Actor Jake Thomas may be best remembered by most as Matt McGuire fromLizzie McGuire, but his career journey has been anything but static. Years of navigating typecasting, more mature roles, and an ever-evolving creative identity have prepared him to take on a character like Marco Silva inMindsEye. As the founder and CEO of Silva Industries, the tech powerhouse at the center ofMindsEye’s storyand setting, Marco Silva is understandably a layered and complex character that fits Thomas' personal journey perfectly.
Game Rant recently spoke with Jake Thomas about his role as Marco Silva inMindsEye, particularly when it comes to his process for bringing the character to life. According to Thomas, the journey ofMindsEye’s Marco Silva is quite similar to his own.
How Jake Thomas' Career Is Reflected in MindsEye’s Marco Silva
Long before stepping into the role ofMarco Silva inMindsEye, Jake Thomas had built a career filled with the kind of introspection that lends itself well to portraying a character with internal conflict. While Thomas may be most widely recognized for his work as Matt McGuire onLizzie McGuire, his years in the industry are what led to him gaining the role of the more nuanced Marco Silva inMindsEye. That experience means things have now come full circle for Thomas, as Marco is ultimately someone wrestling with his own history. Thomas explained:
“Without giving too much away, I would say Marco’s personal journey is that of him dealing with certain things that have come to light in his history, the decisions that he’s made to come to power, and how some of that may reflect poorly on him. But I think throughout the entirety of the story, he makes the decisions that he thinks are best for humanity. Whether that’s a good decision for an individual like the player character in MindsEye, that’s yet to be seen.”
Marco’s character arc inMindsEyeexplores how someone can justifymorally ambiguous actionsin the name of progress all while leaving a trail of broken relationships behind him. That kind of complexity in a character isn’t always easy to get across to viewers through a camera lens, but Thomas' career fortunately already allowed him to become acquainted with the tension that occurs when personal desires are at odds with the expectations of the public. Much like Marco, Thomas spent years reconciling where he came from with where he wanted to go.
It’s in that internal conflict that Thomas was able to find some common ground with his character inMindsEye. While Marco wants to form the world around his vision, Thomas initially wanted to detach his personal identity as an actor from the role he was most known for inLizzie McGuire. His journey from teen star to matureactor and directorhas led Thomas to this moment, where he now prefers to embrace his past rather than escape from it. When asked specifically how Marco’s journey resonates with him personally, Thomas replied:
“I think that his is a story of revelation, and I think I’ve definitely had a lot of revelation throughout my career as an actor. I did projects when I was a little kid, stuff like Lizzie McGuire. I definitely have gone through periods in my life where maybe I wanted to separate myself from those recognizable roles, and I wanted to be a more mature actor. But I think in recent years, I’ve definitely embraced that more. I think it’s really a privilege to be recognized for some of my early work, especially when people say how impactful it was for them as a really cherished childhood memory. I feel like that’s an absolute honor.”
In the end, Thomas' own introspection allowed him to add more weight to hischaracter inMindsEye. With that weight, Marco Silva goes from being an angry, selfish billionaire to more of a normal human who wrestles with his past just as much as anyone else.
