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What went through your mind when director Zack Snyder first approached you about playing Arthur Curry \/ Aquaman and reinventing this iconic Super Hero for a new generation?<\/strong><\/p>\n When Zack first approached me, it was a bit of a mystery because when I went in for the audition, he wanted me to read for Batman \u2013 and Ben [Affleck] had already been cast in the role by that point. So, I knew something fishy was going on and just read the lines with a lot of attitude, like I didn\u2019t care what was on the page [laughs]! And then Zack said to me, \u2018Do you know who I want you to play?\u2019 I said, \u2018Oh, yeah, I\u2019ll be a villain or some bad dude who comes in and fights Batman \u2013 sounds like fun.\u2019 He said, \u2018I want you to play Aquaman.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n So, I was just standing there, kind of in shock. All I could think of was the traditional Aquaman from the comics \u2013 who is white and blond and wears the orange and green costume. I thought he had to be joking\u2026 but Zack had this look on his face. He said, \u2018Hear me out,\u2019 and told me that he wanted the Aquaman in this film to be an outsider, along the lines of Clint Eastwood\u2019s character, the Outlaw Josey Wales. I was born in Hawaii and raised in Iowa, and basically grew up an outsider, so I could definitely identify with that. I also liked that Arthur is a half-breed \u2013 half-Atlantean and half-human \u2013 and was really interested in the idea of him being this brown-skinned Super Hero who is part of two worlds but doesn\u2019t belong to either one. I think that\u2019s pretty special. And me being a Hawaiian, Aquaman\u2019s mythology also resonated with me because we have water gods in our culture \u2013 and that goes for many islands. That\u2019s why it feels like such an honor to play this guy.<\/em><\/p>\n How much did you know about the Justice League prior to becoming involved in the film? Were you a comic book or Super Hero fan growing up?<\/strong><\/p>\n Absolutely. I was a big comic book fan. I read a lot of different comics when I was a kid, and obviously loved Batman and Super Hero movies in general. When Tim Burton\u2019s Batman came out, it just blew my mind; I was amazed by that film. But I hadn\u2019t read a lot of Justice League prior to this film, so I did my research. I also had the opportunity to meet with [producer] Geoff Johns, and he\u2019s just a wealth of knowledge about Aquaman and the entire DC universe.<\/em><\/p>\n When you were finding your way into the character, were there aspects of Aquaman that were fun to play and others that were more of a challenge?<\/strong><\/p>\n Zack encouraged all of us in the cast to bring our own personalities to the characters, and that was really interesting. I\u2019ve never played anyone like Arthur before \u2013 someone who\u2019s defiant and an outcast and a rascal. So, I got to be grumpy and ornery and exercise a lot of layers I\u2019ve never gotten to bring to roles before and that was a lot of fun.<\/em><\/p>\n So, when Bruce Wayne shows up looking for Aquaman, they\u2019re reluctant to give him up. Bruce figures it out, of course, but Arthur makes it clear that he has no interest in helping Batman or anyone else. He just wants to be left alone. It\u2019s only later, when he realizes that the world really is at stake \u2013 not just the over the land, but under the oceans as well \u2013 that he knows he has to become a man and do his part. And as he explores his powers and begins to understand who he is, only then does he start to actually start to believe in himself.<\/em><\/p>\n You\u2019re a part of this fantastic ensemble cast bringing these larger-than-life heroes to life \u2013 Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Ray Fisher as Cyborg and Ezra Miller as The Flash. What was it like the first time all of you came together on set in you full Super Hero glory?<\/strong><\/p>\n I played it cool, but I was totally geeking out on the inside [laughs]. We really loved being on this journey together, and always wanted to see each other on set. Whether it was doing team-building scenes or these ambitious, complicated stunt sequences, we\u2019d always support each other and try to make each other laugh; it was always a joy.<\/em><\/p>\n One of the great things about having these actors in these roles is that they\u2019re all just so perfectly cast. Batman is my favorite character, and when I first saw Ben Affleck in that cape and cowl, it was so cool. He\u2019s an amazing Batman. And Gal Gadot is the perfect Wonder Woman. She is unbelievable and that movie was unbelievable. She\u2019s just this powerful presence, but so warm and absolutely stunning. And I can\u2019t think of a better choice for The Flash than Ezra. So intelligent, so witty and just a beautiful creature \u2013 they only made one of Ezra.<\/em><\/p>\n And then there\u2019s Ray as Cyborg, and, to me, he has the hardest role \u2013 to be able to play this half-man\/half-machine \u2013 and yet he brought so much humanity and gravity to it. But on set, we really had to use our imaginations to picture Ray as Cyborg. We\u2019d all be in our costumes, and Ray would be in these polka-dot pajamas for the visual effect component of Cyborg. So, we had a lot of fun giving him crap about that [laughs]. But Ray is obviously an amazing actor, and we had a great time playing the dynamic between Arthur and Victor. Arthur doesn\u2019t trust Victor at all, and they\u2019re at each other\u2019s throats a lot of the time, but then they become brothers, you know?<\/em><\/p>\n As for my character, I don\u2019t mind sayin\u2019 that I\u2019m probably the greatest Aquaman that\u2019s ever lived. There\u2019s not exactly a lot of competition, so in that sense, it\u2019s cool not be Batman [laughs]. But it\u2019s great to get to set the tone for this character on screen, and I\u2019m interested to see what fans think of this iteration of Aquaman. It\u2019s definitely not what they\u2019re used to seeing in the comics, but hopefully it will be true to the Aquaman they know.<\/em><\/p>\n You recently wrapped filming Aquaman\u2019s first-ever solo feature with director James Wan. Can you give us a tease of what audiences can expect?<\/strong><\/p>\n All your questions will be answered next year [laughs]. The cool thing about Aquaman is that it\u2019s an origin story, and where we start and where we end up is just going to be amazing. It really is a beautiful movie, and I feel really lucky to be part of it. James is fantastic to work with and what we shot down there in Australia was incredible.<\/em><\/p>\n We\u2019ve never seen an epic adventure under the ocean like this, and we haven\u2019t seen an undersea world like the one we\u2019re creating in the movie. I\u2019m already excited to watch the movie with my children, and for other kids to see it. My son plays with Batman non-stop and it\u2019ll be cool to see what he thinks now that there are Aquaman action figures. I haven\u2019t made too many movies that my children have gotten to watch, so I\u2019m really looking forward to that.<\/em><\/p>\n Why do you think it is about these Super Heroes that continues to resonate with people all over the world for generation after generation?<\/strong><\/p>\n What I love about the Super Hero phenomenon in general is that I think having heroes who are so aspirational really helps people overcome adversities in their own lives. They help us believe in ourselves \u2013 and all of us need that. We all need to be inspired, and these characters teach us that we too can be heroes; we too can help others, and try to make this world we\u2019re in a better place.<\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/JusticeLeaguePoster.jpg?resize=300%2C463\")
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For me, the biggest challenge was knowing that we\u2019re only seeing a glimpse of this epic journey that Arthur goes on to find his place in the world and become the great warrior and king that he is. When we meet him in Justice League, he\u2019s this gruff, surly rebel, but we don\u2019t know what this kid went through to get that way or who he\u2019s going to become. We find him in a little fishing village in Iceland, among these villagers who are on the absolute fringe of society. They kind of look at him as a god because when fish aren\u2019t around or supply lines are cut off, he helps them. They never asked for it. He\u2019s just taking it on himself to protect these people and provide for them.<\/em><\/p>\n