[Editor’s Note: The following contains minor spoilers for She Rides Shotgun]
She Rides Shotgunis preparing to release in theaters on August 1 and is already set to be one of the most emotionally charged crime thrillers of the year. Based onJordan Harper’s novel of the same name and directed byNick Rowlandto bring his signature grit to the adaptation, the film follows 11-year-old Polly and her ex-con father, Nate, as they go on the run from a dangerous gang of criminals. Leading the cast with a raw performance isTaron Egertonas Nate, alongside breakout actorAna Sophia Hegeras Polly.
In an interview with Collider’sJoe Schmidt, Egerton dives into the emotional core ofShe Rides Shotgun, from the father-daughter bond at the center of the film to the heartbreaking final scene. Egerton discusses why this role felt unlike anything he’s done before, the challenges of exploring the film’s themes, and why his young co-star’s performance is extraordinary. He also reflects on his career trajectory of late and reveals whether he’s interested in becoming the next James Bond.
Adapting a Gritty Story with Heart
“I like him for his humanity and his kind of inability to process anything that’s happened to him and his complete emotional inarticulacy.”
COLLIDER: Yeah, my name is Joe Schmidt, and I am with Collider.com. How’s it going, Taron?
TARON EGERTON: Hey, Joe, how are you, mate?
I’m doing all right, you know, Monday talking about a cool movie.
EGERTON: Love that, thank you.
A movie that is in what’s becoming one of my favorite genres, I feel, which I have called “Girl Dad with a Gun.”
EGERTON: Yeah, nice.
It’s a very fun genre as a girl dad myself, you know, sometimes you got to solve some problems and get your hands dirty, right?
EGERTON: Well, that makes me a little scared of you, but look, I’m a sucker for anyone who likes the film, so thank you.
Oh yeah, well, I guess this is how I warm up to you. You know, just say nice things and butter you up. I just got to ask you what drew you to this role in particular?
EGERTON: You know, it’s hard. I don’t always know exactly. I think I felt like I read the script and I thought, you know, if we make this movie, and we do a good job, I’ll put this on in like 20 years and feel good about it because it’s got a timeless quality to it. And I like the kind of barren bleakness of the environment. It’s not like a movie filled with the trappings of modernity, you know, it’s not like, it’s like stripped back, it’s raw. It’s got the quality of a Western. I like him for his humanity and his kind of inability to process anything that’s happened to him and his complete emotional inarticulacy. And then, amidst all the chaos and carnage of what happens, he is able to find it in himself to love his daughter and to reforge that relationship after years of absence. And I don’t know, well, that was just very moving to me and I just thought it was very unlike anything I’d done before. Yeah, and it was super rewarding to be a part of.
The Emotional Core of the Story
“It’s really about love…”
That’s awesome. And you know, what I really enjoyed about the movie is it’s relatable in a way, obviously not all the murder stuff, but an aspect of being a father is that you want to protect your kids and, you know, you want to shield them from anything bad happening to them. But then there are times where, as adults, you make a mistake and sometimes that causes pain to your children and atoning for that. How do you prepare for that? And especially in this movie that gets into some really heavy places like this?
EGERTON: Well, I don’t, you know, you’re clearly a father. So, you know, I’m not. So that, for me, is an entirely imaginative process. But, you know, I know, of course, you can never know what it’s like to have a child until you have one. And I totally believe that and understand that. But, you know, I know what it is to love, and I know what it is to feel protective of somebody. And I know what it is to feel that you sacrifice everything for somebody. And I could relate to those qualities in him. What was the second part of your question?
How do you prepare for that? You kind of touched on it.
EGERTON: Yeah, I think it’s just, you know, you know, yeah, it’s about love, you know, it’s in that sense, although it’s a very hard movie, it’s a very kind of tough movie. It’s kind of a sad movie. It’s really about love and that has a quality to it that I think transcends the circumstances of the film and makes it, to my eyes, very universal.
The Heartbreaking Final Scene
“I just don’t think life is like that.”
Yeah. And, you know, I really feel like what hit me hardest, obviously, is that final scene and, you know, minor spoiler warnings for everyone who has yet to see the film is going to see this interview, but that TikTok dance scene. Yeah. And it is just like the loss of innocence. Yeah, yeah, because this poor girl has just through a very short time, gone through so much and I just wanted to, you know, talk to you about that final scene because of how devastating it is to see that.
EGERTON: Yeah, totally, man … When I saw it, I heard from the crew, they’re like, “You missed something special,” you know, something special happened on set that day. But when I saw it, that thing you’re talking about, that loss of innocence, it is so heartbreaking, and it is so tragic and sad. But damn is it moving. And it is, you may choose. For some people that is off-putting about the movie, it’s too much for them to take. And they feel kind of denied of some sort of happy ending that they feel that they’re entitled to. I just don’t think life is like that. And I think there is worse going on now in the world that we are very, very, very exposed to, and we see a lot of on a daily basis. And I think for me, the tone of the movie is much more about the tough side of life, but also it’s still about love, and it’s about love, even in the hardest of circumstances. And for me and my sensibilities that not only does it have that value, it actually makes it more valuable. Yeah.
And you touched on the crew, saying that that was a really special day and that just goes to the talent of your co-star [Ana Sophia Hager]. Can you talk about working with her and just that process of seeing such immense abilities from a child?
EGERTON: Yeah. It’s pretty weird, man. It’s like a hard thing to process because she makes it feel like it’s not performance, you know? And I think it makes the movie challenging because people really feel that a child is going through those things. And she’s an extraordinary, extraordinary young artist. Also, you know, the talent of [director] Nick Rowland, because it doesn’t matter how talented an actor is, it still requires a great filmmaker to be able to create a set of circumstances where talent can thrive and blossom in that way. And that scene at the end of the movie, you know, how Nick got her to that place where they were able to convey wordlessly what’s going on to the point where you yourself have had such an acute understanding and reaction to what is happening. That’s too very, very, that’s a number of very talented people, but in this iteration, talking about it in this way, that’s Nick and Ana working together in a really special way to make something quite singular, I think. And it was a lovely thing for me to, you know, to watch after the fact, because I had no part in making it. And sadly, it is, you know, my favorite moment in the movie. But it’s, it’s, it was just such a treat to watch that after not really knowing what they were doing that day.
Is Egerton’s Name in the Hat for ‘James Bond’?
“…I’ve been probably following the things that speak to me on a kind of creative level a little bit more.”
Yeah, for sure. Understood. Now, you’re, it’s because you’ve been doing a lot of really intimate, smaller roles where you get into a lot of darker roles recently. And so, but you know, you came up in franchises, your household name because of things like, you know,The KingsmanandSing. And so I got to ask, you know, like James Bond is casting. What are you going to put your hat in the ring for that one?
EGERTON: No. And I don’t think I’m a good choice for it. I think I’m too messy for that. I think I’m not. I really love James Bond and particularly, you know,Daniel Craig’s tenure. But I think I wouldn’t be good at it. And I think there’s like some so many cool, young, I think younger actors who would be great for it. I think it would be wasted on me, probably. But that’s not to say that I don’t have aspirations and plans, and also that I wouldn’t be interested in doing something that’s more commercial, because of course, I would, you know, I think I’m at a period in my life where, as you say, I’ve been probably following the things that speak to me on a kind of creative level a little bit more. But, you know, I’m sure I won’t feel that way forever. But James Bond is quite an undertaking. And I think, well, one, you know, just as far as I’m aware, you know, nobody’s asking me to do it. But also, it’s possibly not quite the thing that would, I think, make me happiest. I don’t think it’s a big thing, it’s a big old undertaking that kind of consumes your life, I think a role like that.
