Jai Courtney is shown in a scene from “Insurgent.” (Photo credit: Lionsgate)

By Thuc Nhi Nguyen
The Seattle Times

After watching his newest movie “Insurgent,” Jai Courtney walked away with a simple impression: It’s just entertainment. To his friend with children, it wasn’t that way.

“He was struck with the message that this could send kids about where the world is going,” Courtney said of his friend who watched the movie with him. “It’s kind of dark and he was affected by that.”

While he doesn’t think the recent onslaught of dystopian movies and books presages the downfall of society, Courtney, who reprises his role as Eric in “Insurgent,” which premieres in theaters this weekend, said the presence of young heroes trying to maintain their individuality in a suppressive apocalyptic world carries a relatable message.

“I think that’s important,” he said. “There’s a message there that kids will see themselves in someone who is different from the others and is struggling in a world to find acceptance.”

In the Divergent universe, citizens are separated into five factions based on their social qualities and personalities. Those who cross between the factions must conceal their true identities because their ability to think independently is viewed as a threat to society. Courtney’s character Eric is a ruthless leader of the Dauntless (the brave) faction.

The 29-year-old amiable Aussie is an emerging action star, having worked on the upcoming “Terminator” reboot “Terminator Genisys,” simultaneously with “Insurgent.” He will also be in the DC Comics-based film “Suicide Squad,” due in 2016.

To film “Insurgent,” Courtney took eight days off from his role as Kyle Reese in “Terminator” and hopped on a plane to Atlanta. Although he was initially worried about the quick transition, slipping back into Eric’s menacing mindset wasn’t too difficult.

“You have the script there so you can sink right into that, and it does, it’s like muscle memory,” Courtney said.

Because of the short time he spent on set, Courtney said, “there wasn’t time for any mischief” with castmates, who includes Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Octavia Spencer and Miles Teller.

Courtney is tasked with adding on-screen dimension to a mostly one-dimensional book character. In the book trilogy, Eric is a villainous leader and an enemy to Four, one of the male protagonists. To make his performance interesting on screen, Courtney tried to find compassion for his character, not thinking of him only as a “bad guy.”

“Maybe he gets off on the misfortune of others, but it’s more that he’s a loyal soldier,” Courtney said. “He has ambition so it’s like he’s doing these things for elevation within the system itself.”

Courtney honed his acting skills at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, where he fell in love with the profession. When he started there, he was an 18-year-old from the suburbs of Sydney who just “liked rugby and drinking with my mates,” he said, but by the time he left the school (which has an alumni list boasting names like Hugh Jackman and Frances O’Connor), he had found a passion for acting.

“It’s lucky that it’s working out because I have absolutely no idea what I’d be doing otherwise,” he said.