Like many foreign actors working in Hollywood, Jai Courtney has often spoken with an American accent while appearing in American-produced films, such as Jack Reacher, A Good Day to Die Hard, Terminator Genisys, and the Divergent film series. But because his Suicide Squad character, Captain Boomerang (a.k.a. Digger Harkness), is from Australia as well, Courtney was able to utilize his natural accent. On top of that, Courtney was encouraged by director David Ayer (Fury) to be his zany self, which we usually only get to see when the 30-year-old thespian is taking part in an interview.
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“It’s funny because it’s, yeah, I mean there’s something kind of interesting about, you know, I feel closer to this than anything else,” Courtney admitted to ComicBook.com and other press at a Suicide Squad set visit, “but from a sort of performance perspective I mean it may feel like, I mean it’s more of a character than anything I’ve had the opportunity to take on. It’s actually closer to myself than any other role I’ve ever played.”
And why does he feel that way? “Because I’m a bogan piece of sh-t,” he joked.
By the way, “bogan” is an Australian and New Zealand slang word used to describe a person of lower working-class background who speaks, dresses, and behaves in an unrefined or unsophisticated manner.
Suicide Squad producers Richard Suckle and Andy Horwitz also believe Courtney’s version of Boomerang closely resembles the actor’s genuinely outrageous personality.
“Jai Courtney, Captain Boomerang. A great actor and a great guy,” Suckle praised. “One of the fun things about this character is that I’ve not seen every film Jai has made but I’ve probably seen most of them and I don’t think he’s ever been able to play a role that allows him to really be funny and he’s incredibly funny. You can just look at him and I’m sure the way you would describe him without me telling you what he does in the movie would probably be very close to what I’m about to say. He is a wise ass. He’s a hunk to a certain extent and he’s got an incredible wise cracking sense of humor. At the same time, he is equally dangerous and has these very dangerous boomerangs, one of which he’s holding. Now there is a boomerang that is actually a drone boomerang, which plays a role in the movie. He’s just a fun character that shakes things up and also has a level of unpredictability as well.”
“It’s the first time Jai is really going to use his real accent in a movie, and we always say this, Jai is playing Jai,” Horwitz added. “His character is based on reality in his real life. He’s a whole lot of fun in real life and he’s a jokester and he’s constantly stirring things up.”
It feels good to be bad… Assemble a team of the world’s most dangerous, incarcerated Super Villains, provide them with the most powerful arsenal at the government’s disposal, and send them off on a mission to defeat an enigmatic, insuperable entity.U.S. intelligence officer Amanda Waller has determined only a secretly convened group of disparate, despicable individuals with next to nothing to lose will do.However, once they realize they weren’t picked to succeed but chosen for their patent culpability when they inevitably fail, will the Suicide Squad resolve to die trying, or decide it’s every man for himself?
Written and directed by David Ayer based on the characters from DC Comics, the film stars Will Smith (“Ali”), Jared Leto (“Dallas Buyers Club”), Margot Robbie (“The Wolf of Wall Street”), Joel Kinnaman (“RoboCop”) and Viola Davis (“The Help”). The cast also includes Jai Courtney (“Insurgent”), Jay Hernandez (“Takers”), Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (“Thor: The Dark World”), Ike Barinholtz (“Neighbors”), Scott Eastwood (“Fury”), Cara Delevingne (“Paper Towns”), Adam Beach (“Cowboys & Aliens”), and Karen Fukuhara in her feature film debut. It is produced by Charles Roven and Richard Suckle, with Zack Snyder, Deborah Snyder, Colin Wilson and Geoff Johns serving as executive producers.
Suicide Squad opens worldwide in 3D, and in 2D, and in select IMAX 3D theaters beginning August 5, 2016.
