Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with the actor Taron Egerton (“Rocketman,” “Kingsman: The Secret Service,” “Carry On”) and director Nick Rowland (“Calm With Horses”) about their latest film, “She Rides Shotgun.” Egerton also serves as an executive producer on the film.
“She Rides Shotgun” follows a young girl named Polly and her estranged father, Nate (Egerton), who must go on the run from a gang that has a hit out on both of them.
Isabelle Anguiano: I’ll just get started then. So, Nick, what made you want to direct this movie? And Taron, what made you want to produce and star in it?
Nick Rowland: I think for me, when I’m looking for a project, it’s quite simple. I just try to find a story that moves me, and I try to find a story where I really care about the characters. And, you know, I’m dyslexic, so if I read a script in one sitting, that’s a really good sign for me that I really care about it, because usually I have to take lots of breaks and the rest of it.
And I think it’s not something I’ve consciously done, but I have started to notice a pattern with me that with the stories that I am interested in – that I tend to like stories that have a blend of a sort of raw tenderness and sort of emotional sensitivity mixed with something very hard and tense and sometimes violent or kind of brutal. So I kind of like the extremes of tenderness and heart, with a sort of extreme story that’s sort of pushing against it.
Taron Egerton: Yeah, I really loved Nick’s first film, so that was a big part of it. But I think the script struck me as being something that was an interesting blend of having elements that made it very accessible. Because it’s a simple story about a father and daughter on the run with a ton of bad guys trying to get them.
IA: Yeah.
TE: And that I think makes it something that’s an easy sell to a lot of people, but what I felt about doing a story like that with Nick and with the script that I read was that there was scope to do something that had a quality of tenderness and humanity that isn’t always typical of an action/thriller genre. And in fact, when I read it, I didn’t really feel it was that [a typical action movie]. I felt it was a drama between two characters that was intercut with these set-piece moments. And it was a very different role for me and something that, if it was executed well, could have a kind of timeless quality. I remember when I first spoke to Nick, thinking this movie would have been cool in 1975, and it’s cool in 2025, and that for me is very big.
IA: Yeah, for sure. And speaking of, you mentioned the balance of the heart and the action. So, can you talk about how you went about trying to balance that tone of like all the shootouts and the bad guys coming after them with the emotional heaviness of this father and daughter in peril trying to run away?
NR: I think what was important, we wanted there to be a grounded nature to the tone of the story and the performances, so I think a big focus for the stunts was to make them feel like set pieces. It’s the sort of propulsive engine of the story. We never wanted it to feel like suddenly we’re in a different movie, you know? So we wanted it to feel big and epic and exciting and dynamic, but we always wanted it to feel a bit messy and gritty and there’s always a thing you have to be careful of when you’re making a film that when you get to the set piece stunt moments – it’s all very fun and exciting to do. The car chases and the shootouts, but sometimes you can get a bit overexcited and forget the story you’re telling and actually what’s you know what I love about this film is that all of the action, there’s a lot of storytelling that’s still happening and and character development that’s happening within the action, which I think makes it really engaging. Rob Alonzo was the stunt coordinator and second unit director. He designed the car chase in the last Batman movie with Robert Pattinson.
IA: Oh, really?
NR: And you look at his credits, he’s done amazing work. And we were really in tune to design the stunts and the fights to have a kind of rawness and a kind of visceral, improvised quality to them, but still giving them scope.
IA: Yeah, for sure. And then I think we can all agree that Ana Sophia is the real superstar of the film. So, can you talk about how you found her and what it was like working with her, especially so closely, Taron?
TE: More than anything I’ve ever done, probably, I’ve felt that although I’m very present in the movie, I really did feel like a supporting actor in this. It’s told from her eyes. You’re quite right, it’s her movie. Yeah, and I think we knew we had a challenge on our hands, finding somebody who was the right age and had the right mix of emotionality and grit. Nick saw a lot of young girls, and I met five and tested with five. And I really mean they were all brilliant. But Ana was like, I mean, you can tell from the way you spoke about it, she’s quite transcendent. It’s, I think, you know, choose your fighter. Whether it’s Macaulay Culkin [in “Home Alone”] or “Kramer vs Kramer” or whatever. I think Ana more than holds their own with any of those great child performances.
The other thing about it was, she’s somebody who’s very connected to her own dad. She has a very special relationship with her own dad. She’s a real daddy’s girl, and I think she and I just found a bond very quickly that we didn’t require a lot of coaxing or forcing.
Speaking to her talent and her ability, I don’t know. I’m still kind of bemused by it, really, because it is just one of those things that’s an extraordinary thing. Her instincts, how responsive she is, how available she is to connect with the situation imaginatively. It’s a really special thing.
IA: Yeah, for sure. And I hope just the best for her. Like I thought she was a total superstar here, so hoping she can continue showcasing her talent. Nick, can you talk about your approach to directing actors and how you’re able to get such authentic performances out of them?
NR: I think like 90% of directing is about the tone that you create on set, and I think it’s really important, speaking as someone who often is shy and nervous as a person. I know what it’s like to feel uncomfortable. And I know when I feel uncomfortable, I’m not my best. So I feel like that gives me a unique ability to sort of know what this is, what I need to feel safe in an environment, and I try and create that for everyone else as well.
And it’s small things like just making sure I’m not shouting across the room. If I can help it, I’ll try and create an intimate space where it’s just us in a little bubble and we can sort of forget about everything else that’s going on. We ask a lot of this film. We talked about having confident curiosity in that.
I don’t like it when there’s a right way or a wrong way. So, if Ana was like, was that good or was that bad? It’s like, well, good and bad don’t exist. We’re just exploring the material together, and we’re being open to discovering gifts as we go. And so often, like trying to keep it alive in that way, is key. And then also, I think every actor is different. So I think as a director, you can’t be like, well, this is the way I direct because of one actor.
You know, like when you go to film school, you learn not to give notes like be more angry, because that’s like a very hard thing to play. You have to be more specific and use verbs and things like that. But sometimes you come across an actor who just wants to know if they should go faster or slower, you know? So I think it’s about understanding who you’re working with.
I think ultimately it comes down to trust, and as long as you can create an environment where you’re trusting each other and that you’re allowed to fail, or if you make a mistake, or if you try something that doesn’t work, or if you fall flat on your face or feel foolish that there’s no price to that because we trust and we know the story we’re telling. So it allows us to push the boundaries further. If you feel like you’re being judged, if I feel like I’m being judged, I close up. So I try and create an environment where everyone feels open, so I try and allow myself to be vulnerable, and that kind of invites vulnerability from everyone I’m collaborating with.
IA: And then my last question here. So, I thought it was kind of funny that Nate gives Polly a pretty bad haircut in this movie. And so I was wondering, did y’all ever have a bad haircut as a kid? I remember when I was around 7, I had bangs. My dad trimmed them, and I had picture day the next day, and it was just mortifying having this school picture of me with cropped, ugly bangs.
TE: I definitely did. My mom used to do that thing of having like the very straight…
IA: The bowl cut?
TE: The bowl cut. And yeah, and then I remember when I was 12, my dad was taking care of me. He took me for a buzz cut. And I remember my mom being really mad. Like really mad.
NR: I had quite a bad haircut at the start of this year, actually.
IA: Oh, did you? [laughs]
NR: When you know the classic go through a break up, and then I was like, I’m gonna cut all my hair off.
TE: [laughs]
IA: You have to transform yourself, yeah.
NR: You know that Mario character that’s a mushroom?
TE: Yeah.
IA: Yes.
NR: It was like that with some Lord Farquaad. Yeah, so anyway.
TE: It’s a nice scene, though.
IA: Yeah, it is a nice scene. And I love the hair color. But it was, yeah, it was just a funny thing that stuck out to me. But anyway, that’s all the time I have. Thank you.
“She Rides Shotgun” releases in Theaters Friday, August 1st
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