Joana Metrass is Anna in WE DIE YOUNG.

Action legend Jean-Claude Van Damme takes a powerful dramatic turn as a war veteran with PTSD helping two boys get revenge on a violent drug lord in the gritty crime thriller.

This new upcoming gritty action thriller from Lionsgate Films, WE DIE YOUNG, releases on March 1 in select theaters in New York, Los Angeles, and other major markets, as well as On Demand on major digital platforms including iTunes, Amazon Prime, Vudu, and others.

Written and directed by Lior Gellar, the film also stars Elijah Rodriguez, Joana Metrass, and David Castañeda.

I had the opportunity to speak over the phone with Portuguese actress Joana Metrass. Known for her work in several international productions including the ABC series “Once Upon a Time” in the role of Queen Guinevere from Camelot.

Let’s check it out her interview on the link below:

More about Joana Metrass

Joana was born in Lisbon, Portugal and attended the Portuguese National Conservatory, in between studied in New York and Italy. She worked for several years in the Portuguese film and TV industry. And in June 2013, she decided to move to London in June 2013, where she landed her first parts in International movies.

On 2014, she won a Gulbenkian grant in professional development and goes to Los Angeles. In 2015, she decide to move to Los Angeles. Now, she lives and works between Los Angeles and London.

About the film

Based on the award-winning short film Roads (2008 Student Academy Award for Honorary Foreign Film Award – Foreign Short; 2008 London Film Festival – Short Film), which screened at over 70 international film festivals and held the Guinness World Record for Most Awards Won by a Student Film, WE DIE YOUNG focuses on the struggles of gang life in Washington, D.C.

It was written and directed by Lior Gellar, who was inspired to expand the story to a feature-length film after “a chance ride-along with a Washington, D.C. gang detective through the neighborhoods just outside of Capitol Hill.” This experience solidified for Gellar the idea that “now more than ever is the time to tell a story of undocumented teenagers who dream of one day waking up outside the nightmarish reality of their violent upbringing, and of a man who will do anything to escape his own inner demons.”

WE DIE YOUNG also stars Elijah Rodriguez (The Book of Life, Sicario: Day of the Soldado), Joana Metrass (TV’s “Once Upon a Time”), and David Castañeda (Sicario: Day of the Soldado, End of Watch). Produced by Sagiv Diamant and Gabriel Georgiev.

We will see Jean-Claude Van Damme in a whole new light as he takes on a career-redefining dramatic role in WE DIE YOUNG. Gellar explains that Van Damme’s character “is based on guys [he] served with…specifically one vet who completely lost his ability to speak due to complications from a battlefield injury.” Van Damme’s incredible talent reveals itself in his ability to “convey volumes of emotion” without saying a word.