O’Shea Jackson Jr. and Pablo Schreiber get into the roles of outlaws in the new film, “Den of Thieves” out this Friday.
For the first time ever, O’Shea Jackson Jr. and Pablo Schreiber play alongside each other in upcoming Den of Thieves, directed by Christian Gudengast and executive produced by star of the film, Gerard Butler.
Both play the outlaws preparing for the heist nobody yet accomplished: robbing the Los Angeles Federal Reserve Bank. In the interview, they talk about their experiences on set and exploring new horizons of their craft. Check out the video and full interview below:
Magdalena Bury: Congratulations on your movie, guys.
Pablo Schreiber: Thank you.
O’Shea Jackson Jr.: Thank you.
Magdalena Bury: I loved it. So this is your first time working together. Can you tell me how was it?
Pablo Schreiber: It’s not gonna be the last.
O’Shea Jackson Jr.: Yeah, yeah. It was definitely cool. What I’ve taken away from Pablo is that he’s a super professional dude. Definitely of all the star-studded cast we got, he’s definitely the most professional that I’ve dealt with, way more than that 50 Cent.
Pablo Schreiber: Gerard Butler.
O’Shea Jackson Jr.: Gerard Butler. Nah [laughter].
Pablo Schreiber: He’s such an unprofessional dude [laughter].
O’Shea Jackson Jr.: But, yeah, my man Pablo, he’s definitely somebody I would be down to work with again, and hopefully we get big old guns with it, too.
Pablo Schreiber: I love working with Shea. I told him a few times on a few occasions that I think he has an incredibly bright future. This guy’s got a lot of talent, and I know he’s gonna carry it to amazing places.
Magdalena Bury: And a question for you: this is your first major role since Straight Outta Compton. How was it diving into such a complicated and multi-layered character?
O’Shea Jackson Jr.: It was fun. You know, I love the cinema. I love all parts of it, so if I could challenge myself within it the best thing to do is to take it, because you have no choice but to do well or you’re ruined. So after Straight Outta Compton I did a dark comedy, Ingrid Goes West, and that was an indie, and so I really just been just trying to show my range, that I can do different things besides the biopic about my dad. And Donnie presented that. He presented that challenge for me. And it’s definitely my most physical role that I’ve ever had to do, and if I can make people uncomfortable with me getting beat up, then I feel like I’m doing a good job.
Magdalena Bury: And for you, I know you’re used to playing the tough guys and handling guns and everything, but how was it being on the dark side of the law, of … being the bad guy?
Pablo Schreiber: I’m also sort of used to that. I’ve played a few bad guys over the years. But I think the interesting part about this one is that in this movie the robbers or the bad guys who are typically supposed to be the bad guys are … end up being quite relatable, and because of the fact they served their country. They had military service and came back from being deployed with a skill set that they didn’t know where to put and ended up putting it into a life of crime. And you met Enson, 50 Cent’s, family, and you see that he’s really just a family guy who’s trying to do it for those people, and those things, I think, lend a sense of relatability to the characters. So even though they are the robbers of the bank, I think you end up kind of cheering for them and hoping that they pulled it off.
Magdalena Bury: And do you connect to your character’s pride and sacrifice?
Pablo Schreiber: Sure, I do. I think the thing that I connect to the most in the character is his sense of wanting to go for the big fish. He wants to pull off the impossible. He wants to take down a bank that’s never been robbed, and I feel the same sense of … I always want a challenge. In my career and in my work, I wanna play characters or try do plays or movies that you almost feel like they can’t be pulled off or they can’t be done, and to me, the bigger the challenge, the more excited I get.
