7 Reasons Why 'Insurgent's' Jai Courtney Is a Megastar in the Making
Jai Courtney's co-stars rank among the biggest A-listers in showbiz. From working with Angelina Jolie in Unbroken to co-starring alongside Tom Cruise in his first major feature film, Jack Reacher, Jai's resume is already impressive, and his career is only heating up.
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So in honor of his 29th birthday on Sunday, we’re sharing seven reasons why Jai is a total megastar in the making!
1. He’s in incredibly well-known films, but still somehow flies under the radar.
"I think I'm just lucky to be in a bit of a sweet spot at the moment where opportunities are there. you know, there's enough exposure to enjoy some of that," he told ET while promoting Insurgent. "It's usually a positive experience but I still, I'm pretty anonymous."
2. He was very close with late actor Andy Whitfield, who he met on the set of Spartacus: War of the Damned in 2010. Though Andy passed away in 2011 from lymphoma, Jai still remains close with his co-star’s widow and children.
"Not only did we become best mates," he said while trying to help raise money for Whitfield's documentary Be Here Now. "He took me under his wing and help shape the foundation of my career, something of which I’m eternally grateful."
3. He has to be very physically fit for his roles, but there's one part he'd like to take on in the future.
"I want to do something where I get to stack on a bunch of weight," he shared with ET while promoting Divergent, and he wasn't talking about the muscle kind of weight either. "I like to eat. So it's often a battle to try and control that."
WATCH: 'Insurgent' Star Jai Courtney Has a 'Tumultuous Relationship' With Theo James
4. He REALLY likes to eat… In fact, eating is how he spends his time in between films.
"I'm really good at, like, taking time out," he shared with ET while promoting Insurgent. "Often some of the stuff I do is generally pretty heavily physical. I'm exceptional at getting couch bound and I can put down, pretty impressive amounts of pizza."
5. He plays the bad guy in a lot of films… and loves it.
"It's a funny thing because you get to be kind of unapologetic and I think the fun part for me is not just being nasty or mean," he shared with ET. "I think it's finding how to enjoy that and give the audience an opportunity to enjoy it with you."
6. If he can’t have his Insurgent co-star Theo James, no one can! Seriously. He’s said it a lot.
"It's not a joke I really meant that. If I can't have Theo no one can and sometimes it means that we come to blows," he admitted to ET during the press day for Insurgent. "We're good we're having a good day… You got to enjoy these days when they come around. Because you never know like, something could happen at lunch. He could say something in an interview that I hear about at some point and things could take a turn for the worst."
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7. He'll be in Suicide Squad with Will Smith, Margot Robbie, and Jared Leto next year. And in July he'll be sharing the big screen with Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator Genisys.
"I think it was in the table read for that script that I really became aware of just how responsible he is for some of these, you know, most iconic kind of great lines in cinema," he said about his 67-year-old co-star, adding that the role is physically demanding but it doesn't bother Arnold. "He's no spring chicken anymore but he certainly holds his own."
Check out the video above to see what else makes Jai an A-lister in the making!
Follow Sarah on Twitter, @Sarah_Flanigan.