Lucas fans should be pleased to know that in Columbia Pictures’ summer action film, “Stealth,” the blonde-haired, blue eyed, actor from Arkansas not only plays the love interest but one of the film’s heroes. It’s definitely nice to see Lucas back as one of the good guys.
Lucas joined his “Stealth” co-stars – Jessica Biel and Jamie Foxx – along with the film’s director Rob Cohen (“XXX”) for the movie’s World Premiere at a navy base in San Diego. The setting was appropriate as the film is all about the U.S. Navy and, according to director Rob Cohen, couldn’t have been made without their cooperation.
INTERVIEW WITH JOSH LUCAS:
Is it nice to play a heartthrob once again?
“But he’s also sort of a bit of a bad boy, too. I think that’s one of the things that makes a great hero, he’s got multiple levels to him. Honestly, I think people are much more interesting if they have got darkness inside of them.“
”Stealth” addresses the question of artificial intelligence replacing humans as fighter pilots. What’s your take on machines taking over for people?
“I believe in what the sort of message of this movie is, which is that if computers take over the planes, they take the human element out of it. And that, to me, is going to create something that is wrong – simply.”
How was working with director Rob Cohen?
“Not only did he bring the action element but he very clearly told me from the beginning, ‘I want to get a level of actors inside this movie that make it look realistic, and honor the fact of what these guys do and what they go through.’ So it’s not cool looking, it’s also real and cool.”
What separates “Stealth” from other action movies?
“I think it’s got a visceral wild roller coaster element to it. It’s also got a sexy romantic element to it, but at the same time you’re watching something that is so rarified and unique, and it’s not some space ship. It’s actually that these guys really do this job and they do it very similarly to the way the movie is.”
How did you train for the role of a fighter pilot?
“I went to flight survival training school, which is where you flip a helicopter upside down and have to get out of it underwater. It’s crazy.”
How would you describe your character?
“…He’s got great skills but at the same time, he’s a big roguish in the sense that he doesn’t necessarily follow orders. If he feels like something is difficult or dangerous to the other two people around him in a way he can’t justify, he’s not going to do it. At the same time, if he feels he can do something, he’s going to do it better than the computer.”
Do you think a starring role in this movie will take your career to a different level?
“Well honestly I’m not someone who is… I believe that expectation is the mother of all disappointment. So I don’t necessarily have expectations for this movie, other than the fact that I poured my soul into it trying to make it the best movie I possibly could. Look, if it turns out that that happens, honestly I think that there’s great advantages to that and great disadvantages to fame at that level. You see it right now and sort of puts [on added] pressure.”
What’s your next project?
"A movie called ‘Glory Road’ about a 1966 basketball team. I play the coach, Don Haskins, who is this great man who took this team and single-handedly desegregated basketball."
