Courtney Howard // Film Critic
BLACK ADAM may revolve around its titular anti-hero (played by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson). However, director Jaume Collet-Serra also devotes time to two, absolutely stellar junior recruits to the Justice Society, Al Rothstein/ Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo) and Maxine Hunkel/ Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell), who are brought in to deal with the fallout from Teth-Adam’s awakening. Their search for the greater purpose they’re both seeking comes to a head when tasked to defend their world against nefarious forces hell-bent on destruction and restoring a semblance of balance to the universe. And, in the process of doing so, both Centineo and Swindell carve out Movie Moments for themselves.
I’m curious where you started from when forming your character? What was a key insight you had that broke this character and their world open for you?
Quintessa Swindell: “For me, it was a conversation that I had with Jaume and he showed me what some of the fight sequences were gonna look like. My jaw was on the ground. I’m really into superhero films and fantasy and I had never seen someone like this personified. Everything was very ballet and dance oriented. I just started pulling from dancers and different dance companies – both modern/ contemporary and performance artists. I just wanted to make Cyclone really unique. I wanted to represent a young girl I hadn’t seen on the screen before. That was my way in, that conversation with Jaume and the freedom he provided.
Noah Centineo: “For me, I had an hour and a half lunch with Jaume before I booked the role where he just explained to me BLACK ADAM and what he wanted to do with it – specifically with Cyclone and Atom Smasher being the younger recruits to the Justice Society and being a lens for the younger generation into the narrative. That began a huge understanding of the role of the characters, but it really came to me once I came to Atlanta, looking at the script, breaking down all my scenes and figuring out fun ways to deliver those lines and come in with a good idea of how I wanted to play the role so that once I got there, it was fun.”
Did either of you have any preconceived notions going into the making of this, of what you thought being in a comic book movie would entail versus the reality?
Swindell: “Not really, for me. I didn’t really know what to expect. The moment we talk about how grand the film is and seeing everyone’s hard work, it really puts it into perspective about how massive [it is]. Everyone knew everyone and felt so connected and was so passionate about it, that it made it seem – and this is how Noah’s put it – like a small indie. That’s just how family-oriented and free it was.”
Centineo: “100%”
I love that we first see both of you characters as regular, fully-fleshed out humans before we see y’all as superheroes. Was that something that was always in the script and that you connected with immediately?
Centineo: “I think that was always present in the script as far as who they were and their breakdowns and where they came from. But it was really subtextual more than anything. I’m really glad to hear you say that. That was a huge part of mine and I’m sure Q’s process for doing these roles was to connect with the humanity and the real people behind these meta-humans that learn what it means to become a superhero.”
When seeing yourself in full superhero costume for the first time, did that change your character conception at all? Did that help you feel the character come to life? I’d assume it changes your physicality.
Swindell: “For me, that directly happened. As soon as I put on the costume, she looks so different in the comics. I’m like, ‘I don’t wanna piss anybody off. What’s the deal with this?’ Kurt and Bart, our costumers, we had a conversation about it. And they were like, ‘No, no, no. This costume is something we wanted to be like Cyclone went into a costume shop and a theater that she goes to and pulled a bunch of these elements that she thought a superhero should look like. She’s passionate about this costume. This costume is beautiful.’
That was right when I was creating the character and it told me everything. This young girl is emboldened by her choices and is stepping into herself and wants to represent herself in the most authentic way possible. This is what she’s into and these are elements from THE WIZARD OF OZ and elements of her inspiration, like SALIOR MOON and Stevie Nicks. Is she like a witch? It made me think about all that stuff, which just informs who this girl is and made me feel so at ease and comfortable with her.”
Centineo: “The costume is his Uncle Al’s. So getting that, I didn’t have a whole lot of identity in my costume outside of the fact that Kurt and Bart pulled inspiration from 80s wresting. But I loved it because, once you put it on, you do feel more confident and like a bigger-than-life character. It does help solidify everything. You can’t put on that superhero suit and feel at least a little bit like a superhero.”
Swindell: “Absolutely.”
You two are working with titans of your industry here, both in front of and behind the camera. What was your greatest “pinch me” moment working on this?
Centineo: “I found myself sitting on set between Jaume Collet-Serra and Lawrence Sher as they were behind the camera as they were pointed at Dwayne Johnson and Pierce Brosnan. And I just remember spending countless hours sitting there watching them work together. The overall experience of being in a room with these titantic creators and filmmakers is always a ‘pinch me I’m dreaming’ moment, let alone when the cast is all working.”
Swindell: “My ‘pinch me’ moment was our last day of shooting and our wrap day and basically the lot of Cyclone’s stunt-work. We were listening to music because Jaume loved listening to music in the background and I had put on this playlist that I had made specifically for Maxine and I was like, ‘This is what she listens to when she fights or what’s going on in the back of her head.’ And when I saw my stunt double Frankie, dance and move to the music, I literally just felt like I was crying. I saw another person understood the character that we were making and that character was able to be imitated. I broke down from it. I was so happy.”
BLACK ADAM opens in theaters on October 21.
