{"id":115379,"date":"2024-08-01T02:53:55","date_gmt":"2024-08-01T02:53:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2024\/08\/01\/sam-asghari-wants-more-villain-roles-thanks-to-jackpot-costar-simu-liu\/"},"modified":"2024-08-01T02:53:55","modified_gmt":"2024-08-01T02:53:55","slug":"sam-asghari-wants-more-villain-roles-thanks-to-jackpot-costar-simu-liu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2024\/08\/01\/sam-asghari-wants-more-villain-roles-thanks-to-jackpot-costar-simu-liu\/","title":{"rendered":"Sam Asghari Wants More Villain Roles Thanks to Jackpot Costar Simu Liu"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Sam Asghari<\/strong><\/a> has a serious desire to keep playing the villain after watching his Jackpot<\/em> costar Simu Liu<\/strong><\/a> in action.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust watching Simu, who plays my boss, just watching him play this bad guy [when] he\u2019s such a nice person in real life, made me realize that these are the type of roles that I should be focusing more on as well,\u201d Asghari, 30, exclusively told Us Weekly<\/em> while promoting the upcoming comedy. \u201cI learned so much from Simu.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Paul Feig<\/strong>\u2013directed feature<\/a>, which hits theaters on Thursday, August 15, centers on recent transplant and aspiring actor Katie (Awkwafina<\/strong>) in a 2030-set Los Angeles where a multi-billion dollar \u201cGrand Lottery\u201d has been put in place. When Katie finds herself with the winning ticket, she\u2019s left trying to stay alive until sundown in an attempt to keep her prize. Desperate to survive the day, she pairs up with amateur lottery protection agent Noel Cassidy (John Cena<\/strong>), who promises to do everything in his power to help her \u2014 as long as she shares the money.<\/p>\n

Asghari plays Senior Agent Ash in the movie, a lackey to Liu\u2019s Louis Lewis \u2014 Noel\u2019s rival and the owner of the largest lottery protection agency in L.A. who is desperate to take Katie down. Despite going head to head with Awkwafina and Cena on screen, Asghari said that he has nothing but admiration for his two costars behind the scenes.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\tRelated: <\/span>Us\u2019 Complete Guide to Summer\u2019s Biggest Blockbuster Movies<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tJay Maidment\/20th Century Studios\/MARVEL ;Dan McFadden\/CTMG, Inc ; Universal From action adventure to heartbreaking romance, there is a summer blockbuster for every type of cinephile this year, and Us Weekly has your complete guide to all of them. Potentially the most anticipated movie of the season, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, serves as the fifth [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cAwkwafina is such a great comedian and her comedic timing is so on point \u2014 that is the reason she is who she is. \u2026 She was born for comedy,\u201d Asghari gushed. \u201cAnd John Cena, I\u2019ve always been super impressed with the crossover from WWE to on screen acting. And I never knew how much of a professional he was. It was just such a fun experience to be part of this cast.\u201d<\/p>\n

The cast, of course, wasn\u2019t the only draw for Asghari. The actor and model is also a big fan of Feig \u2014 best known for his work on The Office, Freaks and Geeks<\/em> and A Simple Favor<\/em> \u2014 who he called a \u201cgreat director and producer.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Amazon MGM Studios<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s such an open person to letting the actor be an actor, especially when it comes to comedy, because there\u2019s so many funny things that could come out of your mouth naturally,\u201d Asghari said. \u201cAnd there was a lot of that happening [on Jackpot<\/em>]. \u2026 So I\u2019m just super excited about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jackpot<\/em> also had exactly the right balance of comedy and action, which only added to Asghari feeling like he\u2019d landed his dream project. The Iran native told Us<\/em> he grew up on the genre, which he believes has a universal appeal to audiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody\u2019s always excited about the action packed things, and me coming from a different country, not speaking the language, I always watch action films because that\u2019s what speaks international languages,\u201d he explained. \u201cThat\u2019s what resonated with me from childhood, so to be part of a movie that\u2019s full of action and requires a lot of wrestling and a lot of rehearsing is just just exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Now that Jackpot<\/em> has wrapped, Asghari is setting his sights on his next project. He told Us<\/em> that he\u2019s been \u201creally close for a few roles\u201d but isn\u2019t taking it personally. The Hacks<\/em> alum is \u201c100 percent\u201d focused on his career and believes the right part will inevitably come his way.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the beauty of acting. You never know what project is good for you and what\u2019s not,\u201d he said. \u201cPersonally, I\u2019ve auditioned so many times before, and that\u2019s part of acting, and I love the competitiveness of the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

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For now, Asghari is looking for more villainous parts \u2014 thank you, Liu \u2014 and would like to spread his wings into more dramatic films. \u201cThe drama scenes and all the dramatic projects, that\u2019s where I get to show my acting ability, and not just the person who plays the obvious character,\u201d he shared. \u201cSo I\u2019m really going to be exploring those options.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for what particular projects he\u2019d like to see himself in, Asghari has a few ideas \u2014 and they include the small screen.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\tRelated: <\/span>2024 Films Are Giving Us Deja Vu: Do Recycled Movies Actually Work? <\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tWarner Bros., Universal Pictures, Netflix Remakes, reboots, revivals, sequels and requels have become a trend in 2024 \u2014 but do recycled movies actually work? While capitalizing on lingering affection for the original, these new entries feature contemporary stars to bring in younger audiences. In a world where \u201clife was better in the old days,\u201d Hollywood [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI like original projects [and when] producers do such a good job of putting a cast together,\u201d he told Us<\/em>, noting White Lotus<\/em> as an example. \u201c[TV] shows are always something that I\u2019m looking forward to auditioning for because those are the ones that resonate with the audience the most.\u201d<\/p>\n

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