Jalon Christian Recalls The Excitement Of The First Scenes He Filmed With Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson On Black Adam - Exclusive
Teen actor Jalon Christian has had an exciting past couple of years, first starring in the title role of director Denzel Washington's poignant 2021 drama "A Journal for Jordan." His next role was more of a mystery at first, as Christian admitted he didn't know that he was auditioning for a DC comic book movie extravaganza, much less the importance of the role he would come to earn.
"When I first auditioned, I didn't even know what the movie was, and when I found out it was 'Black Adam,' I still had no idea what the role would be," Christian told Looper in an exclusive interview. "To be graced with such an amazing and pivotal role was so honoring for me, and I'm so happy that I got to be such a big part of the movie."
The pivotal role, as it turns out, was that of Hurut — the son of Teth-Adam (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) — who proved to be the catalyst for the antihero's vengeful actions against the tyrannical King Ahk-Ton (Marwan Kenzari) of the nation of Kahndaq.
Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, "Black Adam" examines the origin story of the famed DC antihero, who is unearthed from his tomb 5,000 years after exacting revenge on Kahndaq because of a devastating personal loss. Christian appears at the beginning of "Black Adam" and is shown again in flashback scenes throughout the film. His scenes involved key moments opposite Johnson, providing the young actor with enough memories to last a lifetime.
Christian calls Johnson 'an amazing soul'
Jalon Christian said he didn't meet Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson until he got to the set to film his scenes for "Black Adam" and was taken aback by seeing the former WWE superstar in person.
"The first time I met him was probably the third or fourth scene we were shooting," Christian told Looper. "Since I hadn't really gotten to know him on a personal level, my first impression was, 'Oh my gosh, he is so big!' He's such a massive person, but he's so sweet and so nice and funny and such a good actor ... I was so blessed to be able to work with him."
Christian said he immediately sensed how genuine Johnson was, which made their first encounter all the more memorable. "He was such an amazing soul. I could feel everything he did, he meant it, and I didn't feel an ounce of faking or anything. It was just who he was."
Naturally, Christian had to tell Johnson how much of a fan he was of his work, noting when he first met the star he "couldn't get out a full sentence between takes."
"I was so starstruck to be able to see him," Christian enthused. "The first sentence I probably said was, 'Hey, I'm a huge fan of your movies. I'm so happy that I'm able to work with you.' He was such a cool guy. I expected he would be, but he was all that and more."
After that, it was all about the work, and Christian believes being committed to his role when working with the consummate professional in Johnson brought out the best in both of them. "Whenever I'd go to set, I always knew, 'You got to bring it with everything,'" Christian recalled. "To be able to work with him and have his energy so high, we were both working off of each other. To be able to give each other so many moments definitely improved our performances."
"Black Adam" is new in theaters.