(L to R) Naomie Harris, Cate Blanchett and Tom Burke star in director Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Black Bag’.
Opening in theaters on March 14th is the new spy thriller ‘Black Bag’, which was written by David Koepp (‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘Mission: Impossible’) and directed by Oscar winning filmmaker Steven Soderbergh (‘Traffic’ and ‘The Limey’).
The film stars Oscar winner Cate Blanchett (‘Blue Jasmine’), Michael Fassbender (‘The Killer’), Marisa Abela (‘Back to Black’), Naomie Harris (‘Skyfall’), Regé-Jean Page (‘The Gray Man’), Tom Burke (‘Living’), and Pierce Brosnan (‘Goldeneye’).
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Cate Blanchett, Naomie Harris and Tom Burke about their work on ‘Black Bag’, Blanchett’s first reaction to the screenplay and exploring her character’s marriage, Harris and Burke’s characters’ motivations, and working with legendary filmmaker Steven Soderbergh.
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Cate Blanchett stars as Kathryn St. Jean in director Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Black Bag’, a Focus Features release. Credit: Claudette Barius/Focus Features © 2025 All Rights Reserved.
Moviefone: To begin with, Cate, can you talk about your first reaction to David Koepp’s screenplay and the opportunity to explore this intriguing marriage dynamic between George and Catherine?
Cate Blanchett: Yes, well, I’d already agreed to do it before I read the script, because obviously when you know David Koepp is writing it and Steven Soderbergh is going to direct it, you know it’s going to be a great adventure. So, then when Steven said he wanted Michael (Fassbender) to play George, I went, “Oh, that’s perfect.” But I was surprised by just how elusive their relationship was, but also how the absolute bedrock of their relationship is that they would die for each other. I find that deeply romantic, and particularly after they’ve been together a long time. They’ve clearly decided not to have children and they’re devoted to their work. But the only thing they’re devoted to more is each other. So, I think that there was an intensely romantic thing at the heart of this film, which was not something you necessarily associate with a texture in the movies that Steven makes.
(L to R) Naomie Harris as Dr. Zoe Vaughn and Cate Blanchett as Kathryn St. Jean in director Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Black Bag’, a Focus Features release. Credit: Claudette Barius/Focus Features © 2025 All Rights Reserved.
MF: Naomie, can you talk about your approach to playing Zoe, and since she is a therapist to a group of spies, can she truly trust anything they say, and how does she navigate that?
Naomie Harris: Well, I think she must be two steps ahead of them. I mean, she’s immensely intuitive, insightful and hugely intelligent, as well as being a little morally corrupt and slightly unorthodox in her methods. She’s basically created her own way of working in that environment where morality rules don’t matter. All that matters are results. Are the spies mentally sound and are they staying on mission? That’s it for her.
(L to R) Tom Burke as Freddie Smalls and Michael Fassbender as George Woodhouse in director Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Black Bag’, a Focus Features release. Credit: Claudette Barius/Focus Features © 2025 All Rights Reserved.
MF: Tom, can you talk about how Freddie’s personal life is affecting his professional life?
TB: Yeah, I mean, it’s alluded to in the dialogue and in everything that happens, I suppose, as well. You do feel like amid what must be an incredibly careful and focused skill set for his career, that there’s a completely improvised element of his own life that involves drinking, drugging and an awful lot else. That’s very interesting to play because it seems like a paradox, but also it makes sense that somebody like that might be drawn to a high-risk career. It’s to kind of accommodate that need or that drive.
(L to R) Actor Michael Fassbender and director Steven Soderbergh on the set of ‘Black Bag’, a Focus Features release. Credit: Claudette Barius/Focus Features © 2025 All Rights Reserved.
MF: Tom, as an actor, what is it like being on a Steven Soderbergh set? What was he like to work with as a director?
TB: He has an amazing understanding of how to optimize what his actors are bringing to each scene and it’s not least to do with energy and time. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that handled quite so caringly or felt that handled quite so caringly.
Director Steven Soderbergh on the set of ‘Black Bag’, a Focus Features release. Credit: Claudette Barius/Focus Features © 2025 All Rights Reserved.
MF: Cate, you’ve worked with Steven Soderbergh before, how was this experience similar or different than the last time you worked together?
CB: Well, we’d worked together years ago on a film called ‘The Good German’, which I think about three and a half people saw. But which Steven has said is one movie he was so completely happy with, and it was such an interesting experience for me. So, it was just a deepening of that experience. He’s so economical and so relaxed while he gives time to people to do what they do. So, he’s very respectful to every single department and grateful to every single department who are working towards making the movie great. What he doesn’t have any truck for is people who are lazy and unprepared. So, he makes you really want to bring your best for him. You want to be ready. If you say to him, “I need to go again”, he’ll go, “Don’t worry about it, I’m only going to use those four frames,” because he’s editing in his head. I mean, he’s like a machine with the biggest heart. You know, he really cares about the actors that he works with and every single member of the crew. So, before I worked with him, I don’t think I could even imagine that those two parts of a cinema artist could coexist as beautifully as they do in him.
(L to R) Regé-Jean Page as Col. James Stokes, Naomie Harris as Dr. Zoe Vaughn and Michael Fassbender as George Woodhouse in director Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Black Bag’, a Focus Features release. Credit: Claudette Barius/Focus Features © 2025 All Rights Reserved.
MF: Finally, Naomie, what surprised you about working with Steven Soderbergh?
NH: I think one of the shocking things for me about working with Stephen was just how much freedom he gives to actors. He truly casts well and then he completely trusts you to make of the characters what you will. I’ve never had that much liberty. So, in the beginning I was really intimidated by it. But then it’s such a liberating and an empowering experience where you’re just like, this person believes in me so much that I can make any choice that I want. So, I really learned a lot from working with him.
“It takes a spy to hunt a spy.”
From Director Steven Soderbergh, BLACK BAG is a gripping spy drama about legendary intelligence agents George Woodhouse and his beloved wife Kathryn. When she is… Read the Plot
What’s the story of ‘Black Bag’?
‘Black Bag’ follows legendary intelligence agents George Woodhouse (Michael Fassbender) and his beloved wife Kathryn (Cate Blanchett).
When she is suspected of betraying the nation, George faces the ultimate test –– loyalty to his marriage or his country.
Who also stars in ‘Black Bag’?
- Cate Blanchett as Kathryn Woodhouse
- Michael Fassbender as George Woodhouse
- Marisa Abela as Clarissa Dubose
- Tom Burke as Freddie Smalls
- Naomie Harris as Dr. Zoe Vaughan
- Regé-Jean Page as Col. James Stokes
- Pierce Brosnan as Arthur Stieglitz
Oscar® nominee Steven Soderbergh arrives on the red carpet of The 93rd Oscars® at Union Station in Los Angeles, CA on Sunday, April 25, 2021. Credit/Provider: Matt Petit / A.M.P.A.S. Copyright: ©A.M.P.A.S.
List of Steven Soderbergh Movies and TV Shows:
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