Extraction actor Rudhraksh Jaiswal: Chris Hemsworth calls me the little legend

The first-time Rudhraksh Jaiswal saw Chris Hemsworth on the sets of Extraction, he says he asked his parents to pinch him as it felt like walking into a dream.

The Mumbai-based actor, who is a huge fan of Hemsworth’s Thor in the Marvel movies, said he learned that the Australian actor will be his co-star when he met director Sam Hargrave for the final round of audition.

“I did not know that Chris Hemsworth will be my co-star. I thought it will be an Indian actor. I got to know that only when I met Sam sir. I thought it was going to be a Bollywood movie When I got to know Thor was going to be my co-star, it felt like I was finally living my dream,” Jaiswal said in an interview.

The actor plays Ovy, the son of an Indian drug lord who gets kidnapped by his father’s rival in Bangladesh. Hemsworth’s Tyler Rake, an ex-military-turned-black market mercenary is hired by his father’s side to bring the teen back to safety.

The two end up developing a bond during the dangerous mission, with Ovy finding a father-figure in Rake’s presence.

The film, shot in Ahmedabad, Mumbai, and Thailand, drops on Netflix on April 24.

Jaiswal said he still remembers the first day of shoot with Hemsworth.

“I remember I was standing with my vest on, I was talking to Sam sir, when a huge guy, over 6 feet tall, came in. Music was on and he was doing this (imitates a dancing move). I told my father, ‘What is happening, papa? Just pinch me. Am I in a dream?’ All the time that we spent in Ahmedabad and Bangkok have become memories,” he said.

The role came Jaiswal’s way after two rounds of audition and a meeting with Hargrave.

“Sam sir told me to ask anything I wanted to know. He told me why he was growing his beard. But I had just one question, which was related to the end of Avengers: Infinity War,” he said with a laugh.

Hargrave, who had worked as the stunt coordinator on the Avenger movies, came up with vague answers.

Undeterred, then Jaiswal put up the question to Hemsworth himself, who gave him fake spoilers.

The Hollywood star and the director were more generous in sharing their tips and tricks of the trade with Jaiswal, the young actor said.

“Chris sir told me what to do and what not to do in front of the camera, to take proper pauses, always be jolly on the set and be myself. In fact, he called me ‘the little legend’. Whenever, I did a good scene, he used to tell me, ‘You are a little legend; it is all easy for you’.

“Sam sir was always laughing and smiling. He encouraged me to try new things in the scenes. And he told me to keep things simple, so it was easy to mould myself according to the director,” he added.

Jaiswal said his first audition was for a noodles ad, which did not come through, but eventually, he bagged the role of Sahadev in new Mahabharat serial.

More ads, including one with Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli, and roles followed before he landed Extraction.

Though he wanted to, there was not much action for Jaiswal. The actor said the only challenging aspect for him was to learn the piano.

“That was the only challenging part. I used to play the harmonium, but I had to completely learn the piano. It is quite difficult to move both hands at the same time. But the scene, which we shot the last day of the shoot in Ahmedabad, turned out to be good.”

The film also features Randeep Hooda, Pankaj Tripathi, Golshifteh Farahani, David Harbour and Priyanshu Painyuli in key roles.