Uriah Shelton Freaked Out While Working With 'Guardians of the Galaxy's Drax On His New Movie

Uriah Shelton Freaked Out While Working With 'Guardians of the Galaxy's Drax On His New Movie

Uriah Shelton took on a really different role than most fans would expect in Enter The Warriors Gate.

The 20-year-old actor, who we know as Josh Matthews on Girl Meets World, stars in the new movie as Jack, a teen who is magically transported to China and learns to convert his video game skills into those of a Kung Fu warrior.

The flick actually had him working with Guardian of the Galaxy‘s Dave Bautista — and yes, he was starstruck.

“He’s Drax The Destroyer!” Uriah dished to JJJ.

He adds, “Guardians is one of my favorite movies so it was hilarious, I would go into my trailer in between shot set ups, watch Guardians, then go and do a fight scene with Dave. Kind of surreal.”

Want to learn even more about Uriah‘s experience in Enter the Warriors Gate? Click inside now!

JJJ: Tell us about your audition and how you got involved in the project
US:
Well, I had my first audition and I didn’t hear anything back from it for two months. I thought someone else had been cast, so I forgot about it. Two months later I got another audition from a different casting director, and I didn’t think I should go since they didn’t seem to want me the first time. A friend convinced me to go in, so i did, but this time I booked it!

JJJ: What was the biggest challenge of taking on your role and how did you get through it?
US:
Definitely the training and physicality of the role. It’s an action movie so there’s a lot of fight scenes and they definitely take their toll, but our training program was key.

JJJ: Do you personally know any Kung Fu/martial arts, or did you learn for the film?
US:
I’ve been a martial artist for the majority of my life actually. I started when I was six and throughout my life have trained in Tae Kwon Do, Muay Thai, Kali, tactical blade combat, and Wushu. I actually was 5 Time State Champion of California in the American Tae Kwon Do Association a while back. I must say though Wushu helped me the most in this role.

JJJ: This film has a ton of Chinese culture embedded into it. How did you approach that as an actor?
US:
Honestly, my culture shock kind of came in handy for this role. Jack got thrust into a completely new environment (just like me) so playing that mystery, shock, and wonder wasn’t all that difficult. In a lot of the areas we went to they hadn’t seen many Westerners. Especially the kids, so their reactions were my favorite. They would either come up to us and want to take pictures with us because we were foreign, or they would spy on us as they hid behind their parents legs.

JJJ: With your character, you’re very much transported into a video game. Are you a gamer yourself? What are your favorites?
US:
I’ve never been a “huge” gamer because, for the most part, not many can hold my attention for very long. I do have my favorite games, though. I tend to gravitate towards open world games like Red Dead Redemption/Undead, the Far Cry series (“4″ & “Primal” especially), Grand Theft Auto V, and Fallout 4. But I still love first-person shooters. Especially Battlefield 1.

JJJ: What was the biggest takeaway from the film for you?
US:
Adapt to your environments but hold true to who you are. As soon as Jack quit resisting his situation, he was able to deal with it and save the day, but he never lost sight of who he was. He didn’t let his newfound skills make him cocky or aggressive. He was still Jack, just more confident and capable.

JJJ: How did you bond with the rest of the cast? Any fun behind-the-scenes stories you can share?
US:
We honestly just hung out a lot. We had to hang out indoors though because Mark [Zhou] and Ni Ni are so huge in China they would get mobbed literally everywhere we would go. We would throw little parties in our hotel rooms and watch movies, but we bonded the most when we all just sat down and talked. I distinctly remember racing Ming Xi on the backs of oversized stuffed animals one night in the hotel restaurant after closing. It wasn’t pretty, but you don’t say no to a stuffed animal race with a Victoria Secret model. That’d just be stupid (laughs).

JJJ: Did you get to take anything from set? If not, what WOULD you have liked to take?
US:
I actually didn’t think to, but I wish I had! I really wish I had taken that giant fur jacket I was wearing when Jack rescues the Princess from the dungeon. I believe it was made from Yak and it was sooooooooo comfy. Hot as blazes, but comfy. Also maybe the Shaman’s fur hat… yep… definitely the Shaman’s fur hat.

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Posted to: Exclusive, Interview, Movies, Uriah Shelton