Boyd Holbrook Was Extremely Hesitant About Joining Indiana Jones 5 For One Reason
Boyd Holbrook plays a lot of bad guys. He's currently the villain Clement Mansell on "Justified: City Primeval." He played henchman Pierce in "Logan." And most recently, he portrayed Klaber, a Nazi-sympathizing heavy in "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny." There's just something about the actor that enables him to play nefarious, wicked characters and play them well. However, when you keep playing similar parts, you run the risk of being typecast. Sure, Holbrook is very good at playing baddies, but I doubt he wants to play them all the time. Where's the fun in that?
As it turns out, Holbrook had some reservations about joining the cast of "Dial of Destiny." He hesitated because the part was just a little too similar to a role he played before. However, he eventually came around to the idea after thinking it over. Still, you can see where the actor is coming from here — there are only so many times you can play the same-ish part over and over again before it begins to grow tiresome.
Hesitation
In "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny," Holbrook's character Klaber is the right-hand man to the main villain, Jürgen Voller, played by Mads Mikkelsen, another actor who gets cast as bad guys a lot. Voller mostly operates in the shadows, allowing Klaber to do all the dirty work — a job Klaber seems to enjoy. He's rotten to the core and chases after Indiana Jones with villainous gusto.
However, playing another right-hand man villain for director James Mangold gave the actor pause. Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Holbrook confessed, "[T]he character was a similar second-in-command bad guy who does all the bidding. That was the similarity, and that was my hesitation when I read it." Holbrook is talking about the similarity between Klaber and Pierce, the role he played in James Mangold's "Logan." Just like Klaber, Pierce is a footsoldier working for other villains and doing all the dirty work.
The last hurrah
Of course, we know now that Holbrook took the part. What changed his mind? It was the draw of being in the presumably final "Indiana Jones" movie. "[T]here's the pull of, 'Wow, this is the last hurrah. This is the last run of Indiana Jones.' So I didn't want to repeat anything for Jim, and we were very adamant about that." I do think Klaber is different enough from Pierce that Holbrook achieved his goal of not repeating things.
However, I also found Klaber to be a rather weak villain; he didn't make much of an impression, especially when compared to some other Indiana Jones black hats. Be honest: can you remember one distinct thing about Klaber, other than his mustache and flat-top haircut? I saw the movie and I can't! I'm wracking my brain, but the only thing that comes to mind is "He knows how to ride a motorcycle." That's about it! In any case, based on the poor box office, "Dial of Destiny" is sure to be the last hurrah, and at least Holbrook got to take part in that.