Meet Lieutenant Hart and Commander Greenwood. In The Tomorrow War, both of these characters hail from the not-so-far-flung future of 2051, a time when humanity is under siege from an alien race known only as Whitespikes. To save the world from total destruction, Hart traveled back in time to recruit people from the past to fight in their future war. In the process, she was forced to leave husband, Greenwood, behind -- or so it went in the original script.
Speaking to CBR, The Tomorrow War stars Jasmine Mathews and Keith Powers introduced their characters and the relationship between them. They explained how they devised their characters' backgrounds together in order to make them feel more grounded. They revealed their characters were once confirmed as married in the script and pointed out a clue that indicates that on-screen. They also shared their favorite memories from set and more.
CBR: If you had to introduce your character to your friends, what would you tell them?
Jasmine Mathews: I'd probably say something like, "Hey, guys, this is Lieutenant Hart! Don't look her in the eyes, because don't mess with her. She's from the future, the year 2051, and she's seen some really harsh things. She's fought aliens for a good chunk of her life. So she's a great protector. If you ever end up in a fight, you definitely want her on your team, but she's also a little sensitive, and she wears her heart on her sleeve. So just be careful with her."
Keith Powers: Oh, man, I would just say, "This is Commander Greenwood. He doesn't say much, but he will get active when the time is right. So don't worry. And he's a cool guy." [laughs]
Mathews: He's about that life!
Powers: He's about the life! And he ain't gonna say much, but he's gonna be ready.
When the film picks up, we find your characters in the middle of their journey. Were you ever given any insight into what their lives were like before they traveled back in time?
Mathews: We weren't given much backstory, but I am a huge backstory person. So I created this 10-page autobiography for her that started at her being in the womb up until we see her in the film. I'm a little crazy! Then Keith and I actually sat down to create a sort of backstory for our characters together, the time that they may have spent in the future, so that was really helpful.
I think it was important for me as an actor to come in as Lieutenant Hart when we do see her with all her experiences from the future readily available, and that emotional turmoil of being in this war and leaving her loved ones behind, not knowing if she's ever going to get back to the future. I had to carry all of that with me just to start the film where you see her.
Powers: Like Jasmine said, we met and talked about the backstory. Of course, some stuff was cut out the script, so you weren't able to really dive into the character's backstory as much as you wanted to. But I think it's just good to play off of and have that anyways, because it just gives your character life. The good thing about backstory is you don't need all of it, but it's good to be there and you could pull it whenever needed. I think that's what's really important, you going into a film with a game plan.
What can you share about those backstory conversations you had together?
Powers: I mean, our characters were together. They were married in the future. That's what it was written as in the script. So it was just about, like, how did they get together? When did they get together? Where they are they at in their relationship, currently? How do they feel about each other currently, or what they went through before? When you meet the characters, how Lieutenant Hart feels about Commander Greenwood, how he feels about her. You know, Jasmine, she really dived in deep with the backstory, but it's super dope, and it is very helpful.
Mathews: Yeah, for sure. Yeah, I think that was important, and something that was always driving my character to keep sending people into the future to fight, because as long as I was sending people into the fight -- as morally conflicting as that was -- I was doing it for him, to save him.
What is one of your favorite memories or moments from set?
Mathews: I think, honestly, being in Iceland, being able to see the Northern Lights. That's always something that has been on my bucket list. Just being able to do Icelandic things, like be in the middle of a mountain in a hot spring, when it's 30 degrees outside and you're in a bathing suit in a hot spring. [laughs] It doesn't get much better than that! Also being able to shoot so much. We shot guns! Being able to shoot that gun so many times was absolutely thrilling.
Powers: Dude, I was really in love with just going to set, putting on my wardrobe -- like, going to the trailer, putting on wardrobe and then when you get to set, how they prop you up, put my utility belt on, my dog tags. We had our wedding rings in there as well, our watches, just stuff like that. It just felt like you were going to war, like, "Okay, it's time to go." That was such a good feeling. I mean, that's why we do this and that's why we love it.
Starring Chris Pratt, Yvonne Strahovski, Sam Richardson, Betty Gilpin, J.K. Simmons and Edwin Hodge, The Tomorrow War premieres Friday, July 2 on Amazon Prime.