JJ: Battleship is your first feature film. What has that experience been like?
R: We’re not even done yet but we did the first half in Hawaii and that was such a good experience.
JJ: Do you have scenes with Alexander and Taylor?
R: Yeah, I have scenes with both. Most of the scenes are with Taylor, more than Alexander but he’s in there for some of the movie with me.
JJ: And you play a lieutenant?
R: Well now it’s a second petty officer. I’m a weapons officer so I’m pretty much a badass. And I basically control and know every weapon on the ship, so it’s a really cool part.
JJ: Is your character good or bad?
R: Good, of course! Bad would be fun too but for this it made sense. We’re in the Navy. We can only be good.
JJ: Are there mostly action scenes you’re in or are you in any love scenes?
R: There are action scenes, no love scenes. There’s no tolerance for flirtation from guys or any of that stuff. It’s just strictly business!
JJ: And what are Taylor and Alexander like? What was it like working with them?
R: Taylor is another badass. He’s like tearhead kind of badass.
JJ: Tearhead?
R: Yeah! In Barbados we say tearhead meaning psychotic. In the movie, he’s extreme. He gets a thrill out of dares and doing impossible things that could get him hurt. He likes a challenge and so he’s a badass. There’s also that little lunatic part that comes out of him.
JJ: Speaking of weapons, when you were in Hawaii you were pictured with a gun tattoo on your leg…
R: Oh that’s not real. That was for the movie. No, hell no! Can you imagine? The tattoo is a gun with some dates, which represent when some soldiers friends died.
JJ: Do you know people who served in wars? Have you ever visited any army bases around the world?
R: When we were preparing for this movie, I had to do a lot of research. I ended up boarding a destroyer [warship] in San Diego. We filmed a lot of the film in Pearl Harbor itself, so just being there was a really crazy moment for us. And being on board the U.S.S. Missouri, it really blows your mind that you’re there on the actual ship that this stuff happened on years ago. We actually got to meet the guy who’s in the movie. He served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He lost both of his legs and he’s in a wheelchair. He has prosthetic legs but he has such a great spirit and it just breaks your heart. You just want to help them, help their families and it really brings, it really makes your job feel like s–t. Really. You know? We’re here in this glamorous world. There’s people out there keeping us alive, you know, and [sacrificing] their lives doing it. It puts a lot [of things] into perspective when you really get to talk to those guys.
JJ: You’re going to be in New York City for Halloween. Do you have any ideas for costumes yet?
R: No! Everybody’s dressing as me so I don’t know who the hell am I going to dress as. I don’t know. I’ll probably just wear a lot of sequins. (Rihanna will be performing on Saturday Night Live that weekend.)
JJ: What was the last date you and Matt [Kemp] went on?
R: The last night I saw him was the night we went out for his birthday party. He had to leave the next day after his game to go out of town with the team but it was so much fun. All of his friends were there. He was surprised because he thought we were going to the club and they gave us such a beautiful room and it was just all his friends, all my friends, people that he hadn’t seen in years. It was a great moment.
JJ: You guys went go-karting recently too?
R: That was two days earlier. Yeah we went go-karting earlier in the week on his and my day off. It was like 20 of us and it was so much fun!
JJ: What’s the most romantic thing Matt has done for you?
R: Secret!!!! (laughs) Plus I have to think about that.
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