Theo James expected his role as Four in the Divergent film series to require physical strength. He didn’t anticipate the emotional needs.
In Divergent, he had to deal with father issues while pursuing a new relationship with the film’s central hero, Tris. That’s been magnified in the sequel, The Divergent Series: Insurgent, because of the growing emotional bond with Tris and the resurgence of a woman from his past.
“This film gave me even more emotional levels to play with Four,” James says. “In some ways, he’s quite different from the first movie. In the first film, Four is this quiet, watchful person. You are not really sure of his intentions. Now, it’s nice that Four can show some vulnerability because there wasn’t a lot of room for that in the first film.”
Divergent focused more on Tris being made part of, Dauntless, and her training under Four. It’s during the training,as you know, that it becomes clear Tris doesn’t fit any group. She is divergent. Insurgent picks up with Tris and Four on the run and trying to put together a way to fight back against Jeanine.
The second film also cranks up the physical demands on James. He embraces all of the action scenes, which makes it easier to embody his character.
