Dustin Ceithamer: Embodying Jimmy in Rebel Moon
Creature actor Dustin Ceithamer dove deep into his portrayal of Jimmy in Rebel Moon, from shaping the character’s physicality under the direction of Zack Snyder to teasing the robot’s revealed journey in the upcoming director’s cuts.
Zack Snyder’s two-parter space opera, Rebel Moon, embarked the audience on an incredible journey, exploring an unknown galaxy with new, compelling characters–witnessing a fight against all odds, full of small-yet-powerful moments and epic action. Although Part I: A Child of Fire and Part II: The Scargiver are centered on Kora (Sofia Boutella), one particular character was the embodiment of Rebel Moon’s lore, holding the secrets and history of the franchise: JC-1435 of the Mechanicas Militarium, or Jimmy for short. With the exclusion of few, robots in sci-fi have been regarded as machines incapable of emotion; however, Jimmy’s ancient programming allowed him to be the most compassionate and empathetic being of the entire tale. Creating the battle robot was an outstanding collaboration between art, makeup, and costume departments–ultimately voiced by legendary actor Anthony Hopkins and performed by Dustin Ceithamer. The creature actor revealed the process to become Jimmy, what prepared him for the iconic role and the character’s importance in the Rebel Moon saga.
Call it fate or just a star alignment, Dustin Ceithamer’s landing of the iconic role in Rebel Moon was meant to be. Being cast in Obi-Wan Kenobi as the gentle giant droid Ned-B propelled his career, the actor confessing that the role was the foundation for Jimmy: “Ned-B was a practical suit that weighed a ton; it took about forty minutes to get into it and fifteen to get out, so you don’t go to the bathroom or eat when you’re in the costume. I would basically be in it as long as I could be. It was a tough filming process that really trained me to keep a good attitude and have a good work ethic but also to know my boundaries. To date, Ned-B has been the hardest job, and since then everything has been easier.” The lack of visibility and poor hearing inside the costume just added to the momentous challenge of conveying the emotional beats, something that Obi-Wan Kenobi director Deborah Chow helped the actor achieve. He said, “I thought because the suit was so big that, in order to communicate, I was going to have to exaggerate everything, make everything huge. What she really taught me with Ned-B was that the smaller the motion, the more sincere and subtle they read on camera. I think I did translate that to the Jimmy costume.”
“I think when we started talking about Jimmy’s movement, I was playing him very robotic. And Zack [Snyder] kept saying, ‘Less robotic. We want the technology to seem so advanced that he’s very pedestrian; he’s very human in the way that he moves.’”
Zack Snyder envisioned a one-of-a-kind character for Jimmy, one that has the human connection at its core. That trait had to be properly translated through vocal and most importantly physical performance. Dustin Ceithamer shared, “I think when we started talking about Jimmy’s movement, I was playing him very robotic. And Zack kept saying, ‘Less robotic. We want the technology to seem so advanced that he’s very pedestrian; he’s very human in the way that he moves.’” The same note was provided to Anthony Hopkins during Jimmy’s recording sessions, establishing a blueprint that truly defined the character.
That human connection was beautifully showcased in the touching moment between Jimmy and Sam (Charlotte Maggi) in Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire as the robot tells the tale of the slain King. Ceithamer recalled, “Everything that Zack shoots is beautiful … he’s such a visual director. He wanted to film the scene at sundown, and because of that you only get maybe a half hour of shooting time every day. We did that scene for two weeks. We’d be shooting other things during the day and then when it was getting about time, everyone would go over to the lake and set everything up so we could get that beautiful, natural lighting. That’s why the scene looks so beautiful, and Charlotte’s eyes, the way the sun hit them, they were just glowing.” This was such a pivotal part of the story for Jimmy–his newly found bond with Sam was the spark that ignited his existential journey.
Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver ultimately put Jimmy right in the middle of the conflict on Veldt–his super hero act of bravery elevating the film’s epic levels while defining the character’s new purpose. The outstanding stunt team lead by Freddy Bouciegues choreographed and executed a beautifully complex, forty-minute battle sequence that not only was entertaining, but it also deeply served Snyder’s storytelling of a seemingly helpless farming colony defying the odds against the dreadful Imperium army. “It’s a wonderful, sophisticated play. It’s dangerous so everyone has to be on their marks, but there’s also an excitement in the air as you’re doing your choreography. It takes a lot of prep time leading up to it, and then on the day of shooting, they get it from so many different angles–sometimes you do very small snippets. Sometimes they take a long pass and try to do a whole sequence in real time. Safety is always important since there is a lot going on on the set. You have all the actors fighting, there’s live fire everywhere, there are fake bullets going off, there are smoke cans, a lot that has to be coordinated all at the same time to get these shots. And Zack is such an incredible director. He sees it all. He’s so patient. He gets everyone on the same page. He’s very respectful of the artists. He respects the stunt team … they’re the heart of these fight sequences. I think because of that they wanna do the best job for him.” Ceithamer added, “It’s so much fun, but it’s also a lot of work. Those are long days … you go home and just wanna find a bathtub and soak in some salts [laughs]. In the end they’re very rewarding days, just seeing all the creative departments working together is incredible … I’m so honored to be part of this.”
Dustin Ceithamer teased that the Rebel Moon director’s cuts will explore Jimmy’s deep history of who he was, who created him, and how his connection with Sam shifted his purpose in life: “I’m so excited for the Rebel Moon fans and the people who love Zack Snyder, because there’s some really cool things that are gonna get fleshed out [in the director’s cuts], things that they don’t even know are coming.”
Make sure to check out Dustin Ceithamer’s Instagram page to follow along his inspiring career journey. Both Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire and Part Two: The Scargiver are currently streaming on Netflix, with the director’s cuts releasing soon.
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