Fox & Gilroy madeNightcrawler.
Watch on Deadline
DEADLINE:InMagazine Dreams, your character Killian Maddox is an aspiring bodybuilder.
You take us down a dark road with a character reminiscent of Travis Bickle, the equally combustibleTaxi Driveranti-hero.
Jonathan Majors in ‘Magazine Dreams,’ ‘Creed III’ and as Batak in ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’Courtesy of Sundance Institute/Netflix/Marvel
JONATHAN MAJORS:It was Killians spirit that is the core of the story ofMagazine Dreams.
I got the Elijah Bynum script at the height of Covid.
DEADLINE:What do you mean?
‘Creed III’ poster (Everett Collection)Everett Collection
MAJORS: It really speaks about a minority that walks around us, all the time.
I consider myself one of those individuals.
Man, look, its, its so interesting talking to you.
Im driving into Sundance, and drove in from New York City for this.
The fear we have of certain individuals.
At his supermarket job, you’ve got the option to see white customers move away from him.
When I received the script, I was shooting a film calledThe Harder They Fall.
I call what followed my physical triad, includingQuantumania, andCreed.
From that last picture, it was 18 months of training.
So there was a lot of isolation.
DEADLINE:So this was my two years without carbs?
MAJORS: I mean, yeah, it was tough.
But thats the job, you know?
But, I like french fries.
Thats kind of my thing.
I really like them.
But once I got over that, I was locked in.
As for the isolation part, when I first read the script, I thought, This is impossible.
Nobody is going to make it.
But I was also like, I gotta do this; this is an opportunity.
There are parallels toTaxi Driver, but this film, I think, stands alone.
But our protagonist andTaxi Drivergo different ways, and in between, there is a lot that is different.
But the isolation … you dont have anybody around you when youre working out, three times a day.
And youve got to eat seven meals a day.
That isolation and physical commitment does breed a certain amount of emotionality, and distance.
The gift of adversity is, you get to learn from the role.
I learned things about my body, my spirit and my emotionality, and how I connect to people.
And my need for people.
Because in this role, you had to go there, and there was extremely dark and extremely lonely.
And it hurt a lot.
I got to learn a lot, playing Mr. Maddox.
DEADLINE:We havent even talked about how jacked you got.
Whered you get that bench press up to?
Back when I was in college, the stars were Arnold Schwarzenegger, Frank Zane, Robbie Robinson.
But damn, do you come close.
MAJORS: I love that you say that because there are certain things we learn about ourselves.
My body looks like this, and Im looking at the world.
Im looking at all these people.
I mean, were in Hollywood, right?
It is easy to feel, Im not valued.
Theres a certain disconnect there, and then you begin to think, Why is that?
But for me, in the gym, man, it was always that 11 oclock session.
The music is blaring and …
I looked up Killian and it means little church, and theres something religious about all of that.
There is something extremely spiritual about the bodybuilding.
You sound like you were a bit of a gymhead, so you know the game.
To do it right, you have to be all-in.
Thats another mind f*ck.
You go, Jesus, f*ck.
You go twice as hard, you have to sleep twice as long [to grow].
There were moments it felt impossible.
Then you see the bodybuilder Killian idolizes, and he is just that much bigger and more defined.
MAJORS: Thats right.
Its part of a meritocracy Killian deals with.
Isnt that what Americas based off of?
Its what were being sold.
His grandpa is a war hero, and isnt that supposed to mean something?
You feel theres no way to win, playing by someone elses rules.
Thats the thing about Killian.
But I know that by the end, when he hits that pose?
Hes a different man.
He had gone through the fire of needing everybody elses love, everybody elses approval.
And at the end of it, the only person he cares about is the man in the mirror.
Which is so beautiful.
Cause hes in that mirror all the time.
The man in the mirror and his grandpa.
Im not gonna say joy, love, peace, any of that shit, because thats subjective.
But Im gonna choose the light, and continue.
This isnt the last of me.
DEADLINE:What was the biggest hesitation from financiers?
Even still, we see the manifestations of what happens when theyre not seen.
Its often radical and violent.
MAJORS: Im gonna answer that question by saying its almost the opposite of not being seen.
It is, being rebuked.
These people are rebuked, and thats different.
We all have eyes, if youre blessed with sight.
So when we choose not to see something or take something in, were not blind to it.
We are rebuking it.
Thats the mindf*ck.
I think people were afraid of it.
And I dont think people believed that an actor could do a transformation and become a proper amateur bodybuilder.
You want it to be real.
I think we had some issues with that, and the racial dynamics and politics.
And then…the guns.
Thats America, and very real.
I grew up in Texas.
Thats not my business, I stay out of that.
I dont personally own a firearm.
But, but, but that, but people, do you know what I mean?
And so that scared people, even though we rebuke violence and theres beauty in that.
So I apologize if Im scattered.
But yeah, we rebuke violence.
This young man youre calling a monster, rebukes violence.
He does not harm a single individual.
MAJORS: It was hand in hand.
The bodybuilding, changing the body, its the hardest thing Ive ever done in my life.
Now, raising a child is quite difficult.
But thats me and somebody else.
But the thing about the physicality we mentioned bench pressing.
Theres a point where you really meet yourself and it becomes true emotional lifting.
That weight is no longer 310 or whatever.
Its not that anymore.
Its abandonment, my own stuff, my dad issues, my insecurities.
I had to come up against all of that in the gym.
Because thats the only thing thats gonna get you to push that weight off your legs.
The script work, I was schooled for that.
I can do a blindfold at this point.
But to infuse it with that jot down of physicality and emotionality?
I cant open my mouth as this guy and not wanna break.
It was hard to hold it steady.
DEADLINE:We mentioned the free weights and the truth in pitting yourself against the cold steel.
How much of this was an exercise for a young emerging actor to show chops and really test yourself?
MAJORS: Thats right, and you fell yourself.
You only have one shot.
I dont think aMagazine Dreamscomes around again.
This is yourThe Machinist…
But its that, yeah.
DEADLINE:A moment on these other two big movies youve got coming out shortly.
Its just a price you pay.
I think Tony Bellew close to knocked him out.
You got in with Michael, whos now done it three times and is in rock-hard ring shape.
Did you take one square on the chin?
MAJORS: I took a couple, I think.
Im just so humbled by the opportunity to be a part of theRockyfranchise.
So, yeah, [Michael] might caught me a few times.
I took some body shots, and gave out a few, too.
MAJORS: I think it is the intimacy of warriors.
You learn a lot about that other individual.
Add in the storytelling where Mike and I are mending and melding our emotional lives and our intellect.
Like were dancing, its choreographed, and then hes pushing the tempo and Im still in the music.
I think Michael B and I, were best friends at this point.
And Im not just saying that, I love that guy and he loves me.
Its a great collaboration.
I cant wait for everybody see that film, to see that relationship.
It has the DNA of all theRockyandCreedfilms, and were staying truthful and honest to the legacy of it.
It is the kind of complex relationship we see in life.
And as for Clubber Lang?
Youve seen the poster and trailer, so you tell me.
At some point, well be together and just throw our hands up.
MAJORS: I got your back.
DEADLINE:A moment on this Marvel villain Kang which figures to occupy a good bit of your future.
MAJORS: Its funny you put it that way.
Kevin Feige is the Dean, the James Bundy of Yale.
The directors are the faculty and staff, and the students?
Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston.
Who wouldnt want to be part of that ensemble?
DEADLINE:You really drove all the way to Park City with your dogs?
MAJORS: We drove from New York City.
Stopped off in Omaha, and New Mexico.
