Prime Video’s new action comedy Role Play marks a first of sorts for director Thomas Vincent, who is known for his litany of French films and episodes of thrillers like Reacher and Bodyguard. His latest project, starring Kaley Cuoco and David Oyelowo, allowed him to highlight his comedic timing and will hopefully serve as a launching pad for widening his genre horizons in the future. Cuoco plays Emma Brackett, a working mother and happily married woman who is keeping her true career from her husband Dave (Oyelowo).
Role Play kicks into high gear when Emma’s job invades her domestic life, leading Dave to discover that his wife is in fact an assassin for hire. While trying to save her marriage and protect her kids, Emma must dodge mysterious and dangerous figures (played to perfection by Bill Nighy and Connie Nielsen). The screenplay was written by Seth W. Owen, and it seamlessly combines action, comedy, and romance with a boost from Cuoco and Oyelowo’s chemistry.
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Screen Rant interviewed Thomas Vincent about working with Kaley Cuoco in Role Play, his approach to balancing the action and humor in the story, and his desire to direct more comedy after this latest experience.
Thomas Vincent Talks Role Play
Screen Rant: I know that it was originally a spec script from Seth. How did you come into play and what really brought you on board?
Thomas Vincent: When I received the script, there was also already a studio attached and Kaley, and so it’s very different when you read a script with an actor already attached because you see who it is and it really gives you a different view on the story. There was something that was already there from the very beginning in Seth’s spec. It was the relationship of this couple, and I think this is the very core of that story.
Because it’s a thriller, it’s a comedy, it’s a bit of both and it’s well combined, but deep down it’s about couples. And what is changing today, how the dynamics within couples are changing today, which is a great thing. I mean, it’s an incredible time we’re living, men and women because it’s challenging, but it’s great. It’s high time, also. So the film is a very fun way to be part of that discussion, and this is what was already there at the time, and it really basically, the first half didn’t change much and the second half changed more substantially, but it didn’t really change the nature, the very nature of the film.
Speaking of the changes, how active were you in kind of shaping where the story or how the script evolved from when you came on board? Did you get to have a back-and-forth with Seth on that?
Thomas Vincent: It was very much a team effort with Andrew and Alex, the producers like the four of us with Seth, we’ve been discussing back and forth. And there was something that was not completely working in the second half, so we had to kind of find a way to, the script was not quite keeping its promises at some point, so how can we deliver more? And it had to do with Kaley’s character’s backstory that we had really to come up with because it was not there to begin with, but it was a great general process.
You mentioned Kaley already being signed on and she’s also a producer on the project. What was the experience like of collaborating with her to get to the heart of Emma and did she have any creative say as producer?
Thomas Vincent: No, she was very clear that, when she was on set and even during prep, she was involved as an actress and not as a producer. And I couldn’t thank her more for that because working with an actor who is also a producer can be sometimes, “Who am I talking to exactly?” Kaley was very clear on that. She was an actress and a great one. I was lucky with that.
She’s incredible. It’s surprising. She’s incredibly savvy. She knows herself so well. She knows her strengths and weaknesses also. She knows where she doesn’t want to go because she says like, “Wait, no, I’m not good at that, but this I’m great at.” And she’s very strong with that. She’s very strong. That’s really something about her.
As you said, Role Play really delves into a lot of different genres. It’s very much a comedy, but it takes its action very seriously as well. How do you balance those genres and really get as much out of the spy thriller element as you do the romantic comedy?
Thomas Vincent: It’s a different mix to make work because comedy and action can repulse each other also. So it’s like how do you manage to combine these? Which is really, it was one of my first questions about this film when I read the script. I know it’s difficult. I know if it doesn’t work, you have neither, which is terrible. And we all knew that this was the challenge in terms of storytelling, and it’s been an ongoing question throughout the whole process. Writing, prepping, shooting, editing, everything, music. And at every step, how do we make oil and water mix properly?
To be honest, I didn’t always have the answers. Sometimes I only have the questions. For some scenes, I was not sure. I knew that it wasn’t possible to tell before the edit. In the edits, one move might come later or sooner, and then the balance of the whole thing changes.
Sometimes you just know you don’t know, and you need to be ready for different options. And so for instance, there are several scenes in the film that we shot in the two as a comedy or as a thriller, serious or not serious. For instance, the scene in the bar in Berlin where they meet when David arrives in Berlin, we shot two very different versions of the scene. And in the end, I think in the edit, it’s a mix of both. There’s a bit of comedy, a bit of seriousness. It depends, but it’s really something that you only complete in the edit.
I like that you mentioned the changing roles in the relationship, because you really do feel that sense of role reversal in this story with David’s character being more of maybe the damsel.
Thomas Vincent: When I was directing in some scenes, for me, the right note was like, “How would my wife react if she found out that I had a double life and I was an assassin? How would she react?” How would you? That scene when they’re on the phone, the two of them together, I was really thinking, “How would my wife react?”
Because at the beginning was a bit, he was being a man, being a husband, and I said, “Be a wife, maybe. Be a bit more of a wife there.” And he did that so well. It brought more emotion, which is a bit of a cliche to say. But yeah, somehow, and I think that’s what makes it really interesting. The roles are not so clear. Yeah, it’s changing.
I know chemistry can be like pulling a rabbit out of a hat. You never know what you’re going to get. But what was most surprising to you or exciting to you about the combination of Kaley and David when you were on set?
Thomas Vincent: Well, there’s a moment, the scene in the bar with Bill Nighy. Bill was predominantly carrying that scene. There was one take of pure genius from Bill, and we could feel it, all of us. Bill was really doing something great, and there was one camera on Bill and another on Kaley or David. But I could sense the tension of, “We’re having it, we’re having, we’re having it.”
At the end I said, “Cut,” and they burst to laugh. Basically, the scene ends and Bill walks out of frame, and we cut just the one frame before they laugh. It’s funny because it’s a bit of a paradox because what I’m describing, it’s something that they’re not doing. It’s how they respond to Bill’s acting. But I think it tells how generous they are and how generous they’ve been to one another, towards one another, and with the others. It’s about generosity, and this is what they brought to the table.
I love that you mentioned Bill Nighy because carries the action of the first staff, and then you have Connie Nielsen really throwing us into the second act. But their approach to it is very different, and they give a different energy to each half of the film. Can you talk about casting and working with them?
Thomas Vincent: Bill is as great as you can imagine. He is the gentleman you think he is, and he’s the sweetest man on earth really. So it’s a privilege to get to know him, really is. And what’s surprising, but not so surprising when you know actors a little, is that in spite of his achievements and fame and everything, he’s very insecure and sometimes he doesn’t know he’s Bill Nighy, basically. And you have to remind him that he’s going to be fine because he’s a f–king genius.
You’re not really directing someone like Bill Nighy. You’re not saying to him, “Do this, do that.” I mean, it’s not how it works. It’s just you support him. You just give me a little more view, a little more, a little more view. Just give me more view. You don’t need to be different, more or less. I mean, it’s just like a gas pedal.
It is basically the same thing with Connie Nielsen. They had a lot of lines, and they both felt like they kept it light and fluffy and effortless. It’s a lot of work to make it look like it’s easy.
Emma and Dave’s kids are an essential part of the mix as well. What was your experience working with child actors and making that family dynamic believable?
Thomas Vincent: Well, that’s a tricky one. To be honest, as a director, I find child actors the most difficult challenge. I’m afraid of children on set, to be honest. I’m always like, whenever there’s a scene with kids, go, “Oh God, kids,” because I find it incredibly difficult to direct kids. Or they’re natural, supernatural and they’re good and there are geniuses or it’s more difficult, and then it’s difficult to find the right words to reach their imagination.
The little girl, Lucia, she’s an incredibly gifted young actress. The problem is that she might steal the scene from everybody else. And it’s incredible. It feels like you always wonder, “Do your parents want to act, or is it really you?” She was eight, and it was her passion. I mean, her mother was just following.
Regan, the boy, was a little bit more shy and less experienced than Lucia, but I loved his nature. There was something about him that was really touching. It’s like his character. He’s the son of a first marriage, and it’s not in the film anymore, but his mother is dead. I think we cut it out from the edit. But there’s some melancholia about him, which I really liked. I loved his presence on set.
Between this, your episode of Reacher, and quite a few episodes of Bodyguard, you’re building up a, action résumé history of action there. Is there another genre you want to step into, or if season 2 of Bodyguard comes around, is that what you want to hop back into?
Thomas Vincent: No, I don’t think [Bodyguard]’s going to happen for weird reasons. I don’t know. I have no idea.
To begin with, I’m not an action director. I’m French, and for the first 15 years of my career, I’ve been doing drama basically. And now for the first time, I’ve done comedy with Role Play, and that was great. I really loved that.
I’ve been wanting to do it for a long time. But it’s like with actors, when you’re identified for something, people just don’t trust you to do something else. And a while ago in France, I tried to get a comedy produced and no one would trust me. We didn’t manage, and I had to step away. Another director came in, and they said, “Yes, let’s produce that thing with this.” Now I think I proved I’m a comedy guy as well. I can do comedy, guys!
About Role Play
Emma (Kayley Cuoco) and Dave (David Oyelowo) have the seemingly perfect life – two kids, suburban house, good jobs – but after seven years of marriage they find themselves in a bit of a rut. For their wedding anniversary this year they are looking to spice things up with a little role play. They plan to meet as strangers in a hotel bar, but before Dave arrives, Emma catches the eye of a mysterious older man (Bill Nighy). The mystery gentleman recognizes Emma – as an international assassin for hire with a bo unty on her head. Emma leads a secret life that Dave knows nothing about. Emma’s past comes roaring back into her new life and she is forced to take action to protect the family she loves.
Check out our other interviews here:
- Kaley Cuoco & David Oyelowo
- Connie Nielsen
Role Play
Role Play is a Prime Video original action film starring Kaley Cuoco and David Oyelowo. The movie follows a married couple whose lives become very complicated when dark secrets from their past come to life. The film is directed by Thomas Vincent, who previously worked on Possessions, Bodyguard, and Reacher.
- Release Date
- January 12, 2024
- Director
- Thomas Vincent
- Cast
- Kaley Cuoco , David Oyelowo , Connie Nielsen , Bill Nighy
- Rating
- R
- Runtime
- 100 Minutes
- Genres
- Action , Thriller
- Writers
- Andrew Baldwin , Seth W. Owen
- Studio(s)
- Le Studio Canal+ , Yes, Norman Productions , The Picture Company
- Distributor(s)
- Prime Video
