Jai Courtney beat the lot. Having attended the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, the 26-year-old made his international breakthrough in the TV series Spartacus: Blood And Sand, before starring opposite Tom Cruise in the thriller Jack Reacher.

But his biggest challenge – in terms of audience expectations – is surely Die Hard, the action franchise that made Bruce Willis a star and has defined two decades of blowing stuff up on screen.

Courtney talks about bagging the part, working with Willis and how McClane Jr is “a chip off the old block”…

What was your reaction when you first heard about A Good Day To Die Hard?
I was pretty excited, to be honest. It was kind of a long process, getting cast. They’d been looking at some guys for a while and they’d done a round of tests and decided to go back to the drawing board. It coincided with when I’d just finished up on Jack Reacher. I was coming back through LA and my reps tried to set an audition for the role of Jack McClane, because they hadn’t found the guy. I was leaving on a plane that night, back to Australia, and I ended up having to get off the plane in order to go and test with Bruce a couple of days later. Then it was a bit of a process. It wasn’t instantaneous, it was probably about a month after that audition – I waited, went home, started another job. We’d be trading phone calls and getting updates and this and that and it came down to the point where I’d imagined it happening so many times – and then got used to the idea perhaps it wouldn’t – that when it finally came through I was just relieved. And very excited – it’s obviously a really iconic franchise and I was just thrilled. I couldn’t wait to get out there and get to work.

Is the casting process weird, because you want to commit to give it your best shot, but part of you is scared of believing it’s going to happen?
I try not to worry too much. As an actor you deal with these possibilities all the time and it is a bit of an art to try and stay in a healthy place where you can anticipate something and believe it is going to go down just the way you want it to… and then get used to the disappointment when it doesn’t work out. That’s probably a tool I’ve just had to sharpen over the last few years and get used to. I like to think that I manage quite well when it comes to shaking something off that doesn’t happen. With something like this, by that point they were so close to production that by the time I was finally cast it was absolutely a reality. Yeah, there are initial concerns about what your job is and how you fit into the whole piece and are you going to disappoint fans. With these big, iconic franchises, people have expectations and they want films to be made a certain way to please them. There are moments when you wonder about it, but it’s not exactly healthy to spend too much time focused on it. I just went out there and tried to work hard and have fun and embrace the experience. And I think the results are there. I had the pleasure of seeing the film the other day and it’s in really good shape – it’s a lot of fun and I don’t think it’s going to disappoint, that’s for sure.

How was it meeting Bruce Willis for the first time?

It was great meeting him the first time. It was at that test I did in Los Angeles. Yeah, there’s those initial thought of “This is Bruce Willis!” You just try to be respectful. And you just run on instinct at that point and remain professional. It would probably have been a disaster had I totally got wound up and been star-struck and worrying too much about what he was thinking about me, etc, and how to try and impress this guy. It wasn’t about that. And fortunately the environment was set up as such that we were just able to get there and have fun. We were playing a few scenes from the film and I’d read the script at that point and it was just about relying on your instincts and what you know as to how to approach a scene as an actor. We had a ball. He’s lovely guy – he’s a funny guy. And I’d just come from working with Tom Cruise and I think that probably aided my ability to let go a little bit and just kind of acknowledge that we’re both actors and both professionals and here to do a job.

Do you remember which was the first Die Hard you saw?
I think the first one I actually saw was three: Die Hard With A Vengeance. That probably goes down as one of my favorites. I think one and three are probably my favorites. That was when I was a kid and it’s one of those series of films that you just catch – it’s the sort of thing that comes on the TV and you don’t switch it off, because it’s, you know, Die Hard!
I’d seen them all growing up and then certainly, as part of my preparation, I wanted to go back and watch them all again: just kind of reaffirm to myself what it was I was getting into and also for the sheer pleasure. They’re just good, fun action films and it’s important to remember that’s what you’re making.

When you’re playing someone’s son – particularly someone as well-known as Bruce Willis – are you looking to echo certain mannerisms and things like that?
That was something I certainly thought about as part of my preparation, but I concluded that to get too worried about that would be a bit of a road block for me and I just kind of trusted the fact that the relationship we were creating within the story would be enough to support that. But then I noticed while shooting that sort of thing happened organically and it wasn’t necessarily something I was actively trying to do. There are definite things that have rubbed off on me. It’s somewhat comical watching some of the material back and seeing that transpire without it being something you were necessarily aware of at the time.

It must be a big thrill to find yourself in a Die Hard movie, but with this following Jack Reacher, people are going to want to label you as an action star and you’ve done Chekhov, Three Sisters, on stage before, haven’t you?
Yes, we did that with a theatre company in Sydney. I certainly don’t want to box myself into any particular genre. I think there’s always going to be strengths that you have to play to and things that will offer you maybe more opportunities than others. You deal with that from a grass roots level: I’ve always been a bigger guy and you come out of acting school and you’re going for commercials or TV and you know you’re not the guy that’s going to book the job for the lawyer or the scientist! I guess I learned early on, even on a show like Spartacus, that those sort of things are going to opportunities and it’s easier for people to see you in certain roles than others. But I really want to enjoy doing this for as long as I possibly can and for me that also means ticking lots of different boxes and exploring different characters and genres. Hopefully these couple of films that are more action-heavy will offer me the opportunity to do that and take on other stuff that interests me, not just gun-wielding types.

When you were starting out was there a distinct moment when you remember thinking, ‘I want to be an actor’?
For me taking the step into taking it seriously came from almost a lack of inspiration elsewhere! I started some work after high school in a job that I just hated and that’s sort of when it became clear that I needed to get some priorities, really. At that point all that was important to me was hanging out with my mates and playing footy and that was about as far ahead as I thought: the weekend. That was really it. So after a few months of that job, it dawned on me that I was getting pretty unhappy. And I’d always been involved in drama and acting through school and I wasn’t flexing that muscle any more or exercising it in any way and I just had this desire to chase that. I think a lot of guys in this business knew from a really young age and for me it was more of an interest than a passion, until I went and trained. It was at drama school that I really embraced it fully. When I first got there, I thought I’d made a terrible mistake and I just wasn’t cut out for it, but I started to realize that there was a place for me in this world. I was always pretty serious about having a really decent crack at it and trying to be successful as well. That was no joke as far as I was concerned. So it was when I studied that I really started to love it and was being exposed to the classics, doing Shakespeare and Chekhov and learning about crazy movement techniques and things that I wasn’t even aware of at all. I just had such a great time doing it that I knew there was nothing else I wanted to do. It’s been a funny old journey, it’s a crazy business, and it’s been a rocky road at times. I’m, in a lot of ways, just playing it by ear and trying to have as much fun while I do it.

Moving forward with this series, there’s been talk of the passing of the torch from Bruce to you. Is that something you can see happening: becoming the face of Die Hard?
I’ve had some thoughts on this and that is an idea that has been tossed around. I remember when I originally heard about them casting this role, that was kind of the pitch: “It’s the son, it’s the next generation, they’ll pass it on”. I’ve heard these things thrown around before with other franchises. Where I stand on it is kind of neutral, really. If that were to happen then of course I would be up for it, but at this point there’s nothing to sort of substantiate that. It’s a rumor as far as I’m concerned and I’ve maintained that I can’t imagine doing a Die Hard film without Bruce. I think he really is this franchise and without him it wouldn’t have been as successful as it has been. As far as handing on the torch, who knows? We’ll see. Anything is possible. Would I love to do another Die Hard film? Absolutely. In what capacity? We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.

To celebrate the release of  ’A Good Day To Die’ we have gotten our hands on some exclusive super-cool merchandise.

To get your hands on this great prize set  (pictured) Just answer this: A Good Day To Die Hard opens in cinemas across the UK on 14th February. What annual occasion also happens on this day?

Send the answer to competitions [@] fusedmagazine.com before 21/2/1013 and one luck winners name will be pulled out of our action hero vest. Yippee Ki-Yay!

“Black Sabbath is one of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll bands of all time and we are making a pilgrimage to its roots, its sources, some of the holiest sights of heavy metal. I need to see where Sabbath grew up, where they drank, where they recorded and where they passed out.” – Jesse Hughes, 2012

VICE have teamed up with Marshall Headphones for the new season of ‘On The Road’. Presented by Jesse Hughes of Eagles Of Death Metal his pilgrimage to the UK takes him to Birmingham, Black Country and Milton Keynes Mutha’ Fucker to meet the bands, roadies, journalists, groupies, designers and super fans who were all there the first time around.

Dates: 13-19th June 2011

What you get: The deal is the same as the SXSW mission – you’ll receive 50% (up to £500 max) towards the costs of your flights/travel, delegate passes and accommodation (so you must spend £1000 to claim the full amount of £500). The money is claimed upon receipt of invoices and proof of spend. *please note delegate passes will NOT be provided by UKTI for this mission

Limitations: Only one person per company can apply. Your company MUST be based in the West Midlands. This is for individual delegates and not bands / musicians. Please see the application form with regard to your company turnover and funding status.

Further Information: http://nxne.com/

Why should I go? If you want to network, have something to sell, meet people in the same/similar fields, share or promote a product or service.

How do I apply? Just download the NXNE 2011 Application Form and forward to Alison Hawkins  at UKTI – A.Hawkins [@] birmingham-chamber.com

Deadline for applications: As the event is just over 1 month away and spaces are VERY limited we urge you to send your application to Alison by the 20th May 2011.

Want to know more? Feel free to give myself or David a call – we’ve both been out there.

This mission is funded by UKTI West Midlands.

So this is it, the beginning, are you prepared?

In celebration of the release, Fused have teamed up with the world of the X-Men, giving away some very unique, limited edition merchandise to three lucky winners.

Up for grabs for kids and grown-ups alike is a set including:
-Mouse mat
-Silicone watch
-Battle discs
-Stationary Set
-Cap
-Metallic notepad
-Black t-shirt
-Back pack

For your chance to win one of three limited edition sets, answer the following question:
Which award winning actor plays Professor Charles Xavier in the upcoming release X-MEN: FIRST CLASS?

Send your answer along with your name, address, telephone number and date of birth to competitions@fusedmagazine.com.

Deadline for entries is: Friday 27th May at 2pm.

RC

New York, a city like no other, has been celebrated many times in many different ways, and now Taschen have added a thoroughbred of a tome to the stable. Reuel Golden tells the tale of this quintessential modern metropolis in plain, elegant prose, and illustrates his story with a stunning gallery of photographs from the 1850s right up to the present day.

The text comes in short, article-sized snippets (there’s less than there seems at first because it’s in English, German and French) to introduce each chapter, and then the photos take over. And what a glorious gallimaufrey of images they are, covering just about every aspect of New York life you could think of, and snapped both by named professionals and anonymous amateurs. It’s this that gives them such life, a huge variety not just of subject matter but of style, bringing a human warmth to the collection and reflecting New York’s own diversity.

If that were all there is to it this would still be a beautiful book, but there’s even more. After the main part comes an end section of splendid appendices, with the usual index, credits and bibliography as you’d expect, but also recommended viewing, listening and reading, giving you a well chosen list of films, music and novels. And that’s what helps to set this volume apart. Let’s face it, there’s no shortage of beautifully produced books on New York giving you a visual and historical perspective, but this one allows you to gain the complete cultural lowdown on the city and get as close as you can to inhabiting it without actually moving there.

New York, Portrait of a City
Reuel Golden
Taschen
£44.99