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".
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Short filmTranscript
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)