Interview by Rafy Mediavilla with Disney+ “National Treasure: Edge of History” cast members, Jordan Rodrigues, Antonio Cipriano & Jake Austin Walker. Out Now On Disney+!
Jess Valenzuela’s life is turned upside down when an enigmatic stranger gives her a clue to a centuries-old treasure that might be connected to her long-dead father. Jess has a knack for solving puzzles, and her skills are put to the test as she and her friends follow a series of clues hidden in American artifacts and landmarks. But can Jess outsmart a black-market antiquities dealer in a race to find history’s greatest lost treasure and unbury the truth about her family’s past?
Criticólogos:
What is the connection that you saw between the movies and the series?
Jake Austin Walker:
Oh, yes, Yes, Definitely. Saw the first two movies growing up. It was kind of a staple of my childhood. My brother and I absolutely loved the films. We would watch them all the time, and so it was really exciting discovering the connections to the show. Like my character, Liam Sadusky is the grandson of Peter Sadusky, who was played by Harvey Keitel, who is the head FBI agent in the first two films. And, you know, taking the Sadusky name and making sure I do right by the fans and everything was such a special torch soul. Yeah.
Antonio Cipriano
Yeah. I was a fan of the movies growing up as well. I grew up watching them and came back to them when I got the audition and just realized how it still stands and how incredible the movie still is. And and now being a part of this, just, you know, wanting to want to do right by the fans of it, because I was a fan of it growing up and I want it to be great as well. So it’s an honor to be a part of it.
Jordan Rodrigues:
Yeah, no, I definitely watched them as soon as I found out that I got the role, I was so stoked and I immediately watched the first two films and it just gets you into the mindset and it gets you into the world of it and the universe. And it really helps when you’re reading the scripts because there are so many Easter eggs in the scripts that you get excited about it. You can’t help but like feel like a fan, but also you’re a part of the world too. And I mean, it’s the best way in the world to be a part of this.
Criticólogos:
One of the things that stood out for me from the series is the diversity and inclusion of not only the characters but the cast. I absolutely love the cast. So I wonder, with that in mind, how much of your character is you being yourself, or do you just follow the script?
Jake Austin Walker:
Yeah, yeah. I mean, I think at the beginning playing a character is kind of jaded and standoffish. The guy a lone wolf is is very much the opposite. I mean, I am such a people person. I love like I love people. So I, I don’t know, I’d say that was an aspect of me in my head I had to figure out. But I was very thankful that later in the season he becomes part of the treasure-hunting family. And so we share a ton of similarities, a ton of similarities like our love for music our love for performing, our love for adventure. I mean, it’s definitely true, but yeah, I mean.
Antonio Cipriano:
Yeah. What was so great about this whole cast, I think we realized that when we were cast, it just felt right, you know, every, every role that we had felt really like our kind of. And yeah, there are definitely aspects of Owen that I don’t want to identify with, but I do love him so much and there is a lot of myself that I saw even in the sides that I got for the audition. I was like, Wow, this is a character that I’ve wanted to play for so long and that’s props to the writers. I mean, they’re the writing of these characters is so amazing and so personal, and it makes the actors feel like they can relate as much as possible.
Jordan Rodrigues:
Yeah, I think, you know, I think having a young, diverse group sort of really like raises the stakes when it comes to this ten-part series, something, you know like we’re just youngsters. We’re not actual treasure hunters. We’re being launched into this world. And the stakes are high, especially for just Jess’ character who’s you know, who’s a dreamer. And so she gets in trouble. It can be catastrophic. So, I mean, it raises everything to just a high level in the series, I think.
See the interview below:
Trailer:
