Entertainment
Jupiter’s Legacy: Andrew Horton on touching words from Josh Duhamel that ‘stuck with him’ and ‘stark difference’ of character Brandon from comics
Andrew Horton, one of the stars of new Netflix series Jupiter’s Legacy, recalls the kind words of encouragement from his co-star Josh Duhamel that ‘stuck with him’ and the ‘stark difference’ between his character, Brandon Sampson, in the show versus the comics.
Amid the ongoing plethora of superhero tales told on TV and in film, Jupiter’s Legacy, based on Mark Millar’s comic book series of the same name, strives to subvert the norms of the genre and place just as much emphasis on family dynamics as on the characters’ special abilities.
Andrew plays young hero Brandon, otherwise known as The Paragon, whose parents, The Utopian (Josh) and Lady Liberty (Leslie Bibb) are two of the most powerful superheroes on Earth, having gained their abilities many years ago in the 1930s.
Being cast in Jupiter’s Legacy was a ‘daunting’ prospect for the British actor, he told Metro.co.uk, as it was the biggest production he had ever been a part of and – as he described himself – he was not ‘credit-full’ when he was offered the role.
Fortunately, the rest of the cast helped to put him at ease, including Love, Simon star Josh, whose character Sheldon Sampson has an extremely fractured and complicated relationship with his son.
‘I remember doing a scene with Josh. It was one of the earliest scenes I was working on – it was the one in the field in episode two, where I’m throwing rocks at cans on the fence,’ Andrew recollected.
‘Afterwards, he was like, “You’re doing an absolutely great job man. Keep it up.” And that just stuck with me. He didn’t need to say that.’
Andrew was one of two Brits in the main cast, starring in the show alongside The Crown’s Ben Daniels, who plays Walter Sampson, the brother of The Utopian also known as Brainwave.
Describing his fellow cast members as ‘crazy supportive’, Andrew said: ‘You have no idea what these people are going to be like before you work with them. Everyone was just fantastic and looked after me, which was what I needed because it was far from home.’
Prior to Jupiter’s Legacy, Andrew had been auditioning for roles on a similar scale, stating that he ‘got quite close’ to being cast as Hughie on Amazon Prime Video superhero series The Boys, with the part eventually going to Jack Quaid.
Saying that playing Hughie ‘would have been a stark difference to Brandon’, Andrew added that when he sent off his audition tape for Jupiter’s Legacy while away in Vietnam, he found out he’d been given the part just a week later.
The Brandon that we meet in the Netflix series is not the same as the one depicted in the comic books, as the TV adaptation introduces him to audiences approximately six months earlier than in the original source material.
Initially, Andrew said that he ‘wanted to go straight in and be like this Brandon from the comics’. However, in retrospect, he’s glad he had the chance some earlier character development was written into the show.
‘After having played with it and after having watched it back, you realise how smart and how intentional a move it was, just in terms of giving the character more depth,’ he explained.
‘I think if I had come in as Brandon is in the comics, who is quite petulant and disillusioned already with his father, then there’s only so far you can go with that before the story needs to properly progress, as it does within the comics.’
Recalling his fond memories on set with the cast, some of his favourite of which included dishing out ‘smack talk’ in the gym and filming his very first scene for a Sampson family dinner, Andrew stated that in his opinion, Jupiter’s Legacy is on the same level as the superhero content released by ‘massive studios’.
‘I think what we have created is on a par to that stuff in terms of digital effects, in terms of production value. I see it all there, and I’m so proud of everyone involved in the show,’ he said.
‘But I think what really stands apart for us is the way it focuses on the family relationships and the human relationships, almost more than it does on the action, it being almost more of a drama than it is a superhero show.
‘That relevance to real life I think is very exciting.’
Jupiter’s Legacy is available to watch on Netflix.
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