You’ve seen him as a Norse god, a Man in Black and a buffoonish Ghostbuster secretary, but you’ve never seen Chris Hemsworth like this. In the new sci-fi thriller Spiderhead, Hemsworth plays Steve Abnesti, a prison warden performing mind-altering experiments on the inmates of his high-tech “Spiderhead” prison facility. It’s a far cry from his usual turns as square-jawed heroes — and he wasn’t the only one who played against type for the film. For Miles Teller and Jurnee Smollett, who appear as two of Abnesti’s chosen prisoners, the film was just as novel an experience.

Miles Teller

Teller, currently burning up screens in Top Gun: Maverick, took on a challenge far more psychological than a physically taxing F-18 flight. As Spiderhead inmate Jeff, Teller is forced to confront not only the past mistakes that landed him in prison, but also the possibility that he might make those same mistakes again. “Emotionally, he’s getting manipulated and really abused the whole film,” Teller said from Spiderhead’s red carpet premiere. It was a part that reminded the actor of his performance as a budding drum student in 2010’s Oscar-winning Whiplash. “[I’m a] glutton for punishment, I guess,” he laughed.

Miles Teller, Joseph Kosinski, Jurnee Smollett

Spiderhead is Teller’s third collaboration with director Joseph Kosinski, following Top Gun and 2017’s firefighting drama Only the Brave. “We both are very honest with each other, and speak openly, and challenge each other and push each other,” Kosinski said of his working relationship with the actor. “I just love working with him.”

Jurnee Smollett

That collaborative nature was essential for the tightly knit production. As Lizzy, a fellow inmate who forms a connection with Jeff, Jurnee Smollett was offered free rein to create her own character. “I came with a bunch of ideas that Joe [Kosinski] just really encouraged. [He] created an environment for us to collaborate,” she said. “We talked a lot about this idea that [Lizzy] is analog in a digitized world, and that she has to feel like sunshine and like Mother Earth.”

Paul Wernick, Rhett Reese

Of course, as with anyone at Spiderhead, Lizzy’s sunshine masks a dark secret. Everyone in the facility is there for a reason, and Abnesti is happy to capitalize on those reasons. Throughout his performance, Hemsworth maintains sunshine of his own: a cheerily sinister air that feels distinctly unlike the matinee idol he’s built in blockbusters like Extraction. It’s those hidden layers that first attracted Kosinski to the actor.

Daniel Reader, Miles Teller, Jurnee Smollett, Mark Paguio, Stephen Tongun, Joey Vieira

“Chris was so game to play [in a way] that he hasn't been able to in the other roles he’s been doing. [He was] so intrigued by the layers of this character and the challenge,” Kosinski said. Hey, after playing a superhero for ten years, wouldn’t we all savor the opportunity to turn heel?

Spiderhead hits Netflix on June 17.

Miles Teller, Keleigh Sperry

Questlove, Jurnee Smollett