Posted in: Amazon MGM Studios, Exclusive, Interview, Movies | Tagged: deep cover

Deep Cover Stars: Mohammed, Howard & Bloom Talk British Action Comedy

Bryce Dallas Howard, Nick Mohammed, and Orlando Bloom spoke to Bleeding Cool about their latest Amazon MGM Studios action comedy Deep Cover.

When it comes to the nature of undercover work, there's always an element of improvisation that comes into play from the law enforcement end as they try to work their case to bring down any criminal activity. Deep Cover takes that premise in its most organic and raw form as a fast-paced action comedy that follows Kat (Bryce Dallas Howard), an improv comedy teacher, who meets kindred spirits in students Hugh (Nick Mohammed) and Marlon (Orlando Bloom), all wondering if they could have done more with their lives. Their opportunity comes when an undercover cop, Billings (Sean Bean), recruits them for a secret operation to infiltrate London's gangland by impersonating dangerous criminals by utilizing their unique improv talents. Mohammed, Howard, and Bloom spoke to Bleeding Cool about whether the Derek Connolly, Colin Trevorrow, and Ben Ashenden script allowed for real moments of improv on set, Howard on her Jurassic World reunion with the writers, their favorite scenes, and more.

Deep Cover Stars on Making the Most of the British Action Comedy

Bleeding Cool: Were there moments in the script that you were able to improv during filming?

Mohammed: There were moments, yeah. The script in general was so tight that we never really wanted to. There was no need to deviate from it too much, but there were certain sequences and some physical stuff that it felt like Tom [Kingsley], our director, would give us an opportunity to play around with a little bit.

Bryce, so having worked with Colin [Trevorrow], Derek [Connolly], and Ben [Ashenden] before, did you help acclimate Orlando and Nick to their creativity, and did it help the chemistry for your characters?

Howard: I mean, honestly, it was no acclamation necessary, and because it was made as a British action comedy, I was sort of like the sole American apart from Colin, who's lived in the UK for almost 10 years now. It was these wonderful gentlemen [points to Bloom and Mohammed], who were helping me acclimate to the scenario, but it was great to get to be hired by Colin again. I also had heard so much about this project for so many years, and my God! Once I read the script, I was like, "Oh yeah, I would love to do this. It's fantastic."

What was the most difficult scene for each of you?

Bloom: The most difficult scene…

Howard: [Motions with her right hand] Zoom zoom zoom

Bloom: Uhhh…

Howard: Uh, yeah, no. I don't know.

Mohammed: Do you mean difficult in terms of we struggled to get through it because we were laughing?

Anything that you had to possibly do more than one take, on off the top of your head?

Bloom: Well, Nick has this really genius turn with the cocaine on the table in the nightclub that was just like, "Wait, what?!" This is like it was just impossible to get through because he was so hilariously funny. We were shooting this movie in London, and whilst it may look like a giant budget, which I think is a compliment to the director and everyone involved, it really was shot on a shoestring budget. What was required was just to get the scene shot. Thankfully, we had a great script that was executed well because we're "yes, and-ing" and moving on. There were a lot of moments where the humor came from because the script was well-written and moved at a pace. Thankfully, I think you see that pace play out in the movie, because it flies like a dart, you know, an arrow, pardon the pun.

For your characters, did you have to feel like you had to tap into something beforehand to add that little extra inspiration beyond what was on the script?

Howard: Always, you want to definitely add…I mean, your job as an actor is to breathe life into the text and make the scene, the moments, and the relationships feel honest and truthful. Since the script was so well written, we were already at a great advantage with that. What was fantastic was that all of us bonded. I mean, so much of this movie is about these three people who are basically middle-aged and all in different ways feel like they're failures. They come together, become new friends, and they ultimately are a team. That's something that ended up happening behind the scenes.

Mohammed: I'm just laughing, because we are middle-aged, but I… [Howard laughs].

Bloom: I was like, "Can we pull back on the middle age? I like to think I'm still on the up."

Mohammed: That's what's really fun about it is that we are middle-aged, but I don't think any of them think that they are. They all think they're in their late 20s.

Bloom: Nor do any of us [laughs].

Howard: If we do the math, and we double our age.

Mohammed: Yeah, no, it's completely right.

Bloom: We don't need to do that either. [Howard laughs]. Moving on…Yes, and.

Howard: It's a group of emerging young people who are finding their way in the world after having lived in it for the first 25 years. [All laugh].

In addition to The Lord of the Rings' mini-reunion between Bloom and Bean, Deep Cover also features alumni from the Game of Thrones franchise (which includes Bean), including Ian McShane, and House of the Dragon's Paddy Considine and Sonoya Mizuno. The film is now streaming on Prime Video.

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