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

By Rick Bentley
The Fresno Bee

LOS ANGELES — The word “insecure” is not used lightly when it comes to acting, but it works well when talking about the traits of a character.

“Eric is a man who is incredibly insecure and I think that is cool,” says Jai Courtney of his character in “The Divergent Series: Insurgent.” “He has a bit of an inferiority complex, but he handles it very well.”

You might recall that in the first film based on the popular young adult novel by Veronica Roth, Eric was teammates with Four (Theo James) until the members of Dauntless parted ways.

The second film picks up with Eric leading the team that is trying to track down Four and Tris (Shailene Woodley). Eric is determined to find the pair no matter what it takes.

He ends up being the perfect match for Four, who is equally strong minded when it comes to his goals. They just happen to be on opposite sides of the fight.

“Eric deals with his insecurities quite well because he’s led himself to the point where he feels he’s the toughest and the strongest,” Courtney says. “The books kind of show him as a guy who is kind of mean and evil, but that doesn’t necessarily equate to an interesting performance or someone we can relate to.”

Courtney understands the ambition aspect — but in a good way. The Aussie has been chasing an acting career since he graduated from high school. He landed roles in the TV shows “Packed to the Rafters,” “All Saints” and “Spartacus: Blood and Sand.” That was followed by roles in the films “Jack Reacher,” “A Good Day to Die Hard” and “Divergent.” He’s getting ready to move into an even bigger role with “Terminator: Genisys” and as Boomerang in the big-screen adaptation of the DC comic book “Suicide Squad.”

His experiences with fans have been positive so far.

“I think the comic book thing will be different,” Courtney says. “I think the comic book crowd will be tougher and they will be the first to tell you when you’ve done it wrong. They will also be the first to tell you when you get it right.”