My Interviews With Jai Courtney and Nat Wolff for Their Film SEMPER FI in Theaters Today

Last weekend, I was able to view the movie Semper Fi, starring Jai Courtney and Nat Wolff. I was then able to interview the two actors separately and get some more insight into the film, as well as hear what’s going on with them right now. Check out the interviews below, read my review of the film here on GeekTyrant, and go watch Semper Fi in theatres, On Demand, and On Digital today.

And just so you know, my review is spoiler-free, but these interviews do go into spoiler territory, so:

Jai Courtney: JESSICA!

Jessica Fisher: Jai! Hi, how are you?

JC: I’m good, how are you?

JF: I’m doing really well. Thanks for taking the time to talk to me today.

JC: My pleasure, indeed.

JF: So I was able to watch Semper Fi this past weekend, and I really enjoyed it. I thought it was a beautiful story. I thought it was heartbreaking, and honest. How was it for you to play such a dramatic role?

JC: Well, we actually had a great time. I know it kind of gets heavy in parts, but that’s all part of the fun, and I really, really enjoyed the opportunity to play Cal. It’s funny, it’s an interesting one, it’s little known, but Henry had actually, was gonna work with another actor (Sam Claflin) at a certain point, but the schedule sort of fell apart, so it was quite serendipitous in a way that we ended up coming together because it’s been one of my most gratifying film experiences in film to date. I certainly kind of hope you feel the same way, but it really was a special, special chemistry that boiled over on this job. So, I don’t know it’s kind of cool the way these things come together sometimes. But we had an amazing group of people telling a really touching story that I think we all believed in, and I think it was essential that we were all there to pull the best out of that, and put the best version of that on the screen.

JF: Yes, the cast really did seem so bonded. Like it was a natural group of friends, and their story was just being documented. So how did you guys create that bond?

JC: Well, we were in New Orleans, which is a city that likes to create a hospitable atmosphere. We were all coming in from all corners, and we had to get to know each other really quick. We had grand plans originally of trying to set up like a month-long boot camp where we would be able to get to know each other and maybe do some military training exercises and pull out all this trust stuff, and then maybe we’d go out for a couple of nights, but because of the nature of the independent cinema and budget and schedule restraints, you know everyone was working on a lot of stuff, we ended up assembling on a Saturday, and rolling cameras on Tuesday. It was like total turbo break the ice, building like twenty years of trust between you in a couple nights. So we had to go out on the town to find ourselves and each other. And we managed to do it in style. And I mean honestly, there was a lot of good fortune in that. It was just such a great group of guys, just beautiful souls. We had a lot of fun, and I think we just hit it off because, you know, there were no dickheads. We were just there for the right reasons, there to tell the story and pour our hearts and souls into it, and I think really, that’s testament to Henry’s casting, if anything, in the group that he assembled. I think to his credit, we also just got lucky that we got each other, and it was essential to doing this film justice, you know?

JF: Yeah, it definitely came across on the screen. I loved the movie, and how it surprised me, but I did wish that it had one more scene that maybe fast-forwarded five or so years or so. If that scene existed, where do you think your character would have been?

JC: Well, I definitely would have done some prison time.

JF: Right (Laugh)

JC: So I would have either been sitting in a cell or just getting out, but yeah, I think that’s interesting. We joked about that a lot, like if there were ever a sequel, where we would be. It’s not often the case with films like this, particularly when you believe in them so much and have such fun making them, like, I’d love to see that scene as well. I’d love to pick it up. I’d love to do it, I mean it’ll probably never, ever, ever happen because it’s just not the way these things work, but um, you know, I’ve joked about it. I think Cal does some time, Milk has a bunch more kids, Jaeger gets the girl, and Oyster is like somewhere across the Canadian border never to be seen again, shuckin’ oysters in Nova Scotia or some shit.

JF: Awesome. So, switching gears a little bit, do you happen to know if there will be an Alita: Battle Angel sequel?

JC: I have no idea. I really don’t know. It’s an interesting one because that kind of came about through a chat that I’d had with Robert, sort of circling a role in a movie that he went another direction with the part. Then he called me up kind of last minute saying they had this role they hadn’t cast that he needed to establish in a way, and kind of in a sense with a view towards maybe if things built then that could be a person they could rely on for that. I don’t really have a lot of attachment to it in that sense, so we’ll just wait and see. If that’s a part that gets fleshed out, and I get invited back, then that’d be really cool. I liked working with those guys a lot, and obviously being there with Jim Cameron’s people and studio, and what they do is incredible. I mean, that film, visually blew my mind. So yeah, if that happened it would be really fun, but I have no sense about how real that is at all.

JF: Okay, and is there anything at all that you can tell me about the new Suicide Squad?

JC: I can tell you that it’s going to be a lot of fun. It’s filming right now. It’s gonna be different. It’s gonna be really great. It’ll be a some familiar faces and a whole bunch of new ones. And, look, I think it’s gonna be a great time. James Gunn is an amazing leader, and I think he has an entirely fresh approach to this property, and he’s written a great script. People are just going to have to wait and see, but the ingredients are all there for us to be able to trust that we are going to have a great time.

JF: Absolutely. I know I’m really excited. Are there any other projects that you have coming up that ou’re excited about?

JC: I’m pumped. I’ve got a couple of things in the can that I’m thrilled to see come out next year. I just wrapped on a movie called Jolt, which I think will be a lot of fun, with Kate Beckinsale. And I came off a new series from Australia, totally tonal shift from that one called Stateless. It’s a, six part, one-hour drama about the global refugee crisis. It was centering around some events that happened about ten years ago. It’s really raw material, really amazing, fulfilling kind of piece to work on, and to kind of help tell some stories I think that are too easily kind of swept under the rug by the media, and what’s really going on in the lives of these humans that are seeking asylum. I don’t think we’ve seen anything really as real and explicit as this. So I’m thrilled to be a part of it.

JF: Amazing. Thank you so much for taking the time. I loved the movie and I look forward to talking again in the future.

JC: Thanks again, Jessica. Have a good one.

Nat Wolff: Hi, Jessica.

Jessica Fisher: Hi Nat, how are you today?

NW: I’m good, how are you?

JF: I’m good.

NW: Thanks so much for talking to me today.

JF: Of Course, thank you for taking the time for me as well. I’m a big fan of yours.

NW: Aww, that means so much. And I read GeekTyrant a lot actually.

JF: That’s awesome! Thanks! So, I was able to watch Semper Fi over the weekend, and I loved it. I thought your performance was heartbreaking and the story was beautiful. It was really surprising, and I really enjoyed it.

NW: Wow, that means a lot. I hope you write a review.

JF: I definitely will.

NW: Okay, good.

JF: So how did you get into the mindset to play this character, specifically the imprisoned scenes?

NW: Well, I felt like, when I read the script, because I was sent the script with all the parts, I was immediately attracted to the character Oyster, because I thought it represented, or I thought I was attracted to the idea that Oyster felt like my shadow side. Like, a side of myself that I try to push down and keep hidden, and, you know, that side of myself that is kind of destructive and needs a lot of attention, and is rebellious. And for those opening scenes, like in the bowling alley and stuff, it almost felt like letting this inner animal out, you know, and it was very freeing. And then, you know, for the jail scenes, it was like I had to pay for it. It was like the consequences of those actions, and a lot of it was unlocking things in me, and I did feel sort of lighter. And it was a really important character for me to play, you know, just in terms of my growth as a person. I learned a lot about myself.

JF: That’s awesome. So, I spoke with Jai yesterday, and he was telling me you guys only had a couple of days to get to know each other and form that bond, and I was so shocked because it felt like you guys were the oldest of friends, so how was that process for you?

NW: Isn’t that amazing? I mean, I’m just amazed by them because a lot of it, I get to be all isolated and alone while they were like together in every scene, and they’re so like, I’m just impressed by all those guys. I think they’re all just incredible actors. Jai and I got to meet in LA, and maybe it was due to the fact that we didn’t have a lot of time together, but I think it would have happened in any situation. But we went and went bowling, just like our characters go bowling in the movie, and we got drunk, and after just a couple of minutes of regular getting to know each other talk, we really dove in deep, and realized we had a lot of similarities in the way we grew up and I started saying things to him that I haven’t said to my closest friends, and he started saying things to me, opening up about things he usually won’t open up about and, you know, so I still have this brotherly bond with Jai that is really special.

JF: Yeah, that’s so cool. So, I loved the movie as it was, but I did wish that there was a flash forward scene at the end, because I wished that I could have seen what happened to Oyster, maybe like five years down the road.

NW: Same! Yeah, totally!

JF: Yes! So, how do you think that would have played out?

NW: Semper Fi 2, Semper Fi-nally, again. Um, I don’t know. My heart goes out, I have a lot of sympathy for Oyster, you know, and I hope that he learned from this experience and continues on, but I think that’s one of the great things about this movie. Like one of my friends said, he was like, “I’ve never been so happy about Canada!,” and it’s like yeah man, he made it. But just because he made it to Canada doesn’t mean it’s all wrapped up in a bow, you know what I mean, and life is like those movies that end in a marriage and everyone looks all happy. I always wonder, you know, and I like that this movie has an element of the unknown, and also I mean, Cal’s probably going to prison. Who knows? Maybe there’s a Semper Fi 2 where I break Cal out, and we just keep breaking each other out and going back to prison. There could be like 50 of them! It’s a good business.

JF: (laughs) Awesome. So I saw that you are writing and directing a new film called Youngest. What was your inspiration for that story?

NW: My girlfriend’s ______, she was seven when we filmed it. She is a brilliant little soul, and kind of a nutcase, a mischievous little nutcase, and I thought wow, before she gets older, and self-conscious like everybody else does, you know, she’s just so free, it would be great to capture her, and so I wrote this script about a struggle that I see her going through on a daily basis, which is wanting to be older, and not being older, and kind of dealing with what it means to grow up, and, it was funny because I noted that I was saying things to her as a director that my mom used to say to me when I was nine and ten, and I did The Naked Brothers Band. You know, like, please come back to set, and put down the whatever, and please stop drawing on people in the crew, you know, the usual directions you have to give a crazy kid.

JF: Yes, so at the very beginning, you cut out, did you say it’s your girlfriend’s daughter?

NW: Oh no! Did the whole thing cut out?

JF: No, I heard most of what you said, just didn’t hear the relationship.

NW: Oh, yeah, it’s my girlfriend’s little sister.

JF: Oh! Little sister, got it.

NW: Oh man, if it were my girlfriend’s daughter, by proxy it would be like my daughter. It would be amazing. By the way, I have seven kids. (laughs) I have seven, or eight kids.

JF: (laughs) So are there any other projects that you’re really excited about?

NW: Yeah! I just signed onto The Stand, which is a Stephen King adaptation.

JF: Yeah! So awesome!

NW: Yeah, it’s a mini-series that Josh Boone is directing, and I’m really excited about that. And I’m really excited, I have some new music coming out with my brother in the Fall. Don’t have a date for it yet, but yeah.

JF: So cool, well, thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me, and I hope we get to talk again soon.

NW: Thanks for talking to me! Yeah, I hope we talk soon. Thanks, bye.