'Judas and the Black Messiah' star Jesse Plemons explains why it's always more fun to play the bad guy
Plemons told Insider he stopped doing research on his "Judas and the Black Messiah" character when he began to judge him.
He also hinted he'll be the villain in the upcoming "Jungle Cruise" movie starring Dwayne Johnson.
"Judas and the Black Messiah" is available on HBO Max and opens in theaters on Friday.
Thanks to a naturalistic acting style that looks like he's hardly putting any effort into the roles he plays, Jesse Plemons has quickly become a go-to-guy for the most respected storytellers in Hollywood.
In the last decade, he's shown up in Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master," two Steven Spielberg movies ("Bridge of Spies" and "The Post"), Martin Scorsese's epic "The Irishman," while also scoring two Emmy nominations ("Fargo," "Black Mirror").
For his most recent role he dazzles in "Judas and the Black Messiah" playing manipulative FBI agent Roy Mitchell. We watch as Mitchell enlists car thief William O'Neal (LaKeith Stanfield) to infiltrate the Black Panther Party chapter led by Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya) to act as an informant for the FBI. All the while, Mitchell portrays a father figure-like closeness towards O'Neal so he'll willingly do his bidding.
Plemons' talents shine in the role opposite Stanfield who also has a naturally gifted talent to act with a breezy ease. But specifically, it's Plemons' ability to pull off dark sinister roles while projecting the guise of a nice guy that elevates not just his performance in "Judas" but the conflict Stanfield's O'Neal character finds himself in.
Insider recently chatted with Plemons over a Zoom call about the joys of playing a bad guy and how he and Stanfield did their most dramatic work in the movie on Plemons' first day on set.
Plemons stopped researching his character once he began judging him
Jason Guerrasio: Roy Mitchell has quite a background. Along with the Black Panther case, he was involved in the case that "Mississippi Burning" is based on, the "Hit Squad" case in Chicago, for you is there such a thing as too much research?
Jesse Plemons: I did a lot of research in the FBI in Chicago and then also the "Mississippi Burning" cases. Then when I started working, LaKeith had a book that delved into Mitchell and O'Neal's relationship in a detailed way. I only made it through four chapters and decided I had to put it down because it was getting to a point where I felt I was starting to judge the character in a way that wasn't helpful for the film.
Because it's not like this story is about Roy, at a certain point you have to stop and just get back to what the script is offering, right?
Exactly. We're not making a biopic about Roy or a documentary about the whole thing, so there are some liberties that we're taking. The relationship dynamic with Bill was really interesting.
The most dramatic scene between Plemons and LaKeith Stanfield was shot on Plemons' first day on set
Some of the best stuff in the movie are the scenes between you and LaKeith. It's a clash between two actors who know how to act without acting. Did you two get to discuss the characters before shooting began?
I met LaKeith the morning I started working.
Does that scare the heck out of you? Not knowing your screen partner at all and just going into the work.
For this it was perfect. Sometimes, yes, it can be nerve-racking. We actually shot all of the restaurant scenes on day one. So the last scene was shot at the end of that day, and that's always tricky. But to get back to your question, we didn't really talk that much at all in between takes as ourselves. Mainly it was having fun with that dynamic of this game they are both playing.
So the scene where Roy takes out his pad and say to O'Neal, "Draw me what Fred Hampton's room looks like," that's day one of shooting for you?
Yeah. [Laughs.]
I would imagine just to get to that level of drama it had to have taken a bunch of takes.
I don't know. It's a very fine line of getting swept up in the fact that "God, we're going deep into the movie on the first day, oh no, huge scene," and then just riding off of that adrenaline. It's also really thrilling to work with a great actor like LaKeith. I enjoy that part of it more than anything.
Plemons says the strangest day of shooting for him was the rally scene
What was the toughest thing about playing this character.
[Director] Shaka [King] and I talked a lot about the dynamic between Roy and O'Neal and there's some type of father-son relationship in the sense that Bill is sort of Mitchell's creation in a way. To see what he's done to his creation was tough. That stood out.
Is there a scene that stands out?
The rally.
Oh yeah. And on top of the moving speech by Kaluuya, it's the looks between you and LaKeith.
And it wasn't written that I was clapping along and chanting. But I went to Shaka, "Maybe he's not the best undercover agent, but he has to try to blend in a little bit." For me, myself, after the takes and just taking in what Daniel was doing and channeling something outside of himself, that was the strangest day for me. Just being so blown away as myself and then having to experience it as Mitchell when shooting.
Plemons hints he'll be a bad guy opposite Dwayne Johnson in the upcoming 'Jungle Cruise' Disney movie
You have played such a good bad guy over your career. Is it more fun to play a bad guy than a good guy?
Generally speaking, yes. It just is. There's a license to having more fun. There's also an opportunity to explore regions you're not able to when you're playing someone good. But I will say, I'm playing a good guy soon and I'm very happy about that.
Let me try to figure this out. Are you a good guy in the upcoming Netflix movie, "The Power of the Dog"?
Yes.
That one sounds nuts. And you got to work with your fiancée Kirsten Dunst on that one.
I know. That was a wonderful experience.
How about "Jungle Cruise," you playing a good guy in that one?
Well... [Laughs.]
That makes me very happy because that stars The Rock and Emily Blunt, so enough heroes in that one.
Me and Dwayne Johnson just being good guys together? C'mon. That's no fun.
"Judas and the Black Messiah" is available on HBO Max and open in theaters on Friday.
Read the original article on Insider
