'Wasn't the case': Maxwell Jenkins reveals why Nicolas Cage was nothing like he expected in new survival thriller Arcadian on Stan

EXCLUSIVE: It's not everyday you get to work with an Academy Award winner like Nicolas Cage.

But when 19-year-old Maxwell Jenkins was preparing to play his son in the new dystopian thriller Arcadian, the young actor admitted Nicolas wasn't what he expected.

In fact, the first two words Nicolas said to his teen co-star left Maxwell by surprise – for good reason.

Speaking to 9Entertainment following the film's Australian premiere – out now, only on Stan – Maxwell recalled the moment he met the Hollywood star for the first time.

Stream the brand new survival thriller Arcadian, out now on Stan.

"We filmed for about week before Nic came in because he was wrapping up another project," Maxwell began.

"Everyone knows he's a phenomenal actor," said Maxwell. "On a lot of people's minds was, 'OK, Nic's going to come in and we're going to do the scenes how Nic says to do the scenes'. I think that's what everyone kind of envisioned happening.

"And that wasn't the case at all."

Maxwell said that he and co-star Jaeden Martell, 21 (who plays his brother in the movie) met Nicolas on set.

"Me and Jaeden were walking to go film a scene, and we notice a new trailer on the lot," he remembered.

READ MORE: First look at Nicolas Cage's thrilling Stan Original Film The Surfer

"We go, 'Oh Nic must be arriving soon', and as soon we as said that, he walks out the door and goes, 'My boys! My boys!' And yeah, we hit it off great."

Talk about a warm welcome!

Arcadian takes place in a near future, where normal life on Earth has been decimated. It follows the edge-of-your-set survival of Paul (Nicolas Cage) and his two sons, Thomas (Maxwell Jenkins) and Joseph (Jaeden Martell).

READ MORE: Father and son's mysterious disappearance unearthed as part of Stan's gripping Revealed documentary series

Every night after the sun sets, they face the unrelenting attacks of a mysterious and violent evil. Secure in their barricaded home, until one day Thomas doesn't return home before sundown.

"What people would be pleased to know is how generous [Nic] is as a scene partner," revealed Maxwell.

"He came in and of course he had really great ideas on how to bring personal elements into the scene... But he would accept your ideas and talk to you about them, so he really was a gracious scene partner."

Maxwell said that while Nic has a lot of really fun stories, "the biggest thing" he learned was from watching him on set.

"I learned to really attack these scenes with a lot of energy," said Maxwell.

"And that message applies to more than just scene work. Whatever is worth doing, attack it with 110 percent."

Stream the brand new survival thriller Arcadian, out now on Stan.

Nine Entertainment Co (the publisher of this website) owns and operates the streaming service Stan.