Warning: Spoilers for Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1!

Abbey Lee and Jamie Campbell Bower find their next sprawling adventure with Kevin Costner’s Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1. Both first found success in the world of modeling before turning to a career in acting, with Lee finding her first breakout role in George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road as The Dag, one of Immortan Joe’s wives on the run with the titular character, and Bower finding success with The Twilight Saga, playing one of the Volturi’s founding members, Caius. In the years since, Bower found acclaim starring as Vecna in Stranger Things season 5, while Lee has starred in everything from M. Night Shyamalan’s Old to HBO’s Lovecraft Country.

In Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1, Lee and Bower play two different facets of the American West, with the former playing Marigold, a woman desperate to break free from her small-town life through any means necessary, be it through her skillful language or her body. Bower’s Caleb Sykes, on the other hand, is a more troubled individual, being part of a criminal family and often relishing his actions, though frequently coming under the disciplinary hand of his family’s ruthless matriarch, Dale Dickey’s Mrs. Sykes.

Alongside Lee, Bower and Costner, some of the ensemble Horizon: An American Saga cast includes Sam Worthington, Sienna Miller, Michael Rooker, Luke Wilson, Isabelle Fuhrman, Tatanka Means, Wasé Chief, Ella Hunt, and Jena Malone. Nicely setting up future installments while still firmly establishing its core cast of characters, Costner’s sprawling Western epic is a unique approach to the well-tread genre.

In anticipation of the movie’s release, Screen Rant interviewed Abbey Lee and Jamie Campbell Bower to discuss Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1, how their characters are connected to Kevin Costner’s gunslinger, how the former’s Marigold is trying to better her situation in the complex times of the American West, and the latter’s climactic showdown.

Lee Was “Fascinated” By Marigold’s “Bursting” Desire To Be Free & Bower Was “Wildly Energized” By Costner’s Script

When the duo were approached with the opportunity to join Costner’s Western universe, both actors felt thrilled and intrigued by their Horizon characters’ journeys and backstories. Lee, in particular, cited her main fascination as coming from Marigold’s “bursting” desire to be free, while Bower recalls feeling “wildly energized” when he first read the script for the Western epic:

Abbey Lee: I think what fascinated me the most about Marigold, my character, is that she was this woman who was like bursting to be free and desperate to be independent and live a really full life, and yet, she existed in a time that didn’t allow women to have that experience. There were rules set in place that meant that women didn’t have rights, they didn’t have freedom. Even the clothes that women wore at that time were constricting, you couldn’t breathe, it was heavy. It was incredibly uncomfortable to wear a corset all day, and women wore those all day, every day. So, I was really excited to explore someone who felt caged, regardless of the fact that she was so desperately wanting to be free.

Jamie Campbell Bower: I’ve honestly just felt wildly energized. When I first read the script, I was buzzing, I just thought, “What an amazing story, what an amazing group of characters. How is this going to work? How is this going to play out?” And then, the character of Caleb that I get to play — I’m always interested in this idea of damage, of trauma, of what makes people the way that they are. We all have a story right, and I personally don’t believe anybody is born bad. It’s a sort of product of environment, as it were.

For me to kind of jump into that, and figure all of that out and build it, and to be out in the desert and in the mountain range was just a joy. This is a place I’ve spent time in before filming, it was a place that I will spend time in after filming. I would have gone there anyway. So, for me, I was just stoked. The whole thing just felt great, and felt right, and yeah, I follow that.

Lee further expounded on how Marigold’s efforts to be free will carry over into Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 2, citing her various skills and resourcefulness as being key to her character’s growth and arc in future installments of Costner’s franchise:

Abbey Lee: I felt that what was interesting to me is this idea of currency, when someone doesn’t have money. To me, Marigold was someone who was always looking for a way to get by with what she had, whether it was her body, her charm, her language. So, to me, Marigold felt like this person who was constantly trying to negotiate, and that was a really fun journey to be on, as you’re with the character that’s figuring out how she’s going to get out of this situation, or better her situation in that very moment. She’s not a natural, she’s not instinctively maternal, so to sort of be given that role, she’s figuring it out as she goes. That’s another reason why I found her fascinating.

The First Movie’s Final Showdown Between Costner & Bower “Means A Lot” To Its Director/Star

While Chapter 1 takes a generally steady approach to exploring the foundation of the early years of the American West, the latter act of Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1‘s story pits Costner’s Hayes Ellison against Bower’s Caleb. In reflecting on shooting the big sequence, Bower cites the scene as meaning “a lot” to his director, while also praising the little details Costner included in the scene to show the shifting of power between the two characters:

Jamie Campbell Bower: I mean, first of all, “Don’t screw it up” is something that was there. But then, also, just this kind of burning rage. I’ve got a bunch of videos that I was doing prior to filming that, just kind of building this burning desire to win. So, there was that, but then also, on a more human level, on a more personal level, I think there was just a lot of trust between myself and Kevin there. There were these great moments that Kevin orchestrated within that scene with the characters.

There’s a slight shift, one kind of steps down a little, and one steps up, and all of a sudden, the power is taken out of one hand and put into another. When I get to see those things that a director does, I’m like a kid in a candy store. I love that stuff. So, I had a great time doing it, I think we both did. That scene means a lot to Kevin, it’s sort of an introduction for his character, and I know he really wanted that to land, and I hope that we were able to do that justice for his character. I’ve seen it, I think it’s cool, it looks great, looks bada–, so yeah, I’m stoked.

About Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1

Academy Award-winning visionary filmmaker Kevin Costner directs New Line Cinema’s epic Horizon: An American Saga Chapters I and II, a multi-faceted chronicle covering the Civil War expansion and settlement of the American West. A story of America too big for one film, this true cinematic event also stars Costner, who co-writes with Jon Baird (“The Explorers Guild”) and produces through his Territory Pictures.

In the great tradition of Warner Bros. Pictures’ iconic Westerns, Horizon: An American Saga explores the lure of the Old West and how it was won — and lost — through the blood, sweat and tears of many. Spanning the four years of the Civil War, from 1861 to 1865, Costner’s ambitious cinematic adventure will take audiences on an emotional journey across a country at war with itself, experienced through the lens of families, friends and foes all attempting to discover what it truly means to be the

United States of America.

Costner, Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington and Giovanni Ribisi star alongside an impressive ensemble cast that includes Abbey Lee, Will Patton, Jena Malone, Michael Rooker, Danny Huston, Luke Wilson, Jeff Fahey, Isabelle Fuhrman, Ella Hunt, David O’Hara, Owen Crow Shoe, Tatanka Means, Tim Guinee, Scott Haze, Tom Payne, Alejandro Edda, James Russo, Jon Beavers, Jaime Campbell Bower, and Michael Anganaro, and more.

Check out our other Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1 interviews with:

• Kevin Costner
• Sienna Miller & Sam Worthington
• Luke Wilson, Isabelle Fuhrman & Ella Hunt

Source: Screen Rant Plus