And I told my agent, Girl, Im on tour bus with a bunch of people.
I aint got time.
Shes like, kindly, just do it.
And I was like, They who?
And she said, The Power Rangers.
The Power Rangers?!
I totally freaked out.
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I was like, Theres no way Im gonna get the part.
And Dean called me a couple of days later and said, Hey, Ive got a serious question.
Are you ready to be the Yellow Power Ranger?
And I just broke down into tears.
I got a call from my now-manager saying, Can you be on a plane tomorrow morning.
The morning after this play.
And I said, For what?
And she said, Power Rangers.
And I hadnt even taped.
And I was like, Oh my god, how did this come about?
She had sent something to the casting director and he had asked if I could straight away.
Hed gone from Johannesburg to Perth in western Australia and done an arts degree.
And then come to AFI after that in Los Angeles.
So had you done anything back home [in Australia]?
Surely, you must have done Neighbors or Home and Away?
Dacre:No, I hadnt.
Id been auditioning for almost a decade and never got a role until this.
Its kind of a big jump.
But I was studying at WAAPA.
Anyway, so I landed Saturday night, met with the director.
We found that we had this crazy, 10 years [ago student film], in common.
I had one line in his film.
I was the chubby bully kid who poked the protagonist.
So within four days of not even knowing about the project that I had the role.
And that was kind of like the crazy turn-around.
Becky:And now were Power Rangers.
So wheres the production at now?
Dacre:Weve done all the production.
Weve shot for four months.
Theyre in post [production] now.
Currently, theyve finished the filming with Bryan Cranston.
Becky:Its just in the works.
Its a new vibe.
Dacre:Im really excited for the score, too.
I dont have the same musical background, but Im a big fan of original film soundtracks.
Is the song going to be in it?
Becky:Thats a great question.
Dacre:Im very excited to see what our composer does.
A lot of drums and violins.
Im really excited for that to just help make that drama juicier.
What did either of you know about Power Rangers before getting the roles?
Were you aware of it?
What was your relationship to it?
Becky:I grew up watching it before elementary school every day while eating my cereal.
Im Mexican American, so theres a lot of us.
Im one of 19 grandchildren on my moms side.
Im one of 15 on my dads.
Nobody ever really wanted to be the yellow one except for me, so I got lucky on that.
Yellow was always my favorite color.
Its just crazy how everything comes full circle.
Dacre:I think, for me, it was more of the idea what a superhero means.
Growing up, I was into Power Rangers.
All the people look up to these [characters], so its a big responsibility for me.
And that kind of responsibility you feel when you hold a child in your arms.
I think its the same thing when you get a role like this.
You gotta step up to the plate.
And I think theres a lot of heart between all of us.
Can you guys talk about your characters in the movie?
Becky:Yeah, I play Trini, the Yellow Power Ranger.
Shes just a badass.
Shes just so cool.
I think theres a lot of self-discovery for herself in this journey that she embarks on in this film.
Shes not aware of the strength she carries inside, really.
Shed rather be by herself the lone wolf than to make friends because shes constantly traveling.
She doesnt really have her feet planted on the ground because she doesnt have time to do that.
Shes constantly moving around due to her parents always constantly dragging her around because of their jobs.
Shes an older sibling, constantly being annoyed by whatever comes her way.
Its not her intention; its just how it comes off.
So, its a cool coming-of-age story for all of the characters.
Which is really interesting because, in high school, I wasnt that person.
I was really overweight.
I didnt have any friends.
I didnt play sports.
It was interesting because working with Dean, our director, it was about finding that middle ground.
Thats very much what I did because I didnt have a group.
I was always looking.
Its sort of finding a nice place in-between.
I always wanted to do that.
It was always something that crafted who I was.
It was always a bit of a tall poppy syndrome, as we say in Australia.
You get big ideas, people cut you down, but I always knew I would be successful.
So it doesnt seem either a surprise to me, nor my friends.
What do you remember about the first days on the set?
Dacre:First days on the set?
A lot of learning.
I dont think you ever stop learning.
So it was just really an opportunity for me to be aware.
And, literally, I went and I was a sponge for four months a hard-working sponge.
Every set youre on, every location, the people youre with.
Becky:I think its really cool, back to what you just said.
So, what was happening on-screen was what was happening off-screen, as well.
It was intimidating, it was scary.
You thinkImexperienced, Im like, I dont know what the hell Im doing.
Help me, Dacre!
We were a team.
I think that was really good for us.
We were very collaborative and inspired by each other, which is huge.
From the first day we met, we all bonded.
We are friends offscreen.
And I dont say that lightly.
We really did have four intensive months learning and growing and learning about each other.
We would just go with the flow and see where we went.
Becky:It was fun.
It was a fun experience.
Dacre:A lot of play.
Like a big film set, but lots of play.
I feel thankful to have had that opportunity, especially for my first film.
What about in terms of story?
What can you tell us about whats going on in the film?
Theyre universal, right?
And the themes that you see in this film are universal.
Were appealing to a contemporary audience.
Were appealing to a demographic that spans from six-year-olds to 50-year-olds.
Becky:I think that its important for it to be real.
These characters are dealing with real issues that teenagers nowadays are dealing with.
One that [Naomi Scott, the Pink Ranger] talks about a lot is the cyberbullying.
But, yeah, just having that sense of realness to it.
That really hit me in a specific place.
Now, kids are bullshit meters.
We can smell bullshit right away.
Youve mentioned that your characters are from such different backgrounds.
Can you talk a little bit about how they all come together and what that looks like initially?
We being everybody involved in the project.
And what we have to offer is bringing those different cultural backgrounds and going, I wasnt that guy.
And then, I went into that guys role, but I made it sort of different.
Me, being new to the acting scene, I was very open to everything.
I mean, I had conversations with you, asking, How would you go about this?
It would just hit me and I would get goosebumps or I would get emotional.
And it was just overwhelming.
Dacre:I was saying to one of the gentlemen outside thats helping look after us.
When we were around you know, private area, no cameras on.
He goes, That last interview you gave, you guys seem so close when youre all together.
And I was like, Yeah.
And there is, to use your term, theres like no bullshit.
Thats what you see is what we really are.
And, for me, it goes, I watched him inMalcolm in the Middle.
I watched him inBreaking Bad.
Becky:You freaked out.
I think everybody did.
Dacre:Same with Elizabeth Banks.
We got more one-on-one time with Elizabeth Banks.
Each of the cast, in particular Becky.
But, for me, it was: a seasoned actress, walks on set.
She makes decisions and choices that push you to come up to that bar to meet those decisions.
But, yeah, you [turns to Becky] worked with her directly, quite intensely…
So we have no idea, but all we know is this person is going to be epic.
Whoever it is that they choose has to be, right?
So when they announced Bryan, it was just like, Perfect.
That is who it has to be.
And with Elizabeth, it was like you said: incredible.
Seasoned actress, but fun, too.
Awkwardly beautiful when you see her as Rita [Repulsa].
Shes kind of scary, but shes also sexy in a weird way.
And shes kind of insane, but really funny.
