Rachel Brosnahan and Caitriona Balfe chatted with “Extra” about their new espionage action-thriller “The Amateur.”
Rachel spoke about finally getting to work with Rami Malek, explaining, “We’d all been on shows that were coming up at the same time and crossed paths a lot over the years, and we talked about working together on something… When I heard that Rami was producing this film — especially a film of this size, and loved this project so much, and had such a hand in bringing this entire ensemble together — I was really impressed.”
She added, “I also loved the story. I love that the hero at the center of this spy thriller, while it has so many of the pieces that are familiar to us from that genre, just feels like such a fresh way in. He’s a very — as much as w love Rami and believe he can do anything — he’s a very unlikely guy to be at the center of a movie like this.”
Caitriona reflected on the theme of revenge versus justice and the moral dilemma that Rami’s character faces as he sets out to avenge his wife’s death in a terrorist attack.
“I think that very often we confuse revenge for justice,” she said. “I think justice is something that when something terrible happens, we all want it. I think it’s necessary. It’s a necessary part of our process in being able to overcome trauma or step through trauma, but I think revenge is… it only inflicts more pain.”
She added, “You have this real beautiful shift, I think, toward the end of the film where he’s perhaps realizing that there is a very important moral difference between the two.”
Both women had amazing things to say about working with Rami as a both leading man and producer.
Brosnahan told us, “He’s just a dream. He’s such a generous partner on- and off-screen. He had such a heavy workload… He just can make you feel like you’re the only person in the room, and somehow makes extra time and space to make everybody feel like their piece in this is crucial and that he’s available. He’s so talented and so surprising and thoughtful with his approach. He’s meticulous. He works harder than most people I know.”
Balfe added, “It was so inspiring watching that, you know, and he doesn’t let it go, like, not in a bad way, in this really beautiful way. He would finish an incredibly long day on set where he’s in every scene, he’s got such heavy loads of dialogue. He was going home, he was watching the rushes, he was coming in the next day, I could hear his conversations with James [Hawes] being like, ‘Okay, we’re stil lin this location, maybe we just need to get this one moment. I’d really love another crack at that.”
She continued, “It’s just that kind of meticulous attention to detail and also that passion, it was so evident, and it was really inspiring. And he’s just also, he’s just, like, the sweetest, kindest human… with the best mom. I love his mom.”
Caitriona, who stars in “Outlander,” also shared how she feels ahead of the show’s upcoming eighth and final season.
She revealed, “It’s funny, I got a message yesterday from one of our execs and she’s, you know, they’re in post. So, she’s finishing up ep. 10, so our finale, and she was saying, you know, happy things about it, so I’m glad. I’m like, ‘Okay, she’s happy. That makes me feel very happy.”
Balfe noted, “It’s been such a huge part of my life. I feel very proud of it, very grateful that I got to do that. But I’m, you know, I’m taking all the love and all the people that I want with me, so it feels just, I’m very grateful.”
“The Amateur” is out April 11.
