(L to R) Taron Egerton and Ana Sophia Heger star in ‘She Rides Shotgun’.
Opening in theaters on August 1st is the new crime thriller ‘She Rides Shotgun’ from director Nick Rowland (‘Calm with Horses’), which stars Taron Egerton (‘Rocketman’), Ana Sophia Heger (‘Life in Pieces’), Rob Yang (‘Succession’), Odessa A’zion (‘Until Dawn’), David Lyons (‘Safe Haven’), and John Carroll Lynch (‘Ballard’).
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Taron Egerton and Ana Sophia Heger about their work on ‘She Rides Shotgun’, Egerton’s first reaction to the screenplay, Heger’s character’s relationship with her father, and what it was like for the two actors to work together on set.
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(L to R) Ana Sophia Heger and Taron Egerton in ‘She Rides Shotgun’. Photo: Lionsgate.
Moviefone: To begin with, Taron, what was your first reaction to reading the screenplay and what were some of the aspects of your character that you were excited to explore on screen?
Taron Egerton: I was very moved by the screenplay, and I felt that these were two people that I felt that I knew and really cared about. So, when something that is that compulsively readable, but also feels real in a way that you believe they’re real people, that’s very compelling. It’s a compelling prospect to inhabit one of those roles. I love that he’s nothing like me. I love that he’s seems like one thing but is another. You know, it’s so often in life, there’s such a truth, I think, in life with where things will seem at first glance, unfriendly or unwelcoming in some way, and with a little bit of effort, a little bit of engagement, that’s quickly demonstrated to not be the case. That’s often my experience of the world anyway, and I love that Nate encapsulates that. He’s a man that when you first meet him, you assume who he is very quickly and some of those assumptions are probably well deserved, but the core of him, the heart of him, is good, and I love that about him.
MF: Ana, can you talk about Polly’s estranged relationship with her father, how that grows through the course of the film, and what it was like creating that relationship with Taron?
Ana Sophia Heger: Well, so in the beginning of the movie, you see that they obviously haven’t been together for five years, so they don’t really know each other. They must go through all these crazy things together that throughout the movie, they just start bonding. I just thought that was special and it was. It was easy bonding with him because he’s nice in real life.
(L to R) Ana Sophia Heger and Taron Egerton in ‘She Rides Shotgun’. Photo: Lionsgate.
MF: Finally, Taron, what was your experience like working with Ana on this movie?
TE: Look, we just connected very easily and very quickly, and I think we both felt it was very easy for us both to feel that the story was important. When it feels important, it feels like it’s no longer about you, it’s about the project. Then you gain a lot of energy for free. That’s the truth of it. It’s when the project feels more important than anything that you have going on, it all starts to happen very easily in my experience, or more easily. You just get a lot of free energy. I think we both really cared about Nate and Polly’s story, and we wanted to really do it justice and although they’re not real people, they felt real to us. We wanted to do the best job we could playing them. So, I think the abundant emotion in the piece came quite readily in this situation and that’s not always the case.
“All a father needs is a fighting chance.”
In the gritty, explosive action-thriller She Rides Shotgun, Taron Egerton stars as newly released ex-con Nate. Marked for death by unrelenting enemies, Nate must… Read the Plot
What is the plot of ‘She Rides Shotgun’?
Nate (Taron Egerton) tries to make a fresh start after his release from jail. However, he is forced to go on the run from his enemies with his daughter Polly (Ana Sophia Heger), who has grown up without him.
Who is in the cast of ‘She Rides Shotgun’?
- Taron Egerton as Nate
- Ana Sophia Heger as Polly
- Rob Yang as Josh Park
- John Carroll Lynch as Houser
- Odessa A’zion as Charlotte
- David Lyons as Jimmy
‘She Rides Shotgun’ opens in theaters on August 1st. Photo: Lionsgate.
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