On the occasion of the release of The Beekeeper, Hunger Games star Josh Hutcherson spoke about his role as the villain, personal cheating experiences, Five Nights and Freddy’s 2 and, of course, the new Tribute to Panem film.
This Thursday, January 11, 2023, David Ayer’s new action film The Beekeeper opens in cinemas. In it, Jason Statham takes on a one-man campaign as a defensive beekeeper against scammers who rob people of their savings over the phone. Tribute to Panem star Josh Hutcherson plays opposite him as the evil mastermind behind this criminal phishing ring.
We caught up with Josh Hutcherson for an interview to ask him about his unusual role as Beekeeper villain Derek Danforth. The star also spoke about similar con experiences in his own family, teased Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 and, of course, talked about his Hunger Games fame and the new Panem movie that reignited the Peeta love affair.
The Beekeeper and his villain: Josh Hutcherson on his renaissance after The Hunger Games
(The Beekeeper: Josh Hutcherson as Derek Danforth)
Moviepilot: Is Derek Danforth The Beekeeper the first real villain you’ve played in your career?
Josh Hutcherson: Basically, yes. I had a villain-type role in Midnight Circus when I was 14. But this was a whole other level. Derek is out of control and a great villain. It was different and liberating to play him.
Originally Derek was supposed to be a dapper man in a suit. Then you came on board and they changed the role. How did that come about?
Well, I’m not that elegant. [At first Derek was a dapper criminal in a suit three-piece. But with my casting, director David Ayers changed him to someone who had no style but all the money in the world. It was a funny shift and I couldn’t remember seeing that kind of villain anywhere else before. So I was able to build up this ‘Crypto-Bro’ as a privileged asshole with drug problems. Creating him was really fun.
How do you prepare for a role like this?
When you embody a character like that, you have to find a way to morally justify it to him. I don’t think people like that say to themselves, ‘I’m doing this because I’m a bad person’. I wanted to know: What is his family background? What are his dreams? What is behind the privilege and his inexhaustible funds? With this basis, I was then able to throw myself into the madness.
As an actor, you sometimes get lost in your own head and reproach yourself: ‘This is ridiculous? Is this real? Is this based on any truth?’ For me, the hardest thing was to turn off the judgment. I had to put complete faith in David Ayer’s vision and tone of his movie to just let it rip.
Despite the humor in The Beekeeper, the film also has a serious theme at its heart: phishing and data mining, i.e. ripping people off online or over the phone. Is it true that you’ve come into contact with this yourself?
Yes, my great-grandmother was ripped off a few years ago. It was pretty brutal. Someone called and pretended to be my little brother and needed money to get out of prison. And Grandma immediately helped: She bought gift cards and gave the person on the other end of the line their numbers.
At some point, she called my brother and said: ‘I can’t take it anymore! You have to tell your family’. My brother immediately asked: ‘What? I have no idea what you’re talking about. And she said: ‘Well, that you were in prison! That’s when it came out. – It’s so horrible to prey on someone like that.
I think my character Derek came up with this whole scam as a secret side project to make money because he only sees people as numbers. He doesn’t think about the human aspect behind it.
I was surprised that the scammers in The Beekeeper have their own call center with The Wolf of Wall Street vibe. Do you think that’s how it really works?
I left it to the screenwriter [Kurt Wimmer] to imagine that world. I think it could be true. Maybe it was taken to the extreme in our movie. But that’s David Ayer’s style as a director: to take something and exaggerate it. I hope it’s not real! But I’m afraid a version of it probably does exist.
Do you have a favorite David Ayer film?
He’s really done a lot. I love Heart of Steel. He’s a fantastic director. He takes a grounded story and finds a way to elevate it. Entertaining and engaging. His military background, his approach to the action and fighting, make it grounded and gritty and real. But he also approaches his characters with great sensitivity. He would often grab the camera on set and get into the action himself, almost becoming part of the scene. I’ve never seen a director do that before.
The Beekeeper: Phone partner Jason Statham
(The Beekeeper: Phone Partner Jason Statham)
Was it strange to get so much attention and Peeta-love again for something that was ten years ago for you?
I wasn’t there this time and I didn’t do anything! [laughs] It was just a little bonus in the form of a second wave of love. That’s great. For me, the launch of the new Hunger Games movie was a bit weird because I saw all the big posters and it had been such a big part of my life for five years. All the press tours and the publicity! I’m happy that the world lives on in a new form for the audience. I am eternally grateful for the series.
I haven’t found a free moment to see the new movie yet, but have heard it’s great and am looking forward to traveling back in time.
(The Hunger Games: Josh Hutcherson as Peeta)
You were last seen in the horror video game adaptation Five Nights at Freddy’s, for which a second part has now been announced. Do you already know whether you’ll be back?
Yeah, yes. They haven’t made it official yet. But that’s actually the plan. I’m really looking forward to jumping back into that universe. It’s dark and intense, but I had a lot of fun shooting it. It looks like we’ll be shooting the Freddy’s sequel later this year, which would be a big thing.
What do you want to do as an actor in the future? A new franchise? Or are there people you’d like to work with?
I’m currently very interested in finding young and upcoming directors to work with. There are so many great independent movies coming out right now from filmmakers with unique voices. – But in general, I always feel at home when I’m on a set. In The Beekeeper, I got the chance to play something completely different. That kind of thing always attracts me. Maybe I’ll play more villainous characters in the future. That would be great fun.
Then just one final question: did you learn anything new about bees in The Beekeeper?
Laughs] I didn’t. Nevertheless, it has reawakened in me an awareness that you shouldn’t kill a bee when you see it. We need the bees and we need to protect them. So that they multiply and keep everything going.
