Gerard Butler ’s Detective “ Big Nick ” O’Brien and O’Shea Jackson Jr. ’s Donnie Wilson were enemies inDen of stealer . Big Nick was the hunter who always delivered . Donnie , the getaway driver , was Big Nick ’s prey . Yet at the last ofDen of Thieves , Donnie is the master thief , robbing the Los Angeles Federal Reserve Bank and fleeing to Europe before a humiliated Big Nick can fascinate him .
WhenDen of Thieves 2 : Panterabegins , Big Nick ’s fixation with Donnie head to his divorcement and benching from the personnel . Meanwhile , Donnie is in Europe , planning his next musical score . Hellbent on revenge , Big Nick find Donnie abroad and confront him at point . This sentence , Big Nick wants in on the natural action and forces Donnie to include him in his next heist . Their mission is to plume the World Diamond Center . Donnie depict it as “ the cop go mobster , ” as Big Nick switches side to attempt the heist of the C .
Butler and Jackson speak with Digital Trends about returning to this creation and how they reshaped their characters for the sequel . While the action stay on star , Den of Thieves 2 : Panterashows a much funnier side of Big Nick and Donnie . Butler tells me that ifButch Cassidy and the Sundance KidandThe Odd Couplehad a baby , it would beDen of Thieves 2 .
Note : This clause has been edited for duration and clarity .
Digital Trends : One of the citation I want to start out with comes from Donnie , who says it in the prevue : “ It ’s not about the money . It ’s about the challenge . ” That ’s his creed . I call up we ’ve all face up that decision in our life , to really test ourselves . As actors , is there a specific clock time you may indicate to when you essay out a part to dispute yourselves ?
O’Shea Jackson Jr.:Well , for me , it would believably be , number one , I think this is the most challenging motion-picture show I ’ve had to manage with . When it come to natural action character and everything , it ’s move to take a price on you physically . Your endurance throughout the day , you know , you just want to make trusted that you ’re ready for whatever gets thrown at you . Then , there ’s a destiny of thing that I tried in this moving picture that I have n’t done before in my short acting vocation …
One where it was just strictly for growth and the love of the biz would probably be a moving-picture show I did afterStraight Outta ComptoncalledIngrid Goes West . It was an indie . It was with people who I unfeignedly trust in and cared about . It was completely dark and day fromStraight Outta Compton . It was to to show myself , like , “ Yo , are we really gon na do this ? ” So , I got ta sayIngrid cash in one’s chips West .
Gerard Butler : For a period , I would choose movies on the fact that they terrified me . Like I encounter the Phantom in thePhantom of the Opera . I ’d never had a singing object lesson in my life ! I took one singing example and then had to babble out euphony for the night for Andrew Lloyd Webber . I made a breakers movie , and I ’d never browse in my life . A clustering of other things , too , like performing Shakespeare oppositeRalph Fiennes , where I ’d never really done any Shakespeare before .
Another one was when I went into a movie not recognize a single line . It was calledLast Seen Alive . The thought was nothing particular , but drop dead in , I thought , “ I do n’t even know if I can do this . ” I ’ve loved that for challenges , but I jibe with you [ turns to O’Shea ] . I think that this movie feel like it ’s challenging for everybody . Big Nick is challenging and a lot of fun at the same time .
I count at the fictitious character inside information of Donnie and Big Nick and the way of life they mouth and stand . Donnie is a homo of many languages and nice jewellery . Big Nick — sleek down - backed hair’s-breadth and the range of mountains . With those details , how do you utilize them to get back into character for the subsequence ?
Jackson : With Donnie , it was kind of night and 24-hour interval as far as with the first one . It really mirrored my actual tactual sensation about myself . Den of Thieves , the first one , was my third movie ever . I had this idea in my head that I just buzz off to keep my head down , do my work , not stimulate any ill , not cause any issue . Get in and get out .
Butler:[sarcastically ] And it did cause complaints , by the room .
Jackson : dead , bro .
Butler : vainglorious time .
Jackson : They sent me to weapons preparation at like 6 in the morning . I do n’t snap a gun the whole moving picture . I ’m down for the squad bonding , but like , allow ’s go to dinner . [ laughs ] The first one definitely mirrored how I feel about myself career - wise , so it was loose to unfold up and show that side of me .
Then with this one , I fritter this in my ninth class of choosing this [ act ] life history , so I felt more convinced in myself . I matt-up like I knew what I wanted to do , bonk how to fulfil it , and I was intimate with the masses that I was working with . This is my first clock time in a sequel , so I felt like I was get the crew back together . It help me relax a small bit . Being well-fixed in my own skin as a performing artist shined through for what Donnie needed in the second one .
Butler : I have stuff and nonsense to say about Big Nick , but first , I need to state that watching [ O’Shea ’s ] growth from movie to movie has been absorbing and awful to watch , specially now . He gets to play a different Donnie because the first Donnie we all thought was somebody wholly dissimilar . I recall I would be doing vista with him , and I ’d seen him in stuff before and thought he was very gifted , but I had no idea [ about O’Shea ’s natural endowment ] . The scene where I ’m kicking the crap out of you , and the mode you were come at it , I was like , “ This fry is good , like really near . Just a rude . ” Now , to see him get a chance to do more with the unlike Donnie we now bang — the tangible guy , the kingpin , the passe-partout stealer — and to see your confidence grow where you ’re even more aware .
Big Nick , everything about him , like you said , the grease - back tomentum , his beard , the way he defend himself . I did a lot of work on that in the first one . Literally , how did I throw my crapulence ? How did I utter to hoi polloi ? How did I answer ? How did I hold a door for somebody ? I did that all the meter , and it was kind of interesting to really feel that out with Big Nick .
Weirdly , I did that less this clock time . I in reality come up off of that because I thought , well , that ’s cool , but I think if I come off of that a lilliputian more , there ’s more color to be hit . There ’s a spate of color to be gotten from our story and everything he ’s going through . As I came off that a bit , I felt like it open up up Big Nick and allowed him to play unlike prospect other than the machismo , bestial energy . That was really fun , especially with this guy here .
I was go to name that it ’s a lot funnier than I expected . It ’s almost like a buddy - cop odd couple with comedic vibes in sure scenes . I do n’t know if you work on that with Christian [ Gudegast , the writer - director ] to get that vibe .
Butler : Yeah , that was a big affair for me . really , Christian came to Scotland , and we spent like seven days going around castle and hotels , just shooting the s * * * . One of the adult things for me was how much we could get out of [ Big Nick and Donnie ’s ] relationship . There was a lot more humor and bonding . That was the main part of the work .
When we get together , a lot of it is him [ O’Shea ] and I improv - ing . Our vigour together , you could see that from the first movie . Our petty moments together were really good , but this time , there was a caboodle of infinite for delectability view Donnie . Like you say , The Odd Couple . I always say it ’s likeButch Cassidy and the Sundance KidmeetsThe Odd Couple . If they had a sister , then that ’s us .
Jackson : In the first one , Christian really made it a point to keep us separated . We had the criminal and the regulators . We seldom saw each other on solidification unless it was a shootout [ laughs ] , which is great for chemistry because it made us band together as two separate squad . The fourth dimension when I did have scenes with Gerard , it was like unfamiliar territory with each other . But this time , we ’re with each other all the fourth dimension . It really was a flock of soldering moment on set / off camera that led to the chemistry you see on filmdom .
MajorWWEvibes .
Jackson : Yeah !
Almost like Big Nick joining The Bloodline .
Jackson : Yeah , bro .
Butler : By the way , what was the knock you were carry ? In the first movie , you fare in –
Jackson : There ’s like this huge storage warehouse full of property from like a gross ton of flick . I was going around being just an ass . [ express joy ]
Butler : It was very funny . Was it a WWE belt ?
Jackson : Yeah , a WWE belt .
Butler : express it around like it was his , like he just gain . [ express mirth ] He just never stopped talking , and it was hilarious . He had this stream of consciousness — he would just lecture and blab out . It was very clever . For instance , and I know we ’re peach about the unseasonable flick [ Den of Thieves1 ] here , the Clarence Day that we had to beat you up , our gang was all trying to be problematic , trying to be scarey , and to keep it real .
He ’s [ O’Shea ] just joking about it . When we did the scene , he was brilliant . It was operose to say , “ number on , man . You hump , stay with us , ” because he was devote a swell execution . But then he ’d be joking around with us , so I keep slapping his face in between . The eternal rest of the guys would be walking over , slap his face , endeavor to pall him , which was n’t really working . In the fit , it work out because he seemed scared . But I was like , “ For Christ ’s sake . Take this seriously . ” Yet , he was killing it .
Jackson : I’m a little brother , bro . I got drum up a lot as a kid . [ laughs ]
Butler : I’m a untried sib , too . I get it .
Jackson:[laughs ] Yeah .
Speaking of the wrestling theme , I like the head you ask on yourpodcastabout the measure — four guys on your side . I want to riffle it back at you guys — heist edition , though . You ’re in the burial vault . You got the money . law are outside . Four movie fictitious character with you . you’re able to select each other if you want .
Jackson:[to Butler ] I have a wrestling podcast that I do , and on the podcast , I ask wrestlers , “ All right . There ’s a bar full of 50 guys . They all hate you , and you need four other wrestler to check that you could get to the car . ” So what I do is I have wrestlers fare up with this illusion squad that they wish they had with them if s * * * hits the sports fan . So he ’s asking for us to pick four other movie fictional character to do a heist with .
Obviously , I take Big Nick on my squad . What ’s Tom Cruise ’s name inMission : inconceivable ?
Ethan Hunt .
Jackson : Ethan Hunt . Yeah , you have to have him .
Butler : Oh yeah , Ethan Hunt . That ’s good .
Jackson : I want Paul Walker fromFast and Furiousso we can get out of there . Donnie ’s a gadget driver , too , but we call for two railcar . I could just pick James Bond , but I feel like it ’s cheating . So I need , oh , John Wick . I need Wick . [ laughs ] I postulate Wick .
You said Paul Walker . I was thinking of Vin Diesel . We ’ll get Dominic Toretto .
Jackson : Yeah , Dom . He seems like a Nick guy wire . [ laughs ]
Butler : I would say Donnie because he say me , and that gets one out of the elbow room . Great driver . Can get out of situations to the extent that he would be so good that I would not even be sure he would not leave me behind . I know he would get us out of there . The rest would be me just kind of grabbing onto his coattails .
niggling Miss Sunshine , I think , because nobody would expect that . Wonder Woman to keep the womanhood happy , so we ’re not just gon na be talking about male heroes . Wonder Womanbecause she ’s beautiful , and she ’s a badass .
Jackson : That ’s our armoured combat vehicle .
Butler : Then me , Leonidas .
Jackson : Oh , that ’s swell !
pantryman : get on now !
Jackson : doubly the Butler !
All the cops are pass .
Jackson : First of all , you get under one’s skin Leonidas and Wonder Woman . They ’re just gon na be sparring the intact clock time . [ laugh ]
Butler : Oh , that ’s gon na be interesting .
Den of Thieves 2 : Panteraisnow in theaters .
