Interview: MindsEye’s Jake Thomas Talks Marco Silva, Lizzie McGuire

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Jake Thomas, recognized by many as Matt McGuire from the popular Disney series “Lizzie McGuire,” is now portraying a character named Marco Silva in the new show “MindsEye.” However, this character is quite different from Matt’s antics. As Marco Silva, a powerful tech mogul in Redrock City, Thomas delves into a more sinister and complex side of acting. The character is depicted as egotistical, brilliant, and emotionally detached, traits that make him view people as mere numbers and react with anger when things don’t go according to plan. This role required Thomas to venture into deep, intense realms, both vocally and emotionally, and interestingly, it seems to mirror some unforeseen aspects of his personal life.

In a recent conversation with Jake Thomas, Game Rant discussed his portrayal of Marco Silva in the upcoming film MindsEye. The interview covered various aspects of Thomas’s characterization of Marco Silva, including his preparation process, personal connection to the role, and even a look back at his past role as Matt McGuire in Lizzie McGuire, 25 years ago. For your convenience, this transcript has been condensed and made clearer.

Creating MindsEye’s Marco Silva

Q: How did you approach bringing MindsEye’s Marco Silva to life?

A: The character I created for Marco Silva seems to embody the most undesirable aspects of me, taken to the extreme. To put it simply, Marco is extremely self-centered and embodies every negative trait you could associate with a tech billionaire in MindsEye, especially behind the scenes. He truly lives up to that image. Most of the time, he’s just angry or nursing some sort of injury, if not both simultaneously. There was a running joke during the project that Marco was either fuming mad, hurt, or a mix of both throughout the entire process.

A: It seems like the character will be quite enjoyable. Which facets of his personality or history did you find particularly intriguing or difficult to bring to life?

The toughest aspect when depicting Marco Silva lies in comprehending his intentions, as I believe he has a specific vision for humanity. However, the methods he employs seem completely devoid of human emotion or understanding, only following what seems logical to him. He appears to have limited grasp of people beyond their most rational aspects.

If someone isn’t adhering to the sequence they’ve envisioned for a plan, it feels like an obstruction to them. In a sense, they view everything as binary – people included. They perceive everyone as a number that needs to align with a specific system, and if things don’t go according to his desired outcome, he becomes extremely frustrated or upset.

Q: So is he pretty volatile in that anger?

Marco can become very intense when he’s angry. There were several days on set where I returned home with a hoarse voice due to Marco’s frequent outbursts. He shouts and screams almost incessantly, often barking orders or releasing built-up anger.

Q: How does he fit into the world of Redrock City, and what does his role entail in that?

Marco Silva plays a crucial role in Redrock City, as it heavily centers around him and his company, Silva Corp. Many of the vehicles seen in the Redrock universe are his creations, including the skycars he’s developed. Moreover, all the city’s robots were designed by Marco himself, something he feels deeply about and cherishes dearly.

As an ardent admirer, I can’t help but note that certain events unfolding in the narrative of MindsEye pose a potential threat to his authority over those City Bots. This issue doesn’t just brush past him; it strikes a deeply personal and serious chord. Despite not being among the city’s original architects or governors, it’s evident that he wields significant influence within this urban landscape. The city’s dynamics seem to orbit around him in many ways.

Could you share some details about Marco’s character development as he progresses through the game, avoiding any major plot reveals?

In simpler terms, Marco’s tale revolves around his handling of past events in his life and choices made to gain power, some aspects of which could potentially cast him in a negative light. However, it’s important to note that throughout the story, Marco takes actions he believes are beneficial for humanity. Whether these actions will prove advantageous or detrimental to the player character in “MindsEye” remains to be seen.

He sounds very nuanced then.

There’s a chance he might be kind or unkind, but whatever his nature, he believes deep down that he’s always chosen correctly in the long run.

Q: Is there anything about Marco’s journey that resonates with you personally?

As a gamer, I can relate to this actor’s journey. This story feels like a tale of self-discovery to me, and I’ve definitely experienced my own versions of revelations throughout my gaming career. I started out with simple games when I was young, like the classic Super Mario Bros. or Pokemon.

Over time, I too have had moments where I wanted to distance myself from those early, recognizable roles, seeking to mature as a gamer. But in recent years, I’ve learned to appreciate and embrace my gaming roots. It’s truly humbling when people remember my early gaming experiences fondly, especially if they consider them treasured childhood memories. To me, that’s an absolute honor.

As a fervent admirer, I can’t help but ponder over Marco’s journey in the captivating saga of “MindsEye”. There are certain events in the narrative that he seems to have shunted aside, keeping them isolated from his present persona through various professional engagements and the evolution of relationships. He appears to take pride in these developments but, as time unfolds, it becomes evident that these very same elements have significantly molded him into who he is today. In due course, he’s forced to confront the actions that shaped his destiny, shedding light on aspects of himself he’d rather left undiscovered. This subtle parallel between past and present is unmistakable, even without delving into specific plot details.

What aspects of Marco Silva do you think players will find most intriguing when they encounter him through MindsEye?

I’m eager for players to witness the immersive cinematic journey that MindsEye offers. The technology we’re employing is cutting-edge, going beyond traditional motion capture. It’s called performance capture, which captures every subtle facial movement of our actors. Essentially, it feels like playing a movie, and our cast certainly lives up to this standard, boasting some big names.

Alex Hernandez, who portrays Jacob Diaz, has previously worked on Amazon’s “The Peripheral.” Anjala Bhimani, a renowned figure in the gaming world with credits like “Apex Legends” and “Overwatch,” is also on board. Her resume includes “Ms. Marvel.” Dominic Burgess, who plays my counterpart in the game, has been involved in projects such as “Palm Royale,” “Dahmer,” and “Skeleton Crew.” All in all, we’ve assembled a highly skilled cast whose performances will shine through in the game, cut scenes, and dialogue. I am eagerly anticipating this.

Q: Now, have you or are you going to play the game?

Absolutely, I’m all set to dive into the new game! I plan to stream it live on Twitch as soon as it drops. We might be engaged with it for roughly a month, though the exact number of playthroughs isn’t decided yet. I’m genuinely thrilled about it! Interestingly, this isn’t my first venture into video games. My debut was in a PlayStation 2 title called Brave: The Search for Spirit Dancer. It was a restricted edition game, and I didn’t play it until much later in life. My role in filming that game involved providing around fifty different grunts in a voice-over booth, with no clue about its appearance later on.

This experience is unique because we performed alongside other actors, immersing ourselves in the action. What made it extraordinary was being able to observe preliminary versions of the setting, characters, and more on monitors as we acted. Compared to everything else I’ve done, this is a fresh and exciting departure for me.

25 Years of Lizzie McGuire

Moving on to my next query, as we approach the 25th anniversary of Lizzie McGuire, I’m curious about your feelings having worked on MindsEye after such a long span since Lizzie McGuire.

I am absolutely ecstatic and humbled to join the team at MindsEye! This undertaking is monumental, making it akin to being involved in a blockbuster film like The Avengers, given its colossal scale. As this is my first foray into a video game of such magnitude, I am beyond thrilled and eager to contribute to this incredible project.

Q: How do you feel Lizzie McGuire shaped you as an actor?

A: Prior to Lizzie McGuire, I had worked on several movies with dramatic roles, but those were lengthy productions that took around three months for films like A.I. and about two months for The Cell. However, the process of filming Lizzie McGuire was a daily affair, as we shot an episode in five days from Monday to Friday. Over the course of two years, we completed 65 episodes in this manner. It was essentially a rapid-fire training ground for maintaining a high level of acting consistency.

I’ve found that my experience on the Lizzie McGuire set has greatly improved my ability to quickly memorize scripts. These days, when I need to learn a script, it feels instinctive, as if I’ve been doing it all my life. Moreover, being part of that production taught me valuable skills in maintaining professionalism on set, even at a young age. So, in essence, I owe much of my quick learning and professionalism to the Lizzie McGuire experience.

Working on a children’s program at a young age had a sense of accelerated maturity. My role, despite my youth, influenced adults whose careers relied on my performance. This brought a certain level of responsibility and pressure, but it significantly molded me into the professional actor I am today.

Q: And how often did they let you ad lib? Were you big on that?

As a youngster, I seized every chance to improvise or inject humor when given the chance. Some directors preferred to strictly follow the script, while others allowed me to let my comedic side shine without restriction. It’s those directors that I enjoyed collaborating with most, as they fostered a playful atmosphere on set, much like working with other kids.

In my work as a director, particularly for Nickelodeon and their talented young stars, I’ve made an effort to incorporate lessons learned from the directors I admired. I asked myself, “What did these directors do that I found so appealing?” and tried to integrate those elements into my own directing style. Oh, and let me tell you, I had plenty of opportunities for improvisation along the way!

So you’re naturally funny then, which I can tell just by talking to you.

The environment significantly brought out that aspect of my character since it was an ideal role during my childhood years. Essentially, having the opportunity to perform daring feats or come up with amusing antics on a daily basis seemed like the perfect job for a child, making it a dream come true.

Q: Do you still keep in touch with Hilary Duff?

Occasionally, I bump into her at the weekend farmers’ market or sometimes even at the local coffee shop. It’s quite amusing.

Q: And what is your favorite Lizzie McGuire episode?

B: You know, I’ve often shared that my most cherished “Lizzy McGuire” episode is the one featuring Kung Fu, where David Carradine taught me the moves and I made a Kung Fu video. I truly believe it’s an exceptional episode. Besides that, we were fortunate to have some terrific guest stars during its run. We had Aaron Carter, we had Frankie Muniz. We just had some incredibly exciting episodes.

Occasionally, I find myself struggling to recall specific episodes from our earlier work, as when we embarked on the reboot, I chose to refresh my memory by watching through the entire original series again. It seems that some details slipped my mind about what we had previously accomplished. The abundance of excellent episodes remains astounding, with many still resonating strongly today – a testament to their timelessness. Among them, the Kung Fu episode holds a special place in my heart and memory.

Question: Do you have any additional thoughts, particularly personal ones, related to either MindsEye, Lizzy McGuire, or a combination of the two, you’d like to share?

B: I’m really looking forward to MindsEye. It’s unlike anything I’ve worked on before, and the format is particularly intriguing. I’m genuinely excited about it, and I hope to work on more performance-capture games in the future. This project has introduced me to a whole new realm of possibilities. In fact, they scanned my entire body for the game, so it feels very much like an extension of myself. Every freckle is accurately represented, but they’ve subtly aged my character slightly.

There are numerous character options available for me through performance capture technology today. The team behind our performance capture suits is the same one working on the movie ‘Avatar’, which is just around the corner. Remarkably, those characters are alien beings! This development has expanded the realm of possibilities I’m eager to delve deeper into.

Q: And you’re going to be playing it on Twitch on launch day.

A: Absolutely, I will stream the game on Twitch during its launch day at twitch.tv/sirjakethomas. It promises to be an exciting event, and I’m considering organizing some prize giveaways with game codes for added fun.

[END]

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2025-06-11 00:17