Elly Conway is an author who lives a quiet, ordinary life while writing exciting spy novels in Argylle. However, she soon learns that her novels may not be as fictional as she thought when undercover spy Aiden approaches her. Now on the run with Aiden and her pet cat Alfie, Elly will be plunged into a world of espionage full of killers and lies. She begins to question who and what she can trust.
Argylle features a star-studded cast led by Henry Cavill, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, Catherine O’Hara, Dua Lipa, Ariana DeBose, John Cena, and Samuel L. Jackson. Matthew Vaughn directed Argylle, and Jason Fuchs wrote the screenplay. Vaughn and Fuchs produced the movie, along with Vaughn’s Kingsman producers Adam Bohling and David Reid.
15 Best Samuel L. Jackson Movie Quotes
When Samuel L. Jackson says something, people remember and (often) meme it. Here are the legendary actor’s greatest quotes.
Screen Rant interviewed Argylle director Matthew Vaughn and star Samuel L. Jackson. Vaughn explained why this cast is the movie’s secret weapon and how he created the action sequences with stunt coordinator Bradley James Allen before he passed away. Jackson shared the personal touches he added to his character.
Matthew Vaughn & Samuel L. Jackson Talk Argylle
Screen Rant: I feel like this movie re-energizes the spy genre the same way Rian Johnson did for murder mysteries with Knives Out. Jason Fuchs, the writer, said that he loved working with you, Matthew, because it pushed him outside of his comfort zone.
Matthew Vaughn: Every day. His boundary is weenie.
How did Argylle push you both out of your comfort zones when creating this film?
Samuel L. Jackson: I don’t have a comfort zone. I just show up. Matthew asked me to do it. I asked him a few pertinent questions about, “Can I do this? Can I do that? Can I have this in the man cave? Can I have that in the man cave? How do you feel about this look?” And once all those things were settled, we just do what we normally do. He lets me show up and show him what I want to be.
Matthew Vaughn: And we just have to make sure he’s in focus. Yeah, it was a pleasure. I think the secret weapon of this movie is the fun that we had making it, and I think that oozes through. I always say the Traveling Wilburys are a super group. I felt like this is the super group of actors; they came together and brought their A-game and lifted each other up to a whole new level.
I want to talk about the action in this film because it is incredible. All the action is dedicated to stunt coordinator Bradley James Allen, who was sadly lost in 2021. What were some of his signature touches that you were able to incorporate into Argylle that are dedicated to him?
Matthew Vaughn: Well, we sat and choreographed everything. We sit together, and we do everything on a video camera because you can’t make this stuff up. Because people have to learn it as well, and action is also the choreography of the camera to the performance, from how the actors fit in to how the stunt men do. To make it really flow, it really is like an iceberg. There’s a lot more going on underneath.
The two things that we were working on were the smoke dance and the ice skating sequence. The smoke dance wasn’t actually that hard to do, believe it or not, but the ice skating was really tough. There were times I was just looking over my shoulder saying, “Oh my God, I need you, Brad. Where are you?” There were moments we nearly did give up on some of the stuff because it really was hard to do. Really hard to do.
Sam, you’ve said you liked working with Matthew because he trusts you to build your character. You usually come with your character built even before you get to set. What were some of the personal touches you wanted to add to Alfred for Argylle?
Samuel L. Jackson: Well, the visual touches and the man cave specifically. The basketball stuff; the Negro League jerseys you may have seen. You would recognize them because you’d go, “Oh, so-and-so Blacks. Oh yeah. Oh yeah, the Memphis …”
Matthew Vaughn: I had never heard of it.
Samuel L. Jackson: He had no idea when I started talking to him about it. He’s like, “The what?”
Matthew Vaughn: I’m still like, “The what?” by the way.
About Argylle
Elly Conway is the reclusive author of a series of best-selling espionage novels, whose idea of bliss is a night at home with her computer and her cat, Alfie. But when the plots of Elly’s fictional books—which center on secret agent Argylle and his mission to unravel a global spy syndicate—begin to mirror the covert actions of a real-life spy organization, quiet evenings at home become a thing of the past. Accompanied by Aiden), a cat-allergic spy, Elly (carrying Alfie in her backpack) races across the world to stay one step ahead of the killers as the line between Elly’s fictional world and her real one begins to blur.
Check out our other Argylle interviews here:
- Henry Cavill & Sam Rockwell
- Bryce Dallas Howard & Bryan Cranston
- John Cena & Ariana DeBose
Argylle
Argylle is an action thriller by director Matthew Vaughn. The movie centers on an introverted novelist who is thrown into the real world of espionage after the plot of her most recent spy thriller parrels the crimes of an underground syndicate. Argylle has a star-studded cast, including Henry Cavill, Bryce Dallas Howard, Dua Lipa, and Samuel L. Jackson, among others.
- Release Date
- February 2, 2024
- Director
- Matthew Vaughn
- Cast
- Henry Cavill , Ariana DeBose , Sofia Boutella , Catherine O’Hara , Bryce Dallas Howard , John Cena , Dua Lipa , Samuel L. Jackson , Sam Rockwell , Bryan Cranston , Rob Delaney
- Runtime
- 135 Minutes
- Writers
- Jason Fuchs
- Studio(s)
- Apple , Cloudy Productions , Marv Studios
- Distributor(s)
- Universal Pictures , Apple
