Chris Vognar

Ben Mezrich's page-turning nonfiction book Bringing Down the House tells the story of six MIT students who card-counted their way to millions in Vegas. Now it's a Hollywood movie, 21, starring Jim Sturgess as blackjack team ace Ben Campbell, which opens today. (Campbell is based on Jeff Ma, who in the book is named Kevin Lewis. Yeah, it's kinda confusing.)

KYE R. LEE/DMN

Mr. Sturgess, a 26-year-old London native, is best known for gamely singing his way through Julie Taymor's Beatles fantasia Across the Universe. We caught up with him during a recent stop in Dallas.

What got you interested in 21?

When I first read the script I had no idea it was based on true events, so I viewed it as just a good script and a great story. Then the minute I was told it really happened, when I was told these guys went to Vegas and pulled this thing off, I was immediately more intrigued.

Have you played much blackjack in real life?

Never in my life, no. It's a different gambling culture in England than in America. Gambling for me was just putting money on the horses or dogs. There are casinos, but it was never a part of my life. And we certainly don't have anything close to Vegas. It was a whole new world to indulge in, which was a lot of fun.

When did you read the book?

I didn't know anything about the book when I was cast, but I managed to sit down and read it. Then I met Jeff and got even more stories. He told me about how the money became almost unreal. You start thinking in chips instead of actual money. Then there's the absolutely gut-wrenching feeling of losing a lot of money, and the adrenaline rush of winning a lot of money.

What's the most money Jim Sturgess ever won gambling?

It was more about what I lost and then won back. I dropped over a thousand dollars, which for me is a big deal, and I remember thinking, "Oh my God, I just did that." I was walking back to the hotel, and I found a chip in my pocket, so I figured I might as well finish off everything. So I put it down and started hitting a good roll and won it all back in one sitting of blackjack.

What were the biggest differences you found between the book and the film?

Obviously the film is its own story. It incorporates a purpose for my character to earn the money. The film needs that; otherwise it's just this MIT guy making a bunch of money. For a film, you want him to need the money. I wasn't playing Jeff Ma. I didn't feel any need to copy Jeff. The character needed to be his own person.

How did you end up doing Across the Universe with Julie Taymor?

I used to play a lot of music; I was in a band and the band had recently split up, and I didn't know what to do with myself. Then I heard about this Beatles musical. I was doing a little acting, so I went along to the audition, not having any idea about it. I just knew it was a Beatles musical, which I thought was a pretty bad idea at the time. I thought it would never work. But I went, and I just played some songs on my guitar, came back and did a little acting, and was told the director wanted to meet me in New York. They told me it was Julie Taymor, and I had seen Frida like three times, and Titus, and The Lion King. It was only at that point that I thought this might be quite a good film.

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