{"id":67922,"date":"2014-01-14T07:03:26","date_gmt":"2014-01-14T07:03:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/0de2709a84.nxcli.net\/0-kjasnb\/2014\/01\/14\/exclusive-nonso-anozie-talks-jack-ryan-shadow-recruit\/"},"modified":"2018-12-18T08:37:10","modified_gmt":"2018-12-18T08:37:10","slug":"exclusive-nonso-anozie-talks-jack-ryan-shadow-recruit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/exclusive-nonso-anozie-talks-jack-ryan-shadow-recruit\/","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive: Nonso Anozie talks Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Exclusive: Nonso Anozie talks Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit<\/strong>By Wilson Morales<\/p>\n

January 14, 2014<\/p>\n

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Coming out this week is the latest installment in the Jack Ryan franchise, a reboot called \u2018Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit<\/strong>,\u2019 which is directed by Kenneth Branagh<\/strong> and starring Chris Pine, Kevin Costner, Peter Andersson, David Paymer, Colm Feore, Nonso Anozie<\/strong> and Branagh as well.<\/p>\n

Based on the Jack Ryan character created by bestselling author Tom Clancy<\/strong>, the film is a contemporary action thriller set in the present day. The original story, written by David Koepp<\/strong>, follows a young Jack as he uncovers a financial terrorist plot.<\/p>\n

For Anozie, who plays a covert operative assigned to assist Ryan in Moscow, the role is another big part for the British actor, who is known for his role as Xaro Xhoan Daxos in the HBO series Game of Thrones<\/strong>. Since appearing on HBO\u2019s hottest TV show, he\u2019s played the role of Samson in the History Channel’s television miniseries The Bible<\/strong>, worked with Harrison Ford<\/strong> and Viola Davis<\/strong> in 2013\u2019s Ender’s Game<\/strong>, and most recently starred with Jonathan Rhys-Meyers<\/strong> in NBC\u2019s Dracula<\/strong> series.<\/p>\n

Blackfilm.com recently spoke with Anozie as he talked about his role in Shadow Recruit, his career thus far, and working with Branagh again in his upcoming film, Cinderella.<\/p>\n

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How much fun did you have working on the set?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nonso Anozie:<\/strong> It was good. It was my second time working with Kenneth Branagh. The first time I worked with him was at the National Theater in 2003, which was over 10 years ago. He had said then that he wanted to work for me again, saying, \u201c’Whenever I’m doing something, you\u2019re going to be in it.\u201d Ten years went by and I was like, \u201cYeah, Right\u201d He literally called me for this part and it was nice to work with him again. It was nice working with Chris Pine and we had a good time doing the scene that you will in the film. It\u2019s actually a good movie. The film harkens back to \u2018Patriot Games\u2019 and \u2018Clear and Present Danger.\u2019 It\u2019s those good old fashioned action movies with the unsuspecting hero taking on the ordinary guy in extraordinary situations. I think Chris Pine does a great job in the movie.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>What role do you play in the film?<\/strong><\/p>\n

NA:<\/strong> I play the role of Embee Deng, who\u2019s basically there to meet and make sure Jack Ryan has a safe and good time while doing his job in Moscow. Embee may not be what he seems to be on the outside.<\/p>\n

Had you been a fan of the previous films or read any of the Clancy books?<\/strong><\/p>\n

NA:<\/strong> Yes. I had seen the previous movies with Harrison Ford. I\u2019m a very big fan of that kind of movie. I\u2019m also a fan of the Tom Clancy novels and films such as The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, and Clear and Present Danger. Just watching them growing up and being in this type of film was a real thrill for me. It\u2019s like a teenage fantasy coming true. You get to shoot guns and break glass over people\u2019s heads. It\u2019s fun and the action takes you back to being a kid. This is the type you did when you were playing Cowboys and Indians. It was preparing you for this.<\/p>\n

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You just finished doing a season on NBC\u2019s Dracula. What was your role on the show?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>NA: <\/strong>I played R.M. Reinfeld, who is Dracula aka Alexander Grayson\u2019s lawyer set in 1896 in Victorian London. I play an American lawyer who works on the alter ego of Dracula. Reinfeld knows Grayson\u2019s secret that he is Dracula, a vampire. He\u2019s very loyal and accomplished and the right-hand man of Dracula. He goes about in the daytime and does the stuff that Alexander can\u2019t do and deals with all legal matters. He\u2019s a very interesting character to play. As soon as I saw the script and this intelligent, cool, quick witted character, I knew I wanted to the play the role. When I told them I was interested, they told me that they didn\u2019t need to see me again because the part was mine. We filmed in Budapest and it was great working with Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, and Katie McGrath. It was a dream. All of us cliqued as a family. We worked on scenes together and we had fun. It was really great.<\/p>\n

Between Game of Thrones, Ender’s Game, <\/strong>Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit and Dracula, what\u2019s it like working on these projects that already come with a fanbase?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>NA: <\/strong>It\u2019s quite interesting. A lot of people have mentioned that to me and how I\u2019m doing these genre projects, and it\u2019s really not by choice. I go with what I like. If I like the script, I go for it. If I have a good feeling about the character, I will go for it. I don\u2019t do everything that comes my way but I do get excited about things that are slightly out of the ordinary. It\u2019s just a blessing to see the way things are going right now. After \u2018The Grey\u2019 came out, things started happening one after another. I have other things in the pipeline.<\/p>\n

Was your role on Game of Thrones a turning point in your career?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>NA:<\/strong> Absolutely! At the beginning of 2012, only the first season of Game of Thrones had been shown on TV. I filmed six episodes of the second season and it hadn\u2019t aired at that time. There was hype about it and it was successful after the first season, but by the end of season 3, we\u2019ve seen that the series is now the most successful TV show that HBO has had. In three seasons, it\u2019s the most downloaded show in history. When you think about that, with it being a cable TV show, to get those kind of numbers, it\u2019s ridiculous. When you\u2019re featured heavily in a series like that, I was given a guest leading character for the season. It\u2019s different from getting a good part in a film. People will see a film once, but when you\u2019re in peoples\u2019 homes every week, it makes a big difference. When you\u2019re one of the few black people on the show makes it more visible as well.<\/p>\n

What are you currently working on now?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/strong>NA:<\/strong> I\u2019m shooting \u2018Cinderella\u2019 with Mr. Branagh again. This is a movie that will be a classic. They are pulling out all of the stops for this. Cate Blanchett and Helena Bonham Carter are fantastic in different ways. I\u2019m working closely with Cate Blanchett in the film and we have a couple of scenes where we butt heads because I play the captain of the guards who is the head of the Army in the fantasy. I\u2019m the best friend of the prince. I play his advisor. I\u2019m the guy he comes to talk about girls and eventually about Cinderella. I\u2019m the guy that wants him to find his true love and everyone else is an obstacle to that. It\u2019s really been a great experience and to have a part like that is a godsend. It will be a while before it comes out, but when it does, it will live in the minds of people of children and adults for years to come.<\/p>\n

Branagh is pretty amazing when he does any work of Shakespeare, and if you had to work with him on any of those projects on stage or film, which would you choose?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/strong>NA:<\/strong> I played Othello on stage and would love that role or Macbeth, one of those two. Laurence Fishburne did Othello on film, but would love to Macbeth and he would be perfect to direct it, and he just did the play himself. It\u2019s the shortest tragedy of all of Shakespeare\u2019s tragedies, but the most explosive. More happens in a short time. The other plays are done to nearly three hours, whereas Macbeth is manageable at two hours without any editing. I would love to play that.<\/p>\n

Do you have any other film coming up?<\/strong><\/p>\n

NA:<\/strong> Yes. I\u2019ve another film called \u2018Get Santa<\/strong>,\u2019 directed by Chris Smith and starring Jim Broadbent. It\u2019s a Christmas comedy, which is the first time I\u2019ve done one. I\u2019m excited about that.<\/p>\n

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