As long as Harry Bosch nabs the bad guys, Titus Welliver will keep hitting the heavy bag.
Welliver has a lot of pop in his stroke, although wear and tear may have slowed the spring in his stride a bit. Boxing practice is part of Welliver's refocusing on year-round fitness, not just on an as-needed or role basis, as he says he's been guilty of in the past.
If you've watched Welliver portray the badass, jazz-loving LAPD detective for the past seven seasons of hit series Bosch, it stands to reason that when Bosch: Legacy begins streaming May 6 on Amazon Freevee, someone's bound to be to be hit. And Welliver physically prepared to land that punch.
In the spinoff series Bosch, he leaves the department and goes into the private detective business. Bosch often fights not only criminals but also his bosses in the department, and now finds himself siding with another longtime nemesis, attorney Money Chandler (played by Mimi Rogers). As the two seek justice in the City of Angels, Bosch must keep a close eye on his daughter Maddie, now an LAPD herself.
Although Bosch still has to hit the streets from time to time, Welliver has delegated certain high-risk moves to his stunt team this season. However, Welliver explains how and why he made the decision to stay in shape consistently through a variety of training styles, from boxing to some martial arts to yoga and peloton.
You just turned 60. Does your body feel different today than it did ten years ago?
I move a little slower, not because of age but because of wasted youth. I jumped off barn roofs, fell off motorcycles, boxed, things in my life that made me feel indestructible. This is all starting to catch up with me as I get older. I don't sprint like I used to, so these days I just navigate around these things.
More details please.
I was probably in a motorcycle accident about 10 years ago, but when I was about 7 I jumped off a barn thinking I was Mary Poppins. I had two umbrellas in my hands and I thought, "Well, this should work." They folded, I hit the ground and broke both my legs - obviously ruining my summer that year.
About four years later I tried again, this time with a large parasol. It kind of slowed my fall and I just twisted my ankles, but that was the end of it. So yes, I was the original slow learner.
Courtesy of Amazon Freevee
You have your original karate dojo tattooed on your shoulder. Do you still practice martial arts today?
I don't do it like I used to. I like punching and kicking the bag and doing some stretches, but work doesn't leave me that much time. That's not an excuse, I just feel like I'm not able to put in the same amount of time.
As a young boy, I was very dedicated to martial arts. I studied Jiujitsu and eventually got into Kenpo and Krav Maga, which isn't really a martial art but is a great fighting system.
I taught my daughter Krav Maga and my son is really into BJJ these days. I think martial arts is not only a very important way to defend yourself, but it's also a fantastic way to keep yourself in good physical shape.
Have you ever had to use martial arts in real life situations?
It was inevitable that something would happen - there will always be some moron no matter how hard you try to calm him down or stop him from being aggressive - and it's usually when he's had too much to drink - that gets the message does not understand .
A few years ago a guy accidentally stormed into a party I was at and he got very aggressive towards one of the female guests and pushed her. Let's just say he took a little nap afterwards.
So it seems like martial arts would be a perfect fit for Harry Bosch.
Bosch's background training was in Special Forces Fifth Group, so he did a significant amount of hand-to-hand combat training there.
In one episode Harry goes undercover and gets kidnapped by drug dealers on a plane and these guys are going to throw him off the plane and kill him. Carrying a sword stick, he stabs the first guy and spins him around as he's shot by another guy firing his gun. The second guy lets Bosch hang out of the side door of the plane, Bosch punches him in the throat and sticks his thumb deep in the guy's eye socket, throwing him off the plane. That was a good fight.
What makes a good Bosch fight scene?
Whenever we do these kind of fight scenes, I always want to keep it messy and somehow real looking. If I want to see great stuff, I'll watch Jet Li or Bruce Lee - they're worth their weight in gold. But when we fight we try to keep it authentic but still kind of messy.
Courtesy of Amazon Freevee
What has been your biggest training adjustment these days?
I used to think, "I have three months to work out for any movie or show and get back in shape, whether it's losing a few pounds or building muscle." w I don't do the training with the same dedication, which wasn't very healthy anyway.
A couple of friends of mine who are coaches would always notice this and tell me, "Dude, you know why you're always hurt and can't raise your arms? That's because you shouldn't be lifting 45-pound dumbbells on Day 1.” So now I'm trying to be more like water and less like rock.
So what are you doing differently?
I think it's best to change the regime a bit. w I've added more bodyweight exercises, changed my cardio, and don't do as much free weight training. I'll add some yoga, I'll hit the heavy bag, some speed bag work, treadmill, jump rope and have found it to be just as effective as strength training. I actually believe that bodyweight training makes me stronger than weightlifting.
Depending on my schedule, I try to get in at least a good 40 minutes of cardio four or five times a week.
What does your home gym look like?
I have a peloton right now, I have an infrared sauna. I have a station, a dip bar, a pull up bar, a push up bar. I have a round heavy bag. I have a kicking standing bag. I have an elliptical machine and a treadmill. And I have one of those practice things called a mirror. I can, you can teach. So and lots of heavy ropes, ropes of different weights and things like the focus gloves.
Yes, I have some free weights, but nothing too heavy. I think the heaviest is a 30 pound dumbbell.
How does Bosch stay police ready?
There were a few foot chase scenes this season where I got my cardio in a little better shape. Also, we were shooting in downtown LA and it was like 105 degrees outside, which was really intense. I'll do as much of that stuff as I can.
I always think it looks better when the actor goes and does stuff like that, but now I have an awesome stunt double that jumps off a fire escape onto the top of a building, which is something I might have wished for in my 20's. w I have enough sense to leave that to the professionals. There are a lot of people in our crew who depend on me being in one piece to make a living, so I'm not taking much of a risk going down the route I used to take.
Bosch likes jazz, what do you listen to while training?
Sometimes I train to jazz it up depending on when I'm doing cardio. I actually listen to pretty hardcore music, I listen to the Deftones, Tool, Filter, Nine Inch Nails because I find that really drives me.
But when I meditate or do yoga, I listen to Japanese shakuhachi flute music. When I reach into my bag, I try to find something R&B, hip-hop, or something that just has a different pulse. But for the same reason, if you're really whining on the bag and just trying to break a sweat, you know Tool or Filter or Nine Inch Nails are great. That is OK for me.
I think I get too soft when I put on jazz - it's good for the sauna. I go to the sauna and there I put on some Coltrane, some Miles Davis and I decompress.
Courtesy of Amazon Freevee
How important is yoga and meditation to your recovery?
Yoga has really been especially helpful with my old broken bones and issues like that. I find this a bit of yoga before and after a good stretch, and I dip into the infrared sauna which is worth its weight in gold. Swimming also helped me a lot. And I've been thinking about taking one of those ice baths, but man, they're not for the faint of heart.
Meditating also helps. When I'm shooting, I generally get about 20 minutes for a meal break. I usually use this time to go through my material for the next day, but a lot of times I'll go and do just one meditation for five, 10, 15 minutes, maybe stretch a bit too, and that really gives me energy.
What is your diet like now?
I just try to eat sensibly. I've tried to limit my consumption of processed foods, although I wouldn't be completely honest if I said I don't like the occasional Big Mac. I love red meat but try not to eat too much of it. w it's more lean protein, a lot more fish and more green veggies, except kale, I can't eat kale anymore. I'll be fine if I never eat kale again. But I eat a lot of spinach, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower.
I've never been a big milk drinker, probably not since I stopped growing, but I try to avoid dairy as much as possible, but I love cheese. Again, I've just tried to be a little more mindful of what I eat and try to stick to clean, organic foods as much as possible.
I occasionally love a jar of Skippy Peanut Butter more than anyone. I love peanut butter and I usually go for the healthier stuff, but I treat myself to a glass of Skippy every now and then. I know it's not great then I'll just train a little harder Get over my guilt quick.
On set I live on this juice - 50 Shades of Green Juice - which is just stuffed with veggies. I'm going to hit them all day, about four to six of them. They really keep my energy up to the point where the bottom doesn't fall out anymore.
