If Australian actor Jai Courtney's face looks familiar, then it probably is. Fans have seen him play the villainous Eric in the science fiction action film "Divergent," and his face has been all over the trailers of the upcoming "Terminator: Genisys" movie, where he will be playing John Connor's most loyal soldier Kyle Reese.
He has also appeared in other roles such as Charlie in Tom Cruise's "Jack Reacher" film, Varro in the television series "Spartacus: Blood and Sand." He even starred in "A Good Day to Die Hard" as John McLane's son Jack and "I, Frankenstein" where he played Gideon, the leader of the gargoyle army.
However, come 2016, Courtney will look completely different in his new role as Captain Boomerang in the star-studded "Suicide Squad." He jumped in for a role in the movie just so he could work with director David Ayer. But when he first discovered that he will be portraying the Australian supervillain, the actor felt the need to cringe.
"To be honest, when David Ayer told me that the role of Captain Boomerang was what he was thinking, I kind of cringed. 'Cause I wasn't a comic book kid. I wasn't familiar with the DC universe and the history of that'. So I knew nothing about it. And I was, like, 'Oh, god, Captain Boomerang... Really? I really don't know how Australians will react to this,'" he told Spotlight Report.
In the end though, he decided to take on the role because he believed in Ayer's vision for Captain Boomerang. Courtney said that Ayer has the ability to embrace the comic book elements of the characters and story within a serious drama, so he definitely can find a good balance between both worlds.
"He's the perfect guy to have on your side, because you look at some of the comic books and some of the old sixties stuff is so hammy, you know, and kind of camp. But, get a guy like David Ayer at the helm of a thing like this and it really gets kind of dark and gritty, and, you know, awesome. And he's a stickler for authenticity," said Courtney.
Other stars included in "Suicide Squad" are Will Smith as Deadshot, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Jared Leto as The Joker, Cara Delevigne as Enchantress, Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flagg, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Killer Croc, Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, and Adam Beach as Slipknot, among many others.
