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Madalina Bellariu Ion on Take Cover: Inside Prime’s new action thriller with Scott Adkins

Madalina Bellariu Ion on Take Cover: Inside Prime’s new action thriller with Scott Adkins

We sit down with Madalina Bellariu Ion to talk about her new movie Take Cover and her upcoming vampire romance thriller, Drained.

Out now on Prime, Scott Adkins’ action feature Take Cover sees a sniper (Adkins) trapped in a hotel room fighting to escape from a fellow sniper.

We sat down with Romanian actress Madalina Bellariu Ion (pictured above), who plays Mona in the movie to find out more about Take Cover, plus get an insight into her new vampire thriller, Drained

What can you tell us about Take Cover?

Take Cover is an action-packed thriller directed by Nick McKinless and produced by Signature Entertainment. The film follows hitman Sam (Scott Adkins) and his spotter Ken (Jack Parr) as they prepare for Sam’s final assignment. Things quickly take a turn when a sniper from a nearby rooftop starts targeting them in their penthouse.

My character, Mona, comes into the mix as one of the two professional masseuses in the luxury hotel suite, when everything starts going wrong.

The penthouse transforms into a battleground, forcing them to fight for survival amidst the chaos!

What can you tell us about your character Mona in Take Cover?

Mona, my character, is introduced as a professional masseuse, but the audience soon discovers that she’s also a fortune teller, with a particular skill for palm reading — after all, as she says, “palms never lie.” She carries a crystal ball, which she describes as a tourist attraction, but it’s her ability to read palms that reveals her true gift.

As events unfold, the characters find themselves under siege by a sniper on a nearby rooftop. Trapped in a penthouse with glass walls, there’s almost no cover, and the clock is ticking until more enemies arrive to finish the job. 

Mona is highly intuitive and intelligent, and what really drives her is her fierce devotion to her daughter. She has a deep-rooted resentment toward killers, and while she’s initially wary of Sam (played by Scott Adkins) because of his background, her perspective begins to shift as the story progresses.

A big bulk of the action in Take Cover takes place in one hotel room – what were the practicalities of that like when it came to shooting the movie?

Shooting in a single location definitely had its advantages. Logistically, it made things much easier — there was no time wasted commuting between different sets, which allowed us to move through the filming process quickly.

That said, the set wasn’t built until the first day of shooting, so we didn’t have the chance to rehearse in the actual space beforehand, which presented a bit of a challenge!

Ideally, we would have had time to block out scenes in the designed set, but without that option, we had to adapt on the fly.

It was a bit of a challenge, but that’s part of the filmmaking experience — unexpected hurdles come up, and you just have to go with the flow.

Luckily, the entire team was highly professional, and our director, Nick McKinless, was amazing, giving us the freedom to explore the space and find the best way to make it work for each scene.

As for the rest of crew, they were really great, especially considering how little room we had to move!

What was it like to work with Scott Adkins?

Scott is fantastic to work with – he’s incredibly generous as a scene partner, always giving 100% in every scene and he is really easy to work with. I believe we bounced off each other well, and that chemistry made our scenes feel authentic. 

He was always there for his co-stars, even off-camera feeding me the lines and the energy I needed to stay in the moment and maintain the emotional intensity of the scene. He’s also a great listener, which made a huge difference, especially during the more emotional scenes.

What was it like to be part of the action sequences?

When I got this part I did a stunt assessment with Adrien McGraw and his team. We had fun! But the most fun was watching Scott Adkins and the stunts do amazing dynamic fight scenes in the confined space of a penthouse suite. It balances gunplay, close combat, and strategic positioning to keep the audience engaged, despite the limited location. I wish my character could get up to do some more fighting in this but it’s not what the story requires.

However, considering she is not a skilled fighter, my character, Mona, has two very brave action moments in Take Cover.

What can you tell us about your next movie, Drained?

Drained is a British romance vampire film, directed by Peter Stylianou and Sean Cronin. It blends horror and romance in a fresh way.

The story revolves around Thomas (Ruaridh Aldington), a postgraduate artist, who becomes dangerously entangled with my character, Rhea, a mysterious vampire from Transylvania. The film premiered at Screamfest at the iconic TCL Chinese Theatre in LA.

What can you tell us about your character, Rhea?

Rhea is a fascinating and complex character. She’s a vampire, mysterious and seductive, and is doomed to seek out her next victim; a partner with just the right qualities, including the right blood, who is willing to dedicate his life to her by always feeding her blood.

Thomas becomes addicted to her and to this dangerous connection. The intense and all-consuming relationship between Rhea and Thomas is a mix of desire, danger, and addiction, reflecting themes of toxic relationships and addiction in modern life. 

She appears on the surface as cold and detached. However, underneath that exterior, she’s incredibly lonely and weary of the endless suffering she’s caused. Despite her initially seemingly indifferent attitude towards Thomas, Rhea has built emotional walls to protect herself from the pain of her existence.  This inner conflict and her struggle with her own nature were what truly attracted me to the role.

You have been part of a number of genre projects, what is it about genre that appeals to you?

I look at the script first—if it’s compelling and resonates with me, I’m interested. That being said, I would personally love to do roles in the fantasy genre, because it enables actors to fully embody extraordinary worlds. It would offer me creative freedom while allowing me to explore identities outside everyday reality.

Do you have a favorite genre movie?

I love a good thriller, and sci-fi is another favorite. Recently, I have rewatched Lost TV series, The Game with Michael Douglas and Eyes Wide Shut.

What’s coming up next for you?

I’ve just wrapped filming on Season 5 of Grace for ITV, which is coming out next year. I’m also set for a Romanian thriller adapted from a book, which I’m really excited about. Additionally, I’m working on developing a sci-fi thriller with a screenwriter, and I hope to produce it in the near future!

Take Cover is available now on Prime Video. Find more exclusive interviews, reviews and news at SciFiNow.

Main image credit: Luc Coiffait