Bad Genius is an edge-of-your-seat new thriller that follows Lynn, a brilliant scholarship student, who devises an ingenious cheating scheme to help her friends ace their exams. However, things soon spiral out of control and you won't be able to tear your eyes away from the screen.
The movie stars Callina Liang (Presence), Benedict Wong (Avengers: Endgame), Jabari Banks (Bel-Air), and Taylor Hickson (Motherland: Fort Salem), and is written by Julius Onah (Captain America: Brave New World) and J.C. Lee (The Morning Show). The latter also directs.
We recently got to sit down with Callina and Jabari to learn more about their roles as Lynn and Bank, the dynamic between their characters, what it was like working with Benedict Wong, and why they were so excited to be part of such a unique thriller.
The duo also reveal whether they'd like to take on roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, particularly at this pivotal point in their respective careers. Bad Genius puts them on the map as two of Hollywood's brightest rising stars, and Marvel is, unsurprisingly, on each of their wishlists.
You can check out the full interview below (and stick around right to the end to learn which superpowers Callina and Jabari want to have).
There are so many layers to the relationship between Lynn and Bank, so what did you both enjoy about exploring their dynamic?
Callina: The moment I loved the most for Lynn and Bank was the hotel room scene where we’re dancing and stuff. I don’t think they kept it in the final cut which is a shame. Me and Jabari had a great relationship outside of filming so everything was really fun and came really naturally for us. It’s gonna have to be that game time at the SATs. That’s probably my favourite moment.
Jabari: Those were great. Those moments running around the city too were really fun. There was one time where I got to home early, but Callina, it was raining. It was the one day it rained, remember that? It was pouring rain and you had to do that running scene.
Callina: No!
Jabari: You don’t remember that? It was pouring rain and you had to do the chase scene. I was like, ‘Oh no, poor Callina’ and they said, ‘Oh, she’s a trooper.’ You don’t remember that?
Callina: Why am I forgetting that? [Laughs]
Jabari: Maybe I made it up, I don’t know. [Laughs]
Callina: I was running a lot in this movie and I crashed after filming ended because we did everything so fast. I feel like it all just…plus, I have a really bad memory so that definitely did happen.
Jabari: That was a fun moment for us.
Callina, you can Benedict have some great scenes together, like the face mask scene but there are serious elements too. How was it exploring that dynamic?
Callina: Oh my God, it came really naturally for us. Ever since I met him for the first time in real life, he is just the warmest person. He has the most welcoming energy and is the most down-to-earth guy ever. We bonded a lot on set and outside of set and I feel like he’s now become an actual father figure in my life. We still keep in touch all the time and are really close now. I’m very grateful for that. That scene was so funny, man, you just brought back a memory of him with the face mask. A lot of it was actually improvised. You know, him coming to me saying, ‘I’m a jellyfish,’ he just came up with that. I was laughing so hard. Those reactions of me on camera with him were all genuine. He’d just show up doing the most random stuff and I’d go with it because it was the best. I’m glad he felt comfortable enough to do that and I felt comfortable enough to react spontaneously on the spot because it was that father/daughter relationship which was very real. It was very sweet.
Jabari, your character, Bank, comes from very humble beginnings and we learn a lot more about him and the lengths he’ll go to to achieve his dreams as the film continues. That character arc - how exciting was that as an actor?
Jabari: It was really fun to play this mysterious character in the beginning. We see him around school and don’t know what he’s about yet. That was really fun to watch it all unfold and then have him come into himself as this mastermind in a way. When it comes to faking passports and stuff like that, I was like, ‘Who is this guy?’ That was really fun for me to play. Just seeing a human blossom and open up. Bank is like a blooming onion.
Callina: [Laughs]
Jabari: I just came up with that now. I’m hungry.
The cheating element of this film goes from a couple of friends helping each other out to the movie becoming an edge-of-your-seat thriller. For both of you, what was it like to step into a thriller but not necessarily in a traditional way with action scenes and the like?
Jabari: This was definitely an interesting way to dive into that thriller genre. It’s an interesting angle and it was fun. We definitely achieved the goal in which to tell this story in an authentic way and to really live in those moments of, ‘Am I going to make it out of this or not? Are we going to jai? Am I going to drop this phone in the toilet? Am I going to ace this test? Am I going to get $100,000?’ There are so many questions up in the air and in the next five minutes of the movie, there’s so much happening and so many stakes. I’m glad the movie was a slow build into that. My personal favourite movies are just like that as well.
Callina: Yeah, I was gonna say, I’m really glad they made a movie like this, especially as the Thai version, the original version, no one talks about how intense high school exams be! I feel like, I don’t know, all these movies…nothing really touches on actually how intense it is. This movie really does that because I remember when I was in high school, and this is such a vivid memory, before a math exam, I actually went to throw up. I was so nervous. It’s so intense going in, getting body checked, showing everything in your pockets. It feels like an actual mission. These exams feel like actual missions.
Jabari: That’s a great point. Sorry to cut you off, but why are the SATs so intense? You can only have a calculator, pencil, and eraser. That’s all you can walk in with. And your ID. Where are we going? You’d think it was for the Army or something.
Callina: Yeah! It’s like, ‘You have 20 minutes to do this and 15 minutes to do all the workings out, no calculator.’ The education system is really expecting kids to be geniuses so I’m really glad this was my first type of thriller movie. It’s a subject I care so passionately about and it was really fun and not talked about enough.
Jabari: And then they shove 100 high school kids at the same time and say, ‘You have 10 minutes!’
Callina: For real!
Jabari: It’s like, ‘Oh my God, this is so much pressure!’ That’s a great point. We need to talk about that more. More movies like this, please. That’s such a high school experience for so many people. When I took the SAT, it was awful. I remember that day, It was cold. It was not an inviting setting. It’s interesting.
You’ve both been part of some great projects before this one, but this one is sure to put you both on the map. Looking forward, do those Marvel or DC roles appeal to you as actors?
Jabari: Yeah, that’s definitely piqued my interest in a real, real visceral everyday way. I kind of get upset every time I watch a superhero movie because I know if they put me on those strings, I could do that. I definitely am waiting my turn patiently. Working with someone like Benedict too, he’s awesome and so grounded and so real still and he’s made so many Marvel movies that shaped my life and millions of people’s lives around the world. He’s a legend but the coolest, chillest guy ever. I was shaking meeting him. He’s awesome. To be part of a Marvel movie and still be like that, I think I’d won at life.
Callina: That would be the dream. Honestly, I don’t know. I’ve always wanted to play some John Wick character. I trained in martial arts growing up so it would be my dream. I’m also patiently waiting my turn.
Bad Genius is a gripping thriller that follows Lynn, a brilliant scholarship student, who devises an ingenious cheating scheme to help her friends ace their exams. As their underground cheating operation expands, Lynn finds herself at the center of a high-stakes game that tests her morals and pits her against the American education system.
Bad Genius releases day-and-date in theaters and on Digital on October 11.