One of the biggest MCU stars from Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania revealed why he won't actually watch his first big-screen performance with Marvel Studios
Ant-Man 3 is officially out to the world as the MCU's first Phase 5 movie, one which features the ultimate big bad of the entire Multiverse Saga in Kang the Conqueror.
Jonathan Majors is back to portray the second Variant of this role after his initial debut in 2021's Loki, which will only be another one of countless Variants that will take the spotlight throughout Phase 5 and Phase 6.
Majors hasn't been shy about discussing his role in the MCU as he ramps himself up for one of the biggest roles in comic-book movie history, although he's admitted to using an interesting process with regard to filmmaking.
Jonathan Majors Not Watching Ant-Man 3
Speaking with Black Girl Nerds, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania star Jonathan Majors revealed that he doesn't watch his own movies, including his theatrical debut in the MCU.
When asked if he watches his work for self-critique, he explained how he gives everything he has into a performance each day of shooting and how he has "a practice of not watching the film," noting that fact to Ant-Man 3 director Peyton Reed as well:
"I bring myself to it. 100%. You can’t do 110, that’s not real. 100%. I throw myself into it emotionally, socially, intellectually, but I leave it all there on the day. I have a practice of not watching the film, so… that practice begins in not watching playback. [I] don’t watch it… It is of no consequence to my process. And I’ve told… I remember telling Peyton Reed a couple days in the shooting, I said, ‘Listen, I don’t watch them. I don’t watch playback and I won’t watch the film.’"
Majors simply makes every effort to give his top work so that he's "not depending on anybody to clean [him] up in the edit," doing his best to not have to come back in for any extra recording or shooting at a later date:
"Who knows, things change. I may. This whole philosophy may change, so all I have is what happens on the day… I’m not depending on anybody to clean me up in the edit. I’m hoping I don’t have to do ADR either. I mean, [I] will do, but this is it for me, you know? And there’s a certain amount of desperation when I’m working and focus on the moment that I don’t want to recall it or critique it. Maybe, I would come across the project that requires that, but that’s all I have so I try to keep it as concentrated as I can."
Majors noted that he did the exact same thing for his work on Loki, actually avoiding watching his episode entirely once it aired on Disney+.
Majors also reiterated this in an interview with MTV's Josh Horowitz, confirming that he hadn't seen the movie and won't see it after its release:
Horowitz: "You just, a couple days ago, had a ginormous world premiere for this movie. Did you watch it, Jonathan? Have you seen the movie?"
Majors: "I have not seen the movie. I love the movie."
Horowitz: "I’m so disappointed in you."
Majors: "I’m so sorry, papa. (laughs)"
Majors explained that part of it is not wanting to know which takes of certain shots the team decided to use in the movie, not wanting to limit his choices for what he does with the role as a whole:
Horowitz: "Here’s my argument. Can I make my argument? Because especially in something like this, as you well know, the artists that bring so much are after the fact. I mean you made one movie, they made another movie. And it’s the marriage of it all. Don’t you wanna see what happened, what it turned into?"
Majors: "Specifically in the Kang matrix, it’s important for me, because we can’t help but be impacted by it, right? Imagine, I’ve done the movie, but then I watch and go, ‘Oh, you picked that take?’ That then limits me. And I go, ‘Oh, apparently,’ subconsciously, ’That’s what I’m supposed to do.’"
Horowitz: "You’ve made the choice for me, so I’m gonna go down that way–"
Majors: "Yeah."
Horowitz: "–And as opposed to kind of still embracing your own instincts."
Majors: "As a good collaborator, I’m gonna go, ‘Okay, that’s what I’ll do now,’ which potentially, for me, could limit what I could do."
Majors' Process Helping Deliver Great Ant-Man 3 Results
Jonathan Majors is far from the first actor who doesn't watch his own work, joining fellow MCU star Andrew Garfield and other big names like Tom Hanks and Joaquin Phoenix who have done the same thing in the past.
For Majors, his reasoning is to ensure that he's able to give the best performance he possibly can without any added influence or limitations for what he can do, which is especially important with this particular role.
Majors already delivered two different Variants of Kang the Conqueror, with countless others confirmed to be in development for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars.
And while his process may change in the coming years with regard to watching his own material, considering how much work in the MCU still remains for him to complete, he'll need to be on his game at every turn for so many unique takes on this villain.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is now playing in theaters worldwide.
