Dwayne Johnson and the Justice Society of America raise a super-powered toast to their new DC film.
Dwayne Johnsonis in a celebratory mood.
“What a cast, huh?”
‘Black Adam’ stars Pierce Brosnan, Dwayne Johnson, Aldis Hodge, Noah Centineo, and Quintessa Swindell.Ari & Louise for EW
Johnson marveled as he clinked glasses with his costars.
“Look at this.
I’m so lucky.”
‘Black Adam’ stars Pierce Brosnan, Dwayne Johnson, Aldis Hodge, Noah Centineo, and Quintessa Swindell.Ari & Louise for EW
What was going through your head when you finally stepped on theBlack Adamset, wearing the costume?
NOAH CENTINEO:[Slurps loudly]
DWAYNE JOHNSON:Really?
CENTINEO:That’s really good.
Aldis Hodge, Quintessa Swindell, and Noah Centineo.Ari & Louise for EW
It’s 5 o’clock, right?
JOHNSON:It’s 5 o’clock somewhere.
I’ll drink to that.
Dwayne Johnson.Ari & Louise for EW
[Aldis] says it best when he says, “We didn’t put on costumes.
We put on dreams.”
And it was truly a dream come true.
Pierce Brosnan.Ari & Louise for EW
When I stepped on set, it hit me like a ton of bricks.
I was thinking, Wow, there’s no reference to Black Adam before this.
I’m the first one to bring life to this character.
Pierce Brosnan, Dwayne Johnson, Aldis Hodge, Noah Centineo, and Quintessa Swindell.Ari & Louise for EW
There are no other actors before me.
It was a real moment of gratitude for me, and to be with these guys.
For the members of the JSA, what was that moment like for you?
What was it like putting on those costumes?
ALDIS HODGE:It is a surreal moment.
The fact that we get to don these superhero costumes is rare air.
As an entertainer and as an actor, that alone is awesome.
But it’s also about what it means to other kids who look like you.
This is why I say, you’re putting on dreams.
I spent many years trying to join this kind of world.
You’re not accepted, and you’re not valued.
And you finally get to a place where you realize all those nos were actually yeses.
It takes time to mature and graduate.
Your opportunity takes time to align with the right people, with the right mind.
And [Dwayne] was the right brother to do it.
There are no mistakes.
For him, there were 10 years of trying to push this thing out.
That was 10 years of constant, consistent work.
Had I got any yes prior to this, this wouldn’t have been for me.
There’s a bigger purpose here, and I can’t wait ‘til we realize that Oct. 21.
JOHNSON:I’ll drink to that.
Pierce, I have to ask about the helmet.
Did you spend a lot of time in the Dr.
Fate helmet, or was that mostly CGI?
BROSNAN:It was mostly CGI, yeah.
There were two helmets.
There was this exquisite helmet, which he carries all the time and that’s by his side.
The aesthetics of that were so beautiful.
Jaume asked for my input into what the helmet should look like.
I said it should look sleek and elegant.
It just didn’t make sense.
It was just totally inarticulate.
So there was that helmet, and then there was one that I actually physically put on my head.
But as soon as you put it on your head, you could’t see a darn thing.
It’s just darkness.
[Laughs] And then there was my mo-cap suit.
HODGE:Sexy Pierce!
QUINTESSA SWINDELL:Skintight!
BROSNAN:I’ll drink to that one.
I have skinny ankles.
[Laughs] But the first day of working was really powerful.
I was so honored to get this job.
I couldn’t believe it when it came down the pike.
It was the last thing I expected at this time in my life.
[Turns to Johnson] Thank you so much for putting your trust and faith in me.
JOHNSON:There’s no one better to play Dr.
Fate, truly on this planet or in our industry.
BROSNAN:Cheers, mate.
That first day of seeing you on the set was just epic.
We became a family.
We became a good unit because of you and your dreams.
Quintessa, this is thebig-screen debut of Cyclone.
I love the way this character moves and uses her powers.
Tell us a little bit about figuring out the physicality of playing Cyclone.
SWINDELL:For me, for any character, the physicality is the most important thing.
But I wanted to feel like I’m here, and I have something to contribute.
And that’s exactly what Cyclone is about.
Noah, this is also the debut of Atom Smasher, who is new to the hero game.
What excited you most about playing this character?
CENTINEO:The way in is super cool, right?
There’s a bit of shame in that.
So, there’s a lot going on when you’re building the psychological profile of this young metahuman.
He really learns what it means to be a superhero over the course of this film.
HODGE:I’m going to drink to him working the word “precarious” into his answer.
CENTINEO:I learned to read the other day, bro.
HODGE:I’m so proud of you.
CENTINEO:I read!
BROSNAN:It’s so funny.
He was like, “You’re working with Noah!”
JOHNSON:The screams in Mexico for Noah!
HODGE:“Noah, I love you!
JOHNSON:I started screaming, too.
We all started screaming.
ROUND 2: ADAM’S MARGARITA
There are some pretty delightful action set pieces in this film.
SWINDELL:C’mon, Al.
You loved being up in the air.
The first time up, I’m 50 feet off the ground.
I’m hanging up there.
I’m rethinking every choice in my life.
I’m having some real conversations with God at this point.
But I see the entire stunt team on the ground, and they live this life.
So you might’t say, “Hey guys, slow down, wait a minute.”
But I was able to challenge every single fear that I had.
I was like, of all the superheroes, I’ve got to be the one that flies?
Lord knows, me and heights, we’re not friends like that.
There are lessons I take from this that I will keep for the rest of my life.
Even for the preparation, I hit [Dwayne] up.
JOHNSON:I texted him back: “Stop f—ing texting me.”
HODGE:That’s what he said.
He said, “Get off my line.”
[Laughs]
CENTINEO:Al, you were there [training] a long time.
JOHNSON:He got there in ‘96.
CENTINEO:The year I was born!
HODGE:You were not about to catch me slipping!
I had finished my last job, so I got there two months early.
I remember when Noah got there, we were in the gym.
We were fighting, and we’d see Q over there twirling.
Everybody was going to work.
But this whole team, they really took it to another level.
The first person I met before we started shooting was Aldis.
He came in to say hello when I was meeting with our director, Jaume Collet-Serra.
He walked through the door, and you saw Hawkman walk through that door.
He was a superhero!
He had a skinny tank top.
He was pumped up.
I was like, “Wow, man!
Look at you!”
HODGE:I had the extra “smedium” tank top on.
I did 15 pushups that day.
You were gonna see that work!
Did anyone else get to do any crazy harness work?
JOHNSON:Black Adam flies as well.
So, there’s this unique tilt that sometimes happens that really bugged him.
I said, of course I would.
So, I never got on any wires.
I was on this really cool advanced machine that allowed me to lay flat.
BROSNAN:What was that machine you were on?
JOHNSON:We were on this machine that was created for our movie.
Which is a cool G move.
He looks down at people.
When you look out all the windows, you cannot see the stage.
You cannot see anything except for sky and Kahndaq in the distance.
It’s not like they CGI’d it.
WithBlack Adam,our set pieces were huge.
They were bigger than the Rock.
HODGE:Q, you were in that machine that allowed you to spin and turn, right?
SWINDELL:Yeah, mine was like a lollipop rig.
There was someone turning a wheel on one side, and the rig just floated.
So when I was jumping out of the Hawk Cruiser, we really were going in every direction possible.
It felt kind of like a simulator, in a way.
HODGE:Not me.
I was just living in the air, living in the sky.
CENTINEO:They gave you a [back-scratcher] thing so you could itch.
HODGE:Let’s talk about that.
So, first of all, the costumes are brilliant.
They’re wonderfully designed.
But…
JOHNSON:Here it comes.
“Excuse me, I need to handle some personal business.”
CENTINEO:If you were about to pop, andthenyou say something… it’s too late.
HODGE:Shoutout to my costumer.
Help a brother out.”
The Atom Smasher smashes everything, including drinks.
CENTINEO:You name it, I’ll smash it.
Dwayne, you’ve built your career on this kind of big blockbuster movie.
What felt different about makingBlack Adam?
JOHNSON:Well, when I madeBaywatch… [Laughs]
CENTINEO:That was good!
BROSNAN:You and the Hoff!
JOHNSON:Devan set me up so nicely, asking about big blockbusters.
No, but it was the opportunity that we had [withBlack Adam].
They’ve never been played before, except now.
So it was the opportunity that made this feel different, but it’s also in a beloved genre.
It’s also part of the DC pantheon, which has been beloved through the decades.
So around every corner, everything was different.
What about you, Pierce?
You’re no stranger to big roles and big franchises.
What felt different aboutBlack Adam?
BROSNAN:It was the intoxication, I think.
This was so epic, so big, but it was so beautiful.
It just felt so comfortable making the movie.
There was no real anxiety.
The first day of work was Aldis coming in as Hawkman with two guys under his arm.
Dwayne was there looking monolithic.
Jaume was just taking care of us all.
You felt you were in safe hands.
I remember Jaume said to me, “Where are you going to be in this scene?”
It’s the scene where Hawkman comes in with the two guys.
I said, “I’m just going to sit in this chair over here.”
So I sat in the chair, and I watched everyone work.
HODGE:Meanwhile, they’re sling-shotting me back and forth 25 times.
JOHNSON:May I say something, Pierce?
BROSNAN:You may say anything you wish at this point in the proceedings.
It’s okay, brother.
But it truly starts with him.
So, I really want to give it up for Jaume.
He really created that environment.
What was day on set or the scene you all shot together that sticks in your mind the most?
CENTINEO:I personally loved when it was everyone together in the Hawk Cruiser for the first time.
We had about a week of that.
We were seeing everybody show up, and the ensemble, this orchestra, started to play.
Jaume was empowering every single one of us to take control of our character.
He also somehow managed to put us all together so we could harmonize properly.
That was, for me, my favorite moment that sticks with me and will forever stick with me.
Everybody was together, and that’s when you know.
The magic is already there, but that’s when it became real for me.
Our stages were like 20,000 square feet or something.
They built an entire city, and you’re really immersed in it.
But then you see everybody else, and you’re like, “This is awesome!
This is real!”
Sometimes you have to see it to believe it.
We already had grand belief, but when you see it, it just reinforces it.
You know that regardless of what happens beyond this point, you are making magic.
This interview has been edied for length and clarity.
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