'training for three months in different martial arts'...well then, he must be a master by now.

Jai Courtney Says ‘Suicide Squad’ Will Be ‘Huge’


Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic
March 17, 2015 | 07:11AM PT
Brent Lang
Senior Film and Media Reporter @BrentALang

Jai Courtney has been pumping iron and hitting the gym to get ready for the start of filming on “Suicide Squad” this April.

The Australian actor, best known for his roles in “Divergent” and “A Good Day to Die Hard,” plays Captain Boomerang in the adaptation of the DC Comics series about a gang of super-villians on an impossible mission.

“I’ve been training for three months in different martial arts,” Courtney said at Monday’s premiere of “The Divergent Series: Insurgent.” “As you can imagine for that superhero world, the athletic expectations are rather high.”

“Suicide Squad” co-stars Will Smith as Deadshot, Jared Leto as the Joker, and Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn — a murderers’ row of bad guys. Details of the film are being tightly guarded, and Courtney wasn’t feeling particularly loose-lipped.

“I can’t reveal anything about the plot,” he said. “I’m working with a great cast. It’s a wonderful group, and I’m really pumped to be working among them.”

He also said he’s particularly pleased that he won’t have to cover up his native accent.

“I play an Aussie, which is going to be really fun,” said Courtney.

Courtney’s co-star Joel Kinnaman told Variety at last week’s premiere of “Run All Night” that he had already spent time in Toronto preparing for his role as Rick Flagg.

He praised director David Ayer’s “visual talent” and said he was a big fan of his recent World War II film, “Fury.”

“It’s going to be a huge action film, very visual, but grounded in the characters,” he said.

“Suicide Squad” debuts on Aug. 5, 2016.