Theo James Threatened to Jump Off a Ferris Wheel While Filming ‘Divergent’
Theo James has certainly been making headlines as of late. His upcoming HBO series, The Time Traveler’s Wife recently got a premiere date. But that won’t be James’ only HBO appearance. It was recently announced that he will be joining the cast of The White Lotus Season 2. This, of course, comes on the heels of the news that he wouldn’t be returning for Sanditon Season 2. But despite all the attention James is receiving, it still can’t compete with the media storm that surrounded him after he was cast in Divergent.
Theo James’ role in ‘Divergent’ was very physically demanding
Starring opposite Shailene Woodley, James was a main focal point in the Divergent movies. For three films, he played Tobias “Four” Eaton. Despite the media circus that came along with the films, James appreciated his time portraying Four. He especially enjoyed the physicality that the role required.
Because of Four’s time in the Dauntless faction, he is a trained warrior. This meant that James had to undergo training to prepare for his role. But the actor didn’t seem to mind at all, in fact, he seemed up to the challenge. James actually insisted on doing most of his own stunts in the Divergent films. One even involved climbing a Ferris Wheel.
The ‘Sanditon’ star threatened to jump off of a Ferris Wheel
Fans of Divergent may recall that Four and Tris climb a Ferris Wheel during a game of capture the flag. Tris has the idea to get to higher ground so that she can see where the opposing team is hiding their flag. Despite heights being one of his four fears, Four climbs up after her. Turns out that James enjoyed the climb far more than his character. He was even tossing out jokes while filming the memorable scene. In an interview with Games Radar, he got candid about the stunt.
“It wasn’t too bad because we were strapped in so you felt kind of invincible,” James admitted. “But when I was up there I was like, ‘I am going to test you guys and jump off.’, but they were like, ‘You could but you are still going to break your arm.’ So, maybe not then. But yeah in a good way because we actually did it, if you were feeling those feelings you could draw on them and make it feel as real as possible.”
James and Woodley wanted to make Tris and Four’s kiss very realistic
Another scene that James wanted to feel as real as possible was the kissing scene between Tris and Four. In fact, he and Woodley were so serious about making it truthful that they ended up shooting it twice. Apparently, the actors weren’t happy with how it felt the first time around.
“Shai and I, in a real way, wanted that to be as good as possible,” James shared about the Divergent kiss. “Because it’s the only time they get together and the only really kissy smooshy scene. And we wanted it to be good and to fulfill the things that it needs to fulfill and be real and not ebb on the side of lots of cheese.” Clearly, James and Woodley were invested in the films. It’s too bad the last one got scrapped before it was made.
