Jackson Rathbone on Playing Sokka, Stunt Work, And Training for 'The Last Airbender'

Highlights from Jackson Rathbone's interview with "Saturday Night" magazine:

SNMag: Tell us about your role in The Last Airbender…
Jackson Rathbone: I play a young warrior named Sokka who, along with his sister, discovers a mysterious boy trapped in the ice; they free him and end up on a quest to save the world. It’s a very fantastical story that originated out of the Nickelodeon cartoon and now it’s a live action epic fantasy.

SNMag: What kind of stunts did you have to do?
JR: Mostly it was hand to hand combat. My character doesn’t have any special abilities…so I’d do a lot of scenes where I fight off guys with swords and spears and all I had to fight with was the boomerang. It’s a little bit nerve-wracking, even when it’s a plastic sword coming at you.

SNMag: How was your experience working with M. Night Shyamalan?
JR: It was amazing. The Sixth Sense is one of my favorite thrillers and I love Night’s other work. So it felt like great as an actor to be working with somebody I’ve respected and admired for years.

SNMag: What can you tell us about your tattoos?
JR: I’ve got six tattoos total. I am planning on getting a couple more maybe within the next month or so. I think my next tattoo is going to be a line out of TS Eliot’s The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. It’s one of my favorite poems ever.

SNMag: What other movies or projects do you have coming up?
JR: Really excited about getting Girlfriend into the festival circuit and putting out my next couple of projects with my production company, Patchmo Entertainment. I’m really excited to get on the other side of the camera, producing and hopefully directing within the next year or two. It’s just a truly exciting time in my life and I don’t take it for granted. I’d rather be working than sleeping!

Read the entire article here.