Carry-On’s Sofia Carson Says Jason Bateman ‘Is Not the Typical Super-Sleek Villain’ in Netflix Hit (Exclusive)

Sofia Carson is marveling at Jason Bateman’s work in their Netflix action-thriller Carry-On.

In a new digital cover interview with PEOPLE, the 31-year-old actress says “it’s extraordinary to see” Bateman, 55, who is arguably more known for comedic roles, “as the bad guy.”

And what’s more, “Jason’s character is not the typical super-sleek villain,” she adds.

In Carry-On, Bateman plays the Traveler, a mysterious man at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) who makes a call to TSA agent Ethan Kopek (Taron Egerton) on Christmas Eve, willing him to let a passenger named Mateo (Tonatiuh) through security without flagging the contents of his carry-on luggage — or else the Traveler will have Ethan’s pregnant girlfriend Nora (Carson) killed.

Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra (Orphan, Jungle Cruise, Black Adam) and written by T.J. Fixman, the movie also features Danielle Deadwyler, Theo Rossi, Logan Marshall-Green, Dean Norris, Sinqua Walls and Curtiss Cook in supporting roles.

Carson tells PEOPLE that Carry-On, her first action movie, is “a popcorn delight” and “an epic thriller” that’s “an ode to the beloved Die Hard, a holiday action movie.”

“Nora, my character, has blossomed in life because she’s fearless, she’s brave, she’s bold. She’s the head of operations at LAX, which is a really big deal for a 29-year-old,” Carson says, adding that Egerton’s character Ethan, on the other hand, is “stuck in life and he’s stopped believing in himself, but Nora knows who he is and believes him to be the man that he’s always been in her eyes, and encourages him to do something.”

“And in the middle of the madness of Christmas [Eve], Ethan is put in the most impossible circumstances,” she adds. “He’s blackmailed by our bad guy, Jason Bateman, into allowing a carry-on to pass through security — a carry-on that could impact the lives of hundreds, or his girlfriend, me, will be killed. And that’s where our very dramatic and thrilling adventure begins.”

The movie has its tense sequences, but as Carson explains, “the beauty is that there’s such comedy woven throughout it, which makes it so fun and so entertaining.”

“Most of my scenes weren’t with Jason, sadly. Most of my scenes were more sad and tragic. So not that much breaking of character for me,” the Descendants actress tells PEOPLE, when asked if Bateman and Egerton, 35, ever made her break while filming.

She also praises the latter as “a tremendous actor,” adding, “He plays this role so perfectly, and the movie is beautiful because it’s so profoundly relatable.”

“It’s not a super-sleek action movie intentionally. Ethan is the everyman, and he’s put in an extraordinary circumstance,” Carson says. “It’s just so cool how it was done. And I think people are going to enjoy it so much.”

Carry-On is now streaming on Netflix.