National Treasure: Edge of History introduces plenty of new characters to the franchise, but few are as mysterious as Billie Pearce, the black market treasure hunter played by Catherine Zeta-Jones. Antonio Cipriano, alongside his co-stars Jordan Rodrigues and Jake Austin Walker, had nothing but praise for the Oscar winner. They also spoke about the surprising influence Louisiana had on the show.
“It was an honor to work with her and to be kidnapped by her,” Cipriano joked, referring to one of the perilous adventures later in the first season. “It was truly just a pleasure. I never thought I’d say that, but yeah, she was so amazing on set. And I didn’t get to work with her much, but in that short amount of time that I did, she was wonderful.”
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Cipriano (City on a Hill) stars as Oren Bradley, one of Jess Valenzuela’s (Lisette Olivera) closest friends. Rodrigues (The Fosters) plays Ethan, who also plays an important role in Jess’ life. Walker (Stargirl) plays Liam Sandusky, the nephew of Peter Sandusky (Harvey Keitel). They all help Jess out in her quest to learn more about the treasure connected to her father. However, Ethan and Liam also turn out to be two sides of a love triangle, with Jess at the center. While this is part of the show, Cipriano, Rodrigues, and Walker note that Edge of History is primarily about Jess’ treasure hunt and her family. That is the “driving force,” as Rodrigues put it.
“It’s not like the show is based around our feud or the love triangle, but it just plays this part that sort of gives it the stakes a little bit more higher,” Rodrigues said. “And you just see the shots of me, looking at them having [thoughts]. And then, vice versa. It just has an extra depth, but the treasure is the main focus.” Cipriano jumped in, noting that the situation also brings out the “mutual respect” Walker and Rodrigues’ characters have for one another, which is “really cool to watch.”
An underrated element of Edge of History is its location. Most of the series is set in Baton Rouge and it was filmed in Louisiana’s capital. The location was great for Walker, whose character is an aspiring musician. “I was already so spoiled to be able to play a treasure-hunting musician,” Walker said. “How many times do you come across that in a breakdown or a character? And then, my second passion is music.”
“We had a good amount of prep time, so I would just sit in my apartment. I got a few of the songs I’d be playing and singing for the show ahead of time,” Walker explained. “So I was just learning them and really getting them down. And it was a different style of playing than I’m typically used to, is more the rock blues style, that kind of Nashville singer-songwriter. So learning that type of playing was super, super fun. Yeah, man. Hopefully, we go back for a second season, and get to play some more.”
National Treasure: Edge of History premieres on Disney+ Wednesday, Dec. 14 with two episodes. Subsequent episodes will be released on Wednesdays. The series was created by Cormac and Marianne Wibberley and includes Jerry Bruckheimer, Jon Turteltaub, and Mira Nair as executive producers.
