Brightburn is now available on both Digital and Blu-ray, and to mark the release of the James Gunn (
The Suicide Squad) produced movie, we recently caught up with lead star Jackson A. Dunn.
In the movie, he plays Brandon Breyer, a kid who, like Clark Kent in
Man of Steel, discovers that he's from a distant alien planet. When the ship he arrives in starts telling him he should conquer the planet, the damaged young man embraces his evil, alien nature and what at first appears to be a superhero origin story quickly become a terrifying horror movie!
There's a lot more to
Brightburn than that, though, and it's well worth checking out.
In our interview with Jackson, he talks about his experiences working on the movie, and weighs in on everything from that creepy mask to scenes that didn't make the final cut and his sequel hopes. We obviously want to extend a huge thank you to Jackson for taking the time to talk with us!
What was the audition process like for you and where did you look for inspiration when it came to playing a kid like Brandon?
So, the audition process was several rounds and I met with the director, David Yarovesky, during those rounds a few times and it was pretty wild. They had me do a lot of abstract audition processes; I had to do some seizures for them and the like. I didn't have a script or anything and didn't know what it was about but from what I had thanks to the sides they gave me, I was able to draw inspiration from some demonic horror movie figures like The Sixth Sense and figures like that.
There are some obvious parallels with Superman's origin story in Brightburn, but do you think the way Brandon responds to the revelations about his alien heritage is a little more realistic than how Clark Kent's story plays out?
In my opinion, I do think so, yeah. You also have to take into consideration that Clark Kent and Brandon Breyer are very different kids who have had very different upbringings. Brandon wasn't exactly the most liked kid and no one wanted to be friends with him, but Clark is this normal kid that a lot of people did like and were friends with even though he was bullied a little bit and wasn't the coolest. However, he certainly wasn't the quiet intellectual type like Brandon was so you have to take into account their different personalities and the environments they grew up in.
And if a young Clark Kent were to cross paths with Brandon, how do you imagine a fight like that could play out?
I think it would be similar to fighting yourself in the mirror, but I think it would really just be up to whichever force is greater: evil or good!
I think he could have been swerved to a different path to some extent. A lot of people say that they wanted to see more wavering between his human side and his alien side, but I think you have to take into consideration the fact that Brandon is like that pod. He's much stronger than a human and so the pod's force that's pulling on him is going to be much stronger than a human that's encouraging him not to be good. The pod has a much stronger influence on him than anyone around him and it certainly doesn't help that he doesn't have any friends or family other than his parents and even his dad doesn't always support him. There's a lot more leaning towards the evil side than the good one. His parents could have had something of a gravitational pull on him, especially his mom near the end, but to some extent, the alien technology is going to win.
Do you think there was ever any hope for redemption for Brandon or was he always going to drop his mother and embrace his alien nature?
I think looking into Brandon's eyes in the last scene and seeing how he reacts to what he thought was his mother's genuine apology and genuine attempt to restore him to what he once was, I think there was definitely potential for him to turn the other way, but it was obviously just thrown out in the garbage when she tried to kill him.
What was it like for you to work with a filmmaker as experienced as James Gunn?
James is a great guy. Super fun to work with, super creative, and it's fun to see his mind work like it does. Hopefully, we can work on something again soon. Maybe he'll decide to put me in one of his projects. [Laughs]
He is working on The Suicide Squad and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 so you never know!
Yeah!
There are a lot of very violent scenes in the movie, so what was it like for you being on set to shoot them?
I'm not on the receiving side as I'm dishing it out, so it's not much of a scary or violent experience for me because I'm the one delivering it unto my victims, but it was fun to see how it can be made on set and how it comes together in post.
A movie like Brightburn doesn't have the same sort of budget as a lot of bigger superhero movies, so how useful did you find it as an actor to get involved with some of those practical effects?
100%! It's a lot more helpful. Instead of looking at Josh Brolin in a big CGI costume, I'm actually looking at 80% of what is going to be in the movie so it's a lot easier for me to conceptualise that.
Brandon's mask has alost become iconic since Brightburn was released, but what was it like to wear? Was it as uncomfortable as you often hear actors say about superhero costumes?
It wasn't too bad. It was a little bit starchy and it smelled like the makeup and distressing material they put on it, but, for the most part, it wasn't like I was wearing an oven mitt. It wasn't too uncomfortable...at least I didn't have to wear spandex, you know?
Which of the movie's scenes would you say was most challenging for you to shoot?
I mean, we had a great crew. Everything was always safe and we always had people taking the proper precautions. The harnesses were uncomfortable but that's nothing out of the ordinary so I wouldn't say anything was extraordinarily difficult but there was a scene [Laughs] that we did where I go out in the rain and my eyes are red. It came out really well on screen but it was about 40 something degrees and the rain machine was freezing cold and then I actually lost my voice afterwards but I think it was worth it.
Were there any scenes you shot that stand out as being particularly memorable that didn't make the final cut?
Yeah, one scene sticks out, in particular. There was a shot where me and David Denman, right before our interaction in the woods, we were eating potato chips and just passing them back and forth in complete silence. It was hilarious. It's the funniest scene I've ever shot and it didn't make it because it would have killed the tension and the build up, but it was super fun to film and really funny, so a memorable take, for sure.
If you get to return for a sequel, where would you like to see Brandon's story go next?
I think there's an array of possibilities to be explored there. There could be a team or league or there could be conflict maybe with other villainous creatures from Brandon's planet, perhaps, and they could battle each other or team up. Brandon could continue solo and there could be a resistance against him from maybe a hero, but there's really endless possibilities and I'd love to see where they're able to take it.
Most actors have the option to look at comics and read up on the character they play, but what was it like playing Brandon without that source material to turn to? Did you look at any comics for inspiration or did you stick to the script?
I think it was a little bit freeing as it's something I was able to take in my own direction and make him my own character as much as there is in the script. Like I said, I took inspiration less from superheroes and more from possessed and demonic characters like The Sixth Sense and other movies like that. I tried to make it my own thing and embrace the character.
When you were shooting, you were quite a bit younger so was it beneficial for you to work with Elizabeth Banks and David Denman?
It was definitely beneficial to be able to look up to them and see what they're doing and to bounce off them and rebound and I was definitely able to benefit from their skills and their personalities overall.
When the trailers were released, Brightburn was marketed very similarly to Man of Steel. Was that quite a cool experience to see yourself in that superhero setting while knowing that it would twist people's expectations?
Yeah, seeing the trailers, I thought it was really funny. There was some hinting towards the Man of Steel trailer and almost in a provocative way to be like, 'Oh, look at this.' Then, to have that one eighty...it was really cool being able to see the movie I made in such an official way.
Can you tell us anything at all about what's next for you so our readers know where to look out for you?
I'm always working on something! Nothing I can talk about right now, though!