When we recently had the opportunity to catch up with Marvel's Avengers star Nolan North, we obviously had to ask about his unforgettable work on PlayStation's Uncharted series of games.
We'll have more on that for you soon, but among the questions we put to Nolan was how he feels about the upcoming big screen adaptation starring Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg. While fans don't appear to be overly excited about the project, the Nathan Drake just hopes people will give it a chance as he's excited to see what the filmmakers end up doing with the characters.
Shockingly, however, the prolific actor reveals that not only is he unlikely to make any sort of cameo role, but confirms that no one involved with the movie has reached out to him. Nolan doesn't appear to be overly bothered by that, though there's no denying it's disappointing to hear.
As well as starring in video games, animated TV shows, and movies, Nolan also has his own YouTube channel - Retro Replay - so make sure you head over and subscribe (we've included Nolan's incredible Uncharted reunion below). You can also find him on Twitter at @nolan_north and Instagram at @reallynolannorth to keep up to date with that series and his future projects.
Uncharted resonated with fans in such a way, but it doesn't feel like there's a huge amount of excitement for the movie; how are you feeling about it, and I'm guessing thanks to COVID, you're probably not banking on a trip to Berlin to shoot a cameo?
No, they haven't contacted me at all. Part of me is fine with it, and part of me is like, 'It'd be nice if you asked!' It's not a big deal. I'm actually looking forward to it, and I think people should look forward to it. Give them a chance. We've never seen Nathan Drake in his 20s and a Sully in his 40s. It could be interesting. I like the fact they're going to do a different spin on it and I'm looking forward to seeing how they do. I like Tom Holland, I like Mark Wahlberg, I enjoy their films, so let them put their spin on it. It's like asking Robert Downey Jr., 'What do you think about Nolan North doing a video game?' He's probably like, 'That's cool! I hope he does well and people enjoy it.' I'm the same way, just turn it around. I see things that are negative about it like, 'I don't like this casting,' but let them do something [with it].
The bigger mistake would be trying to get someone who looks like Nathan Drake and literally just take one of the games and follow it as a movie. The games are already movies on their own, so don't do that. Do what you're doing. Show me Nathan Drake in his 20s, show me some artistic license, and make it your own. That's what I did with Tony Stark, and that's what they should do with Nathan Drake. Good luck to them. I'm actually kicking myself as I was at a convention and Tom Holland was there, and I went to get a cup of coffee and said, 'I'm going to go say hi to him and introduce myself,' but I guess he was gone and only there for one day and I was like, 'Oh man, I missed him, I was gonna say hey to him and good luck.' I'm okay. Who am I? If you don't like the movie, go back and play the games, but these characters can coexist in the same world and I don't think there's time for such negativity.
I completely agree. It's something you see with comic book movies; the comics are always gonna be there just like the games, and I think it was yesterday Tom Holland posted a video saying he's been playing the games and loves them, so I definitely think he's looking in the right place for inspiration!
They'll probably do a great job. He's talented and I wish him nothing but the best. I think he'll do a good job and I could speak more of it if I'd read a script and the bottom line is, we focus on the actors and who's directing, but we don't know the writing and it's all going to come down to a good story. If they can just tell a good story, those actors are talented enough to do it well. Tell me a good story and all is forgiven. You know, we never had these conversations about Sherlock Holmes, and yet dozens and dozens of actors have played him. Guess what? I loved Robert Downey Jr.'s Sherlock Holmes; I also loved Benedict Cumberbatch's. It's an iconic character and other people can live and breathe in their skin. Enough is enough. Give them a shot, let it be something. We don't own these characters. I can't wait and I hope it does well because if they can tell a great story, they'll have no problems whatsoever.