With Christian Gudegast's long-awaited heist sequel Den of Thieves 2: Pantera now available to watch at home on Digital HD, we were able to sit down with the film's co-leading man O'Shea Jackson Jr. (Straight Outta Compton; Godzilla: King of the Monsters; Obi-Wan Kenobi) to talk about his return as mastermind Donnie Wilson.
In our informative conversation, we get into his evolution as an actor between the first and second films, working with Gerard Butler again, getting a lot more involved with the action this time around, keeping his family very close to his heart, the recently announced Den of Thieves 3, and a whole lot more!
Plus, we also talk some hoops, as shares more thoughts on the blockbuster Luke Dončić trade!
Den of Thieves 2: Pantera is now available on Digital HD and arrives on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray on March 4!
Watch our full video interview with star O'Shea Jackson Jr. below and/or keep scrolling to read the transcription. Plus, please remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more exclusive content!
ROHAN: The first Den of Thieves was your third film, and you're just getting started in the industry. But, now, it's been seven years and you've done so much across a variety of genres. How would you say you've evolved as an actor leading into this film? And how did it maybe better prepare you to play this version of Donnie?
O'SHEA: Well, in the first one, Donnie is supposed to be so under the radar, you know, he's supposed to be just a guy who's trying to get in and get out without making waves or anything like that. And, I really feel that embodied who I was that early in my career. There's already such an ideology of who you are and who you're going to be when you're second generation, or, you know, just you have a famous parent that they can go off of, that they kind of feel like you're going to come to set with this level of entitlement or make these demands like you're already here - and, it's just not how I was raised.
So, early in my career, me and my late Uncle Star, we would call it, you know, another A on the report card, get in, do your job, be respectful to everybody, you know, just not make any waves and not give them any ammunition against you. And, I really feel like that was Donnie and to do the movie 6-7 years later, I've gotten a lot more projects under my belt, and I got more of an understanding of what is and isn't supposed to happen on a movie set, you know, how you should want to be treated.
I still take the time to speak to everybody on crew - always be nice to crew, alright, like always, dude, like, I'm in movies, they make the movie, so, you have to be respectful to crew, but, I think, in the time in between films, I got a new amount of respect for myself. And, so, from there, it allows you to grow, not only as a person, but as a performer, and that's what Donnie shows in the second one that he, you know, the wool is off of the eyes. They know I'm a chameleon. They know what I bring. So, it was about really seeing who this new Donnie was, and being able to grow with him was probably the best thing that could have happened for the film.
ROHAN: The big reveal in the last one is that Donnie is the big mastermind behind everything, but now that everything is out in the open, do you think he's still sort of hiding something for himself? Or, would you say who Donnie is in this film is more of his true nature?
O'SHEA: A little bit of both, you know, I feel that this is the first time we're learning things about Donnie, which is really cool, because I'm learning with the audience, you know, about the guy, and there's no way somebody who thinks that many steps ahead would put everything about him in one conversation outside of a restaurant, you know, so I know that there's layers we still haven't peeled back, and that's exciting, because as a performer, that keeps me on my toes and as an audience, it keeps you interested in the character. So, you don't know everything about Donnie Wilson. I don't even know if his name's Donnie!
ROHAN: You're working with Gerard Butler again, and you guys are more of a team this time around, so a lot of scenes together versus last time. What was your process building that on- and off- screen chemistry, since you guys are so good together in the film?
O'SHEA: It's been great, yeah, in the first one, Christian Gudegast, our director and writer, kept us separated. You know, as cops and robbers, kept us separated. So, when we were on screen together, that tension was there because we're low key sizing everybody up when you first meet him for a scene.
And, with this one, we knew that the entire dynamic of the film changed, so it was more about finding that chemistry of just like, yeah, you guys are still feeling each other out, but the camaraderie has to be there or the film doesn't work. And while we were out in Spain, Gerard actually ended up becoming my neighbor, and I really credit him for kicking off our friendship, because we had a scene the next day, pretty long, lengthy scene that we had to kind of find the gold in.
He was just like, you know, we're neighbors, let's just try to find it tonight, and then, by tomorrow, we'll be prepared, and we can kind of move things along. And, so I went over to his house, and we were in the backyard going over the scene, trying to find what was funny, trying to find what was deep, you know, just panning for gold. And, then, after a while, after we felt like we had it, it was just us kicking it, you know, us kicking it in the backyard.
And, I asked him about, you know, his career, going through all the movies that he's done, over sixty films. I told them where I wanted, where I saw myself going in my career. What motivates me for my career, and it just kind of kicked off with just like, yo, we kind of like each other. You know, you want to do films with people you're cool with, it makes the months go by like that. And yeah, from there, it was us cracking jokes on set, us being able to go up to one another. Hey, can you deliver that line like this? Because I'm trying to do that. And yeah, it built a bond between he and I that is going to go well past Den of Thieves.
ROHAN: This time, you get to be a lot more involved in the action. You're driving exotic sports cars, handling guns, breaking into vaults, and more. What kind of preparation, both mental and physical, did you have to go through to get ready for this movie?
O'SHEA: Well, in the first one, they gave me all the weapons training and everything anyway, even though I don't even shoot a gun in that movie, you know, and, on top of that, when I did Godzilla, I trained with Green Berets - Shout out Colonel Hans Bush - But so, you know, I had a little bit but then you get on a set like Den of Thieves 2, and there's UFC fighters everywhere, and all this other stuff. So, you know, the training was probably a good month before we started even filming.
And, then from there, it was just technical things like rappelling down a rope, having to climb up a rope, getting kicked in the middle of the ocean, that wasn't fun at all. And then, luckily, I've driven a Porsche before, so I kind of knew how to handle the car. But yeah, it was just those things to just make sure that we were safe, and everything that we were doing we felt confident in. But, if anybody knows anything about me, I will not do a stunt, I do not feel confident in, bro. That is how you end up on the news, and I refuse to do that.
ROHAN: Having read up on you, I know family is very important to you. When you're shooting in this foreign locations - I know you're in the UK and Canary Islands for this film - how do you try to stay connected to home?
And, do you ever consult with your dad about films like these, knowing that he's done so many action films himself. Or, since you do now have a lot of experience, are you able to navigate things on your own?
O'SHEA: I mean, it's definitely a little bit of both. The only times I really consult with my dad is when I have, if I have, not just speaking on Den of Thieves 2, but just any film, if I have a situation where I have to either confront someone about a problem I have, or I need to figure out how to handle something in a diplomatic way. I'll talk to my dad and, get his advice on just like, alright, who do I speak to about this? Do I go straight to the AD on the day, on set? Is this something I call the director ahead of time to talk to him about, just like, those little things like that.
As far as, you know, being away from family is really one of the hardest things that I gotta deal with because I have a seven-year-old, you know, there's a lot of things that I've missed because I've been filming, you know, I missed the first day of school, you know, I've had to miss Christmas. I was filming in Virginia during the COVID fiasco, so, like, I had to miss Christmas. I had to miss Thanksgiving. I had to miss birthdays. And, there's a part of me that's like, just push through, because as soon as I see my kid on FaceTime, I just get emotional. I get upset, I get mad.
And so, there's a part of me that's just like, you know, let's just push through and then just get home, but you have to have those quality time moments. And, dude, I got the greatest daughter in the world too. She's such a good kid, and when she went to go see Wicked, she saw the poster for Den of Thieves 2, and they said she lost her mind, you know, so like, that's what I do everything for. And, I just have to remind myself that I just got to wait a couple of years, and I could bring her with me anywhere I go.
ROHAN: Now, that it's official that Den of Thieves 3 is coming - have you heard anything about that film? I think Christian said he wants to take the story to Africa...
O'SHEA: He's so exotic. Oh my god! You know, I was like maybe New York. No, he wants to go to Africa. What a monster. No, I gotta talk to him. I gotta call him. Yeah, we're still writing, obviously. But the one thing about Christian is, no matter what the location, no matter what the heist, he's so detail oriented that he's going to make sure that Den of Thieves 3 delivers in both the same and in a new way for audiences. So, I'm excited to see it because I'm in a franchise now, man, my life is good, right now. I got Luka Dončić, I'm in a franchise. Life is crazy. The Dodgers are insane. I'm feeling pretty good.
ROHAN: Speaking of Luka, I saw your live reaction a few weeks and you were just stunned as the rest of us when that trade went down. What are your thoughts on the trade now that the dust has settled and what do you see the next few years, the next decade looking like for you?
O'SHEA: It's just one of those things about being a Laker fan, man, you're not in the dark ages for too long. Obviously, I'm hurt about Anthony Davis, because when you have fought for a player for six years, for him to be gone just like that, it really hurts. But, I'm excited for Luka, he’s 25 years old, he'll be 26 this year, also February, Pisces, I’m February 24th, he’s the 28th. That's how I know we're going to be in good hands. But, yeah, it's just how the Lakers are. Dude, you know, Kareem just walked in, Magic Johnson on a coin toss, James Worthy, we won the championship and had the number one pick in the draft. You know how furious I would be if that happened today? And, then Shaq just walks in, get Kobe, LeBron just walks in, we get Anthony Davis, and now Luk a just pops up on us. It ain't easy being a Laker fan, but it ain't hard either. Go Lakers!
ROHAN: Well, good luck, but, you know, they're gonna have to go through those World Champions in Boston first... Go Celtics!
Gerard Butler (Plane, Has Fallen series) and O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Straight Outta Compton, Godzilla: King of the Monsters) return in the sequel to 2018’s action-heist hit Den of Thieves. In DEN OF THIEVES: PANTERA, Big Nick (Butler) is back on the hunt in Europe and closing in on Donnie (Jackson), who is embroiled in the treacherous and unpredictable world of diamond thieves and the infamous Panther mafia, as they plot a massive heist of the world’s largest diamond exchange.