Jupiter’s Legacy felt more like a family drama than a superhero show
The new Netflix series spans decades and navigates complex dynamics of power and loyalty. Leading man Josh Duhamel chats to Georgia Humphreys
Superhero films, rarely focus on the impact of violent scenes – the heroic characters seem indestructible.
But that’s not the case with new Netflix drama Jupiter’s Legacy – and it was one of the reasons the project appealed to North Dakota-born Josh Duhamel, who plays Sheldon Sampson, aka The Utopian.
“That drove me crazy about those types of movies before, that you never see the aftermath of these giant battles and all the people that probably died just in collateral,” says the charismatic 48-year-old.
“But in Jupiter’s Legacy, you see some of that stuff – these guys bleed, these guys die if they don’t overtake the enemy, and so they are mortal. And I think that makes the stakes a little higher.
“When they lose a brother or sister, they feel that – and it takes a little bit of time to heal. So that, to me, was great.”
The epic eight-part series is based on graphic novels by
Mark Millar and Frank Quitely, and follows the world’s first generation of superheroes who are now trying to help their kids carry on their legacy.
Former model Josh – who made his acting debut on US soap All My Children – admits that previously he has never been “super-excited” to do any kind of a superhero genre, because it’s been done so many times in so many ways.
“But this felt more like a family drama saga than it did a superhero show,” continues the star, who’s also known for the Transformers films. “It’s more of a psychological take on it.”
Jupiter’s Legacy spans decades, exploring two different timelines.
“That was one of the things I really loved about this whole story – the fact I got to go from the 1930s to present time,” reflects father-of-one Josh (he has a son, Axl, with ex-wife Fergie, of The Black Eyed Peas). “There’s a vulnerability, there’s an aspirational enthusiasm that this younger version of Sheldon has. And then to go to the present day and see what those 90 years have done, how does he wear that?
“What sort of new problems have arisen, and how does that affect you? I loved the whole family dysfunction, and how the younger generation doesn’t always necessarily agree with the old.”
It goes without saying that
this show is an action-packed watch.
Discussing particularly memorable stunts, Josh recalls a scene where Sheldon is punching Blackstar – the supervillain of the show, played by Tyler Mane. It led to him spraining his finger, which took three months to heal.
“There’s one [stunt] where I busted through this railing at the Supermax prison and landed – that was when I most felt like an actual superhero,” he recalls. “It’s not like a big gigantic stunt or anything, but it felt like he could just rip through this thing and just sort of float down on to the ground and then go fight the dude. That took some wire work.
“It’s fun to do that stuff. It’s kind of why I got into this business, to be able to fly around and do things that are completely implausible.”
As for what the biggest challenge of this series was, Josh is quick to answer.
His character’s costume may look cool but he confides that the superhero suits are difficult to stay comfortable in, because they’re ‘very suppressive’.
“They’re constantly squeezing in on you, so you always find yourself sort of stretching it out and trying to give yourself some room.
“That took the most getting used to.”
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