IR Interview: Josh Andrés Rivera For ”The Hunger Games - The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” [Lionsgate] - video Dailymotion

The Inside Reel

Actor Josh Andrés Rivera talks to The Inside Reel about truth vs. loyalty, perspective and finding emotionality in physicality in regards to the new prequel from Lionsgate: "The Hunger Games - The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes".

Transcript

00:00 (screaming)

00:02 - How wonderful that we all get to be here

00:17 for someone's final performance.

00:19 - It's not just about winning.

00:21 - Everything is about winning.

00:23 - You're monsters!

00:25 All of you!

00:26 (laughing)

00:28 (dramatic music)

00:31 - It's the things we love most that destroy us.

00:45 (dramatic music)

00:49 - With a character like you're playing here,

00:56 I mean, it's about trust and loyalty,

00:58 but how far can that be pulled?

01:00 Can you sort of talk about those two ideas

01:03 within him, in his psyche, from your perspective?

01:06 - Absolutely, I can, 'cause what I found so

01:09 yummy to play with and also very complicated

01:12 as like a thought process that I had to go to

01:15 was his earnestness and his conviction

01:18 and how that sort of contrasted

01:20 everybody else's belief system.

01:22 And I think initially the really simple thing

01:24 is to say like, well, he's doing the right thing,

01:27 of course he's doing the right thing.

01:28 But then he keeps getting himself into trouble

01:30 and it's kind of like, with such a headstrongness

01:34 and without regard to tact, especially because

01:37 he's coming from a place of privilege and wealth,

01:40 you know, he may not have had to deal with

01:44 maybe as many consequences as some of his peers,

01:47 which gives him the luxury to, you know,

01:49 really spearhead into this goodness

01:51 without regard to consequence or

01:55 what other people, you know, could do to him.

01:58 Which ultimately ends up kind of

02:00 catching up to him in a very, very sad way.

02:03 I don't know, it's kind of beautiful because,

02:07 you know, in the world you'd love to

02:11 do completely the right thing all the time,

02:13 but then it can get really messy

02:17 in different environments that you are,

02:20 depending on who you're around.

02:22 I don't know, it was an interesting thing

02:25 to think about with him.

02:26 'Cause imagining myself in situations like that,

02:29 you know, I always try to do the right thing,

02:30 I always try to be nice and I wonder,

02:33 like, how far does that go while still being a good move?

02:38 Like, when do you start having to

02:41 kind of maneuver around your surroundings?

02:44 Do you know what I mean?

02:49 - How tantalizing to see all your shining young faces

02:54 on this auspicious day.

02:57 I am Dr. Volumnia Gall, your humble head game maker

03:01 in charge of the War Department

03:04 and all its affiliated concerns.

03:08 I've broken free of my laboratory today

03:11 to examine you, the leaders of the next generation.

03:16 - 'Cause it has to do with perspective and perception.

03:20 I mean, he knows and there's a whole legacy

03:22 about how he wants to be perceived,

03:24 but he has to keep himself grounded

03:26 in order to move forward,

03:27 or else it doesn't mean anything for him.

03:29 At least that's my perspective.

03:31 - I don't think that Sejanus personally

03:32 cared a great deal about his legacy.

03:35 I think if he did, he would have acted a lot different.

03:37 I think Coriolanus as his counterpart for certain

03:40 cared a great deal about his legacy.

03:43 It was his big claim to fame, really,

03:45 because of who his father was.

03:48 But I think Sejanus has a lot of resentment

03:50 for his wealth and his circumstance,

03:52 because I know in the book it says this,

03:55 I can't remember if it's a line,

03:56 but he would give it all away

03:58 if it meant he could go back to District Two

04:00 and be with his original family and community.

04:04 And I think him and his mom both share in that,

04:07 which is why they're so close.

04:09 So it's interesting.

04:12 He almost has an intentional disregard of his legacy

04:18 I think out of spite a little bit.

04:20 - And now to that end, I am honored to introduce to you

04:24 the creator of the Hunger Games themselves,

04:27 Dean Kaska Highbottom.

04:31 - Select students, faculty,

04:38 and of course, Dr. Gall,

04:44 I have summoned you all here today

04:47 for the 10th Annual Reaping Ceremony,

04:50 in which we choose two children from each district

04:53 to throw into the capital arena

04:55 to fight to the death in the Hunger Games.

04:57 - But it's also the one thing I think

04:59 that you did absolutely great in this,

05:01 as far as informing his physicality with an emotionality.

05:05 There's something so sort of vivid about that.

05:08 I mean, Rachel does it very much too.

05:10 Could you talk about finding that emotionality

05:13 in his physicality, because he feels everything.

05:16 - I'm really, really happy to hear you say that,

05:18 'cause that's something I,

05:19 I just remember reading the book and being like,

05:21 this guy, he's so sincere and just open.

05:24 And I thought that was really important

05:26 to kind of wear on my body as just, you know,

05:31 somebody who is, I don't know another word besides

05:35 just raw, like,

05:37 I just tried to keep that in mind, I guess.

05:41 And just when I was in character,

05:43 tried to be ultra receptive to what was going on around me,

05:48 like in terms of what my peers were saying

05:51 and letting that inform what my subtext would end up being

05:55 when I was talking to them later on.

05:57 Yeah, but I did try really hard

06:01 to kind of wear my heart on my sleeve through that character

06:04 'cause it did seem like something that he,

06:07 he just is part of him.

06:11 - There's a natural goodness built into us all.

06:13 We can step across that line into evil, or not.

06:20 - You hear that, boy?

06:27 It's the sound of snow falling.

06:33 (dramatic music)

06:35 (crowd cheering)

06:39 (dramatic music)

06:42 (upbeat music)

IR Interview: Josh Andrés Rivera For ”The Hunger Games - The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” [Lionsgate]

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