Pantera Actors Discuss Their On/Off-Screen Dynamic

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home January 7, 2025 7 Views 6 Min Read
Pantera Actors Discuss Their On/Off-Screen Dynamic



Den of Thieves 2: Pantera throws audiences back into the world of high-stakes heists as unorthodox policeman ‘Big Nick’ O’Brien (played by Gerard Butler) continues his pursuit of Donnie Wilson (played by O’Shea Jackson Jr.), the elusive mastermind behind the first movie’s events. This time, the plot seemingly sees the two teaming up to take on a particularly challenging diamond heist, placing Big Nick’s status as the movie’s de-facto ‘good guy’ in jeopardy.

Game Rant recently caught up with Butler and Jackson Jr. to discuss Den of Thieves 2: Pantera. They talked about what it was like working on the same side this time around and how easy it was to slip back into the minds of their respective characters. With future Den of Thieves sequels possibly in the works, the dynamic between the two is an integral part of the universe.

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Butler and Jackson Jr.’s On-Screen Dynamic is Electric

2018’s Den of Thieves established Big Nick as a loudmouth, brash, relentless cop who will stop at nothing to get the job done. Donnie, on the other hand, was introduced as a getaway driver for a team of skilled criminals. The movie’s climax revealed that Donnie was much more than just a skilled driver though, as he was revealed to have planned the movie’s main heist before making his exit, slipping right out of Big Nick’s grasp. Now, the two end up on the same side when it comes to a heist in Europe, and Jackson Jr. says working on the same side and bonding as actors benefits their characters. On working with Butler, Jackson Jr. said,

”When I heard that Nick was going to be teaming up with me in this movie, I was like, ‘Okay, this is a whole different world.’ It’s like drafting a rival team’s best player, so it was exciting. I knew that it meant I got to pick Gerard’s brain a little bit more and get to know him better. We became really cool on set, whether it was him giving me advice on questions I had about the direction of my career or me asking about how he handled certain situations that he’s already been through. We bonded, and it came out on camera.”

Butler’s ‘Big Nick’ Has Changed Since the First Movie

Butler and Jackson Jr.’s relationship blossomed both on and off set as a result of the shared screen time, and this was an integral part of making sure the pair’s dynamic felt natural and organic. For Butler, stepping back into Big Nick’s shoes was easy, even if the character himself is now a very different guy when compared to the first movie. Butler has played many tough guys in the past, but viewers expecting to see the same crazy, over-the-top character they met in 2018 may be a little surprised. This time around, Butler is playing a character whose hot air has been deflated. He explained,

”I was amazed at how it was kind of like a glove in terms of getting back into Nick, but I also needed to let go of certain things. His confidence has been a bit destroyed, so I don’t think he needed to be as physically brash and posing, which also weirdly allowed for more color, more humor, more vulnerability. Even in his unhingedness, there were different levels of that, so I felt I could say more by maybe not committing quite as much to some of those decisions as I did in the first movie.”

Butler’s admission suggests a more measured version of Big Nick will be on display in the sequel. A man not quite so unhinged, but every bit as formidable. Director Christian Gudegast and producer Tucker Tooley are open to future sequels, so there should be plenty more time for Butler and O’Shea Jr.’s dynamic to continue developing.

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