Sam Rockwell To Play A Nazi Captain In Taika Waititi’s ‘Jojo Rabbit’
By Ben Pearson/April 25, 2018 4:00 pm EST
Weirdly, this isn’t the only production to attempt to paint Hitler in something of a sympathetic light recently. One storyline in the second season of AMC’s Preacher involved a character who befriends Hitler (Noah Taylor) in hell. That show didn’t let him off the hook for his unspeakable crimes, but it did attempt to graft a bit of humanity onto him. Waititi’s movie, however, seems like it’ll be slightly goofier – or at least more outlandish, especially with him stepping into the role himself.
It’s strange to say that an actor seems like a good fit for playing a Nazi, but considering the circumstances here, I feel like Rockwell will jibe well with Waititi’s sense of humor and improvisational style. It’s telling that he’s chosen this as his follow-up to his Oscar-winning performance, because it signals his intentions to remain committed to material that speaks to him, regardless of the size of the role or the paycheck involved. It’s good news for those of us who have been fans of the character actor for years and were a little wary that he’d maybe try to jump into his own Taken-style franchise or something as a result of his boost in popularity.
