‘One Mile’ Interview: Ryan Phillippe and C. Thomas Howell

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Ryan Phillippe and C. Thomas Howell about their work on ‘One Mile: Chapter One’ and ‘One Mile: Chapter Two’, how the project came together, shooting both movies back-to-back, Phillippe’s character’s relationship with his daughter, how Howell brought humanity to his villainous character, and working together on the action sequences.

Release Date: Feb 20, 2026

Run Time: 1 hr 20 min

Related Article: Ryan Philippe and Filmmaker Matthew Gentile Talk ‘American Murderer’

(L to R) Ryan Phillippe as “Danny” and Amélie Hoeferle as “Alex” in the Action, Thriller, Suspense film, ‘One Mile: Chapter One’ and ‘One Mile: Chapter Two’. Photo courtesy of Republic Pictures (a Paramount Pictures label).

Moviefone: To begin with, Ryan, can you talk about how this unusual project came together and what was your reaction to the idea of shooting a movie and its sequel at the same time and then releasing them together on the same day?

Ryan Phillippe: Well, I had worked with the producer, Aaron Kaplan on a mini-series that I did with Juliette Lewis years ago called ‘Secrets and Lies’. So, we had a prior working relationship, and he called me up and pitched me this story that was born out of a real situation with him and his daughter, Jaiden Kaplan, who’s one of our producers. They were on college tours in rural New Hampshire, and on a road where they had no cell service, and she just kind of said to him, “Dad, imagine if we broke down right now, what would happen?” So essentially, once he told me the story about how he and Jaiden had this idea when she was 17, he asked me if I would be interested in developing it into a movie. Which then ended up being two movies, which is incredibly ambitious and rarely done that you shoot a film and its sequel back-to-back. So, there were a lot of challenging elements related to that. But it was just a fun ride, and I loved that a father and daughter conceived it initially, and the story was emotionally at its heart, at least from Danny’s perspective, about a father and daughter attempting to reconnect. Being a parent myself, having two daughters, I found a lot of relatable elements to that, and I just think that it’s unique to have a father and daughter action piece and a survival story like this. So, we developed it over a couple of years and then was so excited when C. Thomas Howell came on board, and that brought the whole thing to life.

(L to R) C. Thomas Howell as “Stanley Dixon” and Amélie Hoeferle as “Alex” in the Action, Thriller, Suspense film, ‘One Mile: Chapter One’ and ‘One Mile: Chapter Two’. Photo courtesy of Republic Pictures (a Paramount Pictures label).

MF: C. Thomas, can you talk about joining this project and your approach to playing the villain?

C. Thomas Howell: Well, I love playing despicable characters. Finding a flawed character and injecting them with humanity. He’s trying to really do the best for the group of people that he holds a very big responsibility for, their survival in this off the grid culture, and there’s some similarities between the two characters. He’s fighting to take care of the one that he loves, and I’m fighting to take care of those that I love. So, I didn’t really approach him from the perspective of being a bad guy, and that’s what I liked about it, even though he was somebody that was willing to do things that are deemed despicable. He was coming from a good place, at least from his perspective. He felt justified. So, that made it very interesting for me instead of just some sort of socially disconnected psychopath, and that’s far less interesting to me. Really owning the fact that this small village that he created was on the verge of distinction unless he was willing to take some major steps in terms of not allowing that to happen, even if it meant kidnapping somebody. That was the force that I think, at least from my character’s perspective, that drives the movie.

(L to R) Ryan Phillippe as “Danny” and Amélie Hoeferle as “Alex” in the Action, Thriller, Suspense film, ‘One Mile: Chapter One’ and ‘One Mile: Chapter Two’. Photo courtesy of Republic Pictures (a Paramount Pictures label).

MF: Ryan, can you talk about Danny’s relationship with his daughter and creating that relationship on screen with actress Amélie Hoeferle?

RP: I mean, she’s great. We did an exhaustive search to find the right Alex and saw a hundred girls. But the moment I saw Amélie’s audition tape, I told the other producers that this was the girl. She’s meant to be this angsty teenager at a point in her life where she’s got this desire to be an artist and her mother has designs for her that are not in that realm. I think the fact that on set we had to do so much physical work in this movie. We had to jump into icy, cold water. We had to run full speed over rocky terrain, and this girl did not complain once. Her character in the movie has agency. She is cut of the same cloth as her father and we start to see elements of that, of her fighting back and her using her intelligence. I think that eventually they do start to grow closer together and then he does offer his apologies for not having been around as much. Then it becomes that he wants to save this person that he loves most in the world and would do anything for. As a parent, that’s very relatable.

C. Thomas Howell as “Stanley Dixon” in the Action, Thriller, Suspense film, ‘One Mile: Chapter One’ and ‘One Mile: Chapter Two’. Photo courtesy of Republic Pictures (a Paramount Pictures label).

MF: C. Thomas, can you talk about executing the action sequences and working with Ryan on those scenes?

CTH: You know, I come from a stunt background. My family, my father, spent a lifetime doing stunts in this business. So that’s not really something that I struggle with, but I certainly prefer standing back and watching Ryan get beat up and thrown into icy cold water as opposed to being a part of that. But we had our moments where he got his revenge and took it out on me. It’s something that I think when an actor can do their own physical stunts, it really adds something to the piece and Ryan has spent a very big portion of his career training and doing that. He’s very coordinated. He’s a black belt in multiple martial arts, so I don’t want to make him that angry. It was easy to get physical and to work out our stunt sequences together. He’s very physical, and it made it fun at times. That can be very tough when you’re working with another actor that doesn’t necessarily have those capabilities and they’re put into that position. Somebody can get hurt. It can look poorly done and it can become awkward. But when you can work with somebody who is capable, it makes it fun.

(L to R) Ryan Phillippe as “Danny” and James Michalopoulos as “Vince” in the Action, Thriller, Suspense film, ‘One Mile: Chapter One’ and ‘One Mile: Chapter Two’. Photo courtesy of Republic Pictures (a Paramount Pictures label).

MF: Finally, Ryan, do you have a philosophy when it comes to shooting action sequences?

RP: It is a dance of sorts, and we were lucky to have an incredible stunt team, incredible stunt choreography, and we really worked hard at it. Working with Tommy, first, I was excited because I watched him when I was younger, and I loved his work and his performances. But also, the intensity he brought to the role of Stanley ups my game. It makes me a better actor. It makes me lock in and focus a different way. So, I felt fortunate.

‘One Mile: Chapter One’ and ‘One Mile: Chapter Two’ will be available digitally on February 20th.

What is the plot of ‘One Mile: Chapter One’?

Danny (Ryan Phillippe), a former special forces operative, travels with his teenage daughter Alex (Amélie Hoeferle) on a college road trip. After an unexpected detour brings them into contact with a violent, isolated community living off the grid, Alex is taken, and Danny is forced into a desperate rescue attempt.

What is the plot of ‘One Mile: Chapter Two’?

In the second installment, Danny is pulled back into conflict with the same group when Alex is abducted again as part of an act of revenge, sending him into another pursuit against an enemy prepared for him.

Who is in the cast of One Mile: Chapter One and Two’?

(L to R) Amélie Hoeferle as “Alex” and Ryan Phillippe as “Danny” in the Action, Thriller, Suspense film, ‘One Mile: Chapter One’ and ‘One Mile: Chapter Two’. Photo courtesy of Republic Pictures (a Paramount Pictures label).

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