In a quiet little movie called Divergent, a brute named Eric intimidates a new faction pledge named Tris (Shailene Woodley) with his bulging muscles, gauge-like piercings, and neck tattoos. Eric, played by actor Jai Courtney, is tireless in his pursuit of brawn and business. Courtney, however, is neither an American from a dystopian future—though he’ll play yet another post-apocalypse soldier in the forthcoming Terminator reboot—nor a particularly strict rule follower. He is, in fact, a big, smiley, sarcastic, self-assured Australian. (Who, incidentally, possesses bulging muscles.) When we meet for a round of dirty martinis at The Leadbelly on New York’s Lower East Side—a clubhouse that looks like your best friend’s parents’ basement, complete with old records and sepia-toned photographs—he’s gearing up for the release of yet another movie in which he assumes the tough guy role.
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