Sam Rockwell And Henry Cavill Reveal How Argylle Subverts Spy Thrillers - Exclusive Interview
Henry Cavill and Sam Rockwell both play spies in the new movie from director Matthew Vaughn, "Argylle," but they couldn't be more different. Cavill's Aubrey Argylle is calm, confident, impeccably dressed and coiffed, and suave with the ladies — think a heightened version of James Bond. Rockwell's Aidan, on the other hand, is a bit more rough and tumble, dressed in whatever he woke up in that morning and getting through his mission on a wing and a prayer.
They're also different in one other major way: Aidan is real, while Argylle is not. Argylle is the protagonist of a series of novels written by unassuming author Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard), who is forced to go on the run with Aidan when it becomes clear that her books have touched a nerve with certain shadowy organizations. But nothing is what it seems, and reality and fiction keep twisting around each other in increasingly complicated ways.
Up for the role of James Bond back in 2005 until he was deemed too young in favor of Daniel Craig, Henry Cavill gets his superspy on in "Argylle" after recent forays into the world of superheroes as Superman (in the now-defunct DC Snyderverse) and dark fantasy as Geralt of Rivia in "The Witcher." Rockwell, meanwhile, briefly joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Justin Hammer in "Iron Man 2" but has made his mark in acclaimed films like "Jojo Rabbit," "The Green Mile," and "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri," which landed him an Academy Award.
As for "Argylle," Rockwell tells Looper in our exclusive interview with him and Cavill that he relished the chance to work with Matthew Vaughn: "It's a great arena for an actor," he says. "It's great storytelling, and you get to do these great, archetype antiheroes or heroes. It's really fun."
Playing two different kinds of spies
Sam, I wanted to start with you. How did both playing a spy and also subverting the idea of a spy perhaps make this more intriguing to you than a conventional action thriller?
Sam Rockwell: He uses me as a device to the unorthodox, the realistic spy, so to speak. It's kind of like Albert Brooks and William Hurt in "Broadcast News," and so that juxtaposition between me and Henry is really helpful.
Henry, you're playing the heightened, idealized version of Bond and all those types of literary spies, but what's the trick for maybe trying to humanize him a bit, to the extent that you can?
Henry Cavill: Well, do you really want to humanize Argylle too much? The idea is that he is an idealized, as you say, heightened version of a spy, or the trope's turned up to 11. I did try to provide some softer elements because it's not the only role he serves. He also serves as a...
Rockwell: Sage.
Cavill: A crutch, a crutch for another character. I don't want to give away too much, but [it's] also a hindrance, I suppose, that that person is discovering themselves at the same time. It's an interesting turn, actually. I think Matthew's executed pretty well on that — Matthew and Jason [Fuchs, screenwriter].
How much of the action did each of you get to do on the set, and how far did you each push it before they said "okay"?
Rockwell: They wanted us to do as much as we could. They tested us out and drove us around a little bit.
Cavill: There's a couple of little things which we didn't do. There's a wall moment which they were like, "No, we don't want you doing that in case you end up with a splinter in your eye or something." But otherwise, we're doing all the fighting. It's all there.
Rockwell: We're doing the kung fu fighting, for sure.
Working with Dua Lipa and Matthew Vaughn
For you, Henry, working with someone like Dua Lipa, for whom this is her first film, do you see yourself as being there to help them as opposed to with a screen partner who's got experience?
Cavill: Regardless of anyone's experience, whether they're very experienced or not, you're all there to help one another anyway. If you're having a good day or a bad day, it doesn't really matter. You're there to support because that's what we do. We're all playing characters and throwing storytelling at one another so we can respond. She doesn't need any help. She's fantastic.
Rockwell: She's pretty great.
This is the second time for Henry [who appeared in Vaughn's "Stardust"] and first time for Sam working in the world of Matthew Vaughn. What's that like, being in these enhanced, stylized worlds that he creates?
Rockwell: It's a great arena for an actor. It's great storytelling, and you get to do these great, archetype antiheroes or heroes. It's really fun.
Cavill: Yeah. Matthew's good fun. He's great to work with, and he's a straight talker. The process can be a little fluid, so you can be prepared for whatever's coming that day. I enjoy that. It's good to be taken out of your box, and they're like, "Okay, this is happening now." You just got to bring it in that moment. Sometimes it's where the good stuff is.
"Argylle" explodes into theaters on Friday, February 2.