Director David Ayer, star Josh Hutcherson talk new thriller ‘The Beekeeper’

Jason Statham plays the title role in the new revenge thriller The Beekeeper — in that, yes, his soft-spoken Adam Clay keeps bees.

But unbeknownst to those who know him, he’s also a veteran of a secret group known as Beekeepers who take the law into their own hands when justice fails victims.  

And that it did when Statham’s friend Eloise, played by Phylicia Rashad, sees all her money — and that of a charity she runs — swiped by a high-tech hacking organization, leading her to commit suicide.

Pulling the strings is Josh Hutcherson‘s Derek; he told ABC Audio he had a ball playing the sleazy, super well-connected tech bro. “I went for it,” the actor said with a laugh. 

He added, “He’s a total crypto bro, completely out of touch with reality, and he’s wildly insecure. And so from there, [I] just kind of let it loose.”

He added, “A lot of things came out of me that I didn’t know were in me. So that was fun and scary.”

Veteran action movie director David Ayer called the shots on the film and said Statham opened even his eyes. “I know a lot about action, but Jason taught me there’s actually an A-plus game when it comes to action,” he said.

“And this is a guy that does his own stunts. I mean, he’s an athlete and a martial artist … he knows what he’s doing and he knows how these things look on camera. And so he really taught me a lot about … the value of having a star doing his own work like that. Because instead of cutting around a double, it’s him all day.”  

The Beekeeper is now in theaters. 

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