers. While actors wear lightweight props, he carried 50 to 60 kilograms on his back and another 20 kilograms on his chest – water, ammunition, and explosives. This weight fundamentally alters how you move, how you connect with the ground, and even how you stand.

It’s incredibly difficult to stay still and talk while kneeling and carrying a lot of weight, so when Aaron filmed the Afghanistan scenes in Fuze, he wore a fully loaded kit. This included ballistic plates and water bottles, with added weight to simulate ammunition. While he didn’t use real bullets, the extra weight made it visibly harder for him to move and showed the physical strain of carrying such a load.

Beyond just the practical, physical stuff, Aaron really got into the mental side of things with John. He spent a lot of time talking to John, really trying to figure out what he was thinking and feeling – what specifically made him afraid when he was out there in those dangerous war zones. Honestly, Aaron’s seen so much himself, he had a ton of real-world advice to offer. It wasn’t just about technique; it was about understanding the fear itself.

I used to teach improvised explosive device (IED) and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) bomb disposal at training schools in the UK, and I’ve trained a lot of people. I’ve seen incredibly skilled officers from the British Army struggle by overcomplicating things, while sometimes a young, practical sergeant will simply follow instructions and succeed.

He explains that it’s all about knowing what needs to be done. The most important thing he tries to teach his students is to understand what’s suitable for each situation, which will vary based on what’s already happened and what’s coming next.

Every tool or weapon, whether it’s something small like a grenade or as powerful as a nuclear bomb, requires a specific and correct way to handle it. If you don’t know that proper procedure during a task, you risk injuring yourself or others. I was really impressed with how Aaron handled that situation. He portrays the character Will Tranter very convincingly, which is quite different from his naturally cheerful and friendly personality.

Given his expertise, people often ask if Orr had to hold back any information from the cast and crew of Fuze, either for safety reasons or to keep things confidential. He clarifies that while he has personal experiences he can’t share, the film didn’t require him to. He explains that Fuze focuses on IEDs from Afghanistan and a German bomb from World War II. Since the technology involved is widely known and publicly available, he felt comfortable sharing everything needed for the project.

On set, Orr also worked with the pyrotechnics team to create the explosions. They used a cannon that shot out a mix of dust, dirt, and foam pieces designed to look like debris. Orr’s job was to tell them how much material was needed for each blast and to signal when they needed a large cloud of dust or a bright flash.

He understood that filming is expensive and time-sensitive, so he rarely interrupted during shooting. He only asked to reshoot a couple of scenes, saying, “There were just a few moments where I felt we needed to try that again, because the performance wasn’t quite right.”

I noticed one of the support wires was moving – stretching or bouncing, actually. These wires are supposed to be thick, solid copper and shouldn’t move at all, so it stood out to me. I thought we should probably monitor it, but it wasn’t a major issue.

He wanted to avoid overstepping and using his role as an advisor to control McKenzie’s creative choices. He believes some others in his field might struggle with that restraint, so he’ll need to be selective about who he collaborates with on similar projects going forward.

I would never tell a director they can’t pursue a creative choice, no matter what,” he explained. “If they want to go with a fantastical approach, that’s their decision. My role is simply to offer guidance and suggestions.

I really need to be careful about who I work with. I don’t want anyone with a strong personality telling me I can’t do something – it would create a bad situation on set and be really embarrassing for me. I have to pick my collaborators carefully!

Orr clearly enjoyed working as an advisor on the recent film and is hoping to do something similar again. He didn’t share details, but hinted he’s currently involved in several other projects and has a few things in development.

So would he do anything different next time around?

He wished they’d had more time. They only managed the intense physical training, but he’d have preferred to spend a couple of days covering the fundamentals of being a soldier – things like proper uniform, how to salute, and basic conduct.

He’s experienced both successful and difficult performances throughout his career. While he used to enjoy working with explosives, he now says he prefers making movies.

Authors

Patrick CremonaSenior Film Writer

I’m a big fan of TopMob, and I especially love following Patrick Cremona’s work! He’s their Senior Film Writer, and he keeps us all up-to-date on everything new hitting theaters and streaming services. He’s been with the site since 2019, and in that time, he’s gotten to interview so many famous actors and review all kinds of movies – it’s really impressive!

  • Visit us on Twitter

Read More

2026-03-30 18:08