With Clash of the Thundermans now streaming on Paramount+, we recently sat down with Jack Griffo, who plays Max Thunderman, and learn more about the action-packed family adventure that sees the Thundermans engage in a family Civil War!
We discuss how he and co-lead Kira Kosarin were able to shape their respective character arcs and how his past ambition to become a villain may have informed his decision to send his sister away. He also talks about the challenges of nailing the comedic elements and shares details about filming on the iconic Kent farm from Smallville.
Then, we get into his new role as Tim Drake in Batman: Knightfall Part 1: Knightfall and how that darker role may have helped reshape his perspective when returning to his Thundermans family.
The main cast features Kira Kosarin (Phoebe), Jack Griffo (Max), Maya Le Clark (Chloe), Diego Velazquez (Billy), Addison Riecke (Nora), Chris Tallman (Hank), Rosa Blasi (Barb), Dana Snyder (Dr. Colosso), Daniele Gaither, (President Kickbutt), Robyn Bradley (Mee-Maw), and Ariel Winter (Cognita).
Paramount+ is home to the complete Thundermans franchise, featuring all four seasons of the beloved original series, the hit reunion movie The Thundermans Return, and the newest chapter, The Thundermans: Undercover.
Clash of the Thundermans is now streaming on Paramount+!
Watch our full interview below and/or keep scrolling to read the full transcription. Plus, remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more exclusive content!
ROHAN: You've been playing this role for well over a decade now, and you're also an executive producer on this film. How did that shape the direction you took Max in this movie?
JACK: Yeah, it's really cool being able to be an EP with Kira. It's a different situation than what was happening when we were kids. When we were kids, it was just like we were kind of bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, and happy to be there. Obviously, we're still very grateful and happy to be there, but it's just a different animal getting to be involved in it behind the scenes, working with the other EPs, Jed, our creator, and the showrunners.
I'd say how it influenced the direction I took Max—I think as we grow in life, we've been able to grow alongside our characters. The things that we're learning in life are naturally going to be in the performance of the new show and the new movie.
Creatively, Jed, Mark, and Sean have all had a really strong vision for what this new era of The Thundermans is, where it's going, and what it could be. So, creatively, I really follow their lead.
ROHAN: The movie alludes to Max's past and how he wanted to be a villain. How would you say his past experiences informed his decision to send his sister away?
JACK: Yeah, without getting into spoilers, there's that scene where we're talking to the parents, and the parents kind of give away that piece of information that changes a lot of things for Max and Phoebe. They feel very violated in a way—how could they do this to us?
Me being a villain definitely has a part in wanting to send Chloe away to this great opportunity to help figure out her new power. Without getting into spoilers, I'll just say Max didn't have that opportunity to go to such a prestigious school and have that opportunity. I'm the younger sibling in my family, so I've never had younger siblings—I've always been the younger sibling. But from my experience, my siblings always wanted me to learn from their life, their mistakes, and their victories. Being the older sibling in the Thundermans family, Max feels really protective over Chloe, his youngest sister.
ROHAN: It's a superhero movie, but it's also a family comedy. As an actor, do you find it more challenging to nail the comedy or the larger scale superhero moments?
JACK: Whenever Kira and I have a big fight to do, we put a lot of time and effort into that because, in general, the original show was more of a family show than a superhero show. Striking that duality of it being a family show, but also this cool action superhero show, is what made it resonate with a lot of people. It wasn't just one; it was both.
By and large, it's more of a family show. So when we do have the fights to do, we really put a lot of time and effort into it. We want to make it look good and do the best that I can. I have more trust in myself with the dialogue and the comedy than I do with stunts and stuff. Right off the bat, Kira and I like to attack that action sequence really hard to get the choreography in our bodies and in our bones right away, and then work on the dialogue, because there's just more trust there with the acting.
ROHAN: You and Kira do share this incredible fight sequence on the Kent Farm from Smallville. What was it like shooting on that location, especially considering its iconic status in superhero history?
JACK: Yeah, it was really neat, man. We were there for two or three days, I'm pretty sure, and it was beautiful. It was so nice being out in the countryside. Obviously, Smallville shot there, and it was cool to be a part of a little bit of television legend, which we're no strangers to. Our original show shot on the I Love Lucy stage, Cheers, and Frasier. It's always cool getting to put your little mark into cinema history, if you will.
It was really neat, and it's amazing to be on location with The Thundermans. We've only done it a handful of times. I think the first time was the Hawaii movie, Thundermans in Paradise, I'm pretty sure it was called, somewhere between Season 3 and 4. We got to be on location in Malibu. I don't think we've been on location as a cast since then, other than the first Thundermans movie, The Thundermans Return. Technically we were on the Paramount backlot, but still, we were on Paramount, so it felt very homey and not really "on location" location.
This was totally different: not being on a stage, being outside at this real place with real film cameras. It was really different. When I did the original show, I hadn't done much film, but since then, I have. It was almost like a mashing of worlds, getting that experience in film over the past few years doing several movies, and then doing The Thundermans in a hybrid film format. It was very cool.
ROHAN: You also have another great film that just debuted on Digital, Batman: Knightfall Part 1: Knightfall, where you voice Tim Drake. What was it like jumping into the dark and gritty world of Gotham City? And, considering how this film ends, did any of your experience on Knightfall give you a different perspective when you came back to shoot Thundermans?
JACK: It's been a long journey with Warner Bros. and that whole team. I was Damian Wayne first in the Super Sons movie years ago, and then I auditioned again and got this different Robin, this Tim Drake Robin. This version of Robin and the whole story is a bit darker and grittier because it's a Batman story—it's not a Superman and Batman story, it's just Batman.
I would say it influenced it, yeah. I have all these cool fights with—I can't spoil it, but I have some really awesome moments with really iconic villains in these films that are coming out.
I would say it influences my character on The Thundermans. Just being a part of superhero pop culture and working with the people that really make that niche in the industry go round—the writers, directors, EPs, and Warner Bros.—it's an honor. It's amazing. Like you were saying, at the end of The Thundermans, without giving anything away, there is a new chapter for the family and for Max. All the work that I do influences each other. It has to be a sort of streamline thing.
Based on the hit Nickelodeon live-action superhero comedy series The Thundermans, Clash of the Thundermans follows youngest sibling Chloe as she develops a new and unpredictable superpower, causing the Hero League to demand they send her away to a superhero boarding school to learn to control it. Faced with the prospect of sending Chloe away for years, the Thunderman family is split down the middle, with Max, Hank and Nora wanting to hand her over for her own safety, and Phoebe, Barb and Billy willing to ignore orders to keep her with her family.