Gbenga Akinnagbe,Leslie Grace, andLevon Hawkecouldn’t have come from more wonderfully disparate origins. Akinnagbe had been stamping an unmistakable imprint on manybeloved original series, while Grace climbed the Billboard Charts, then theGotham City skyline. Hawke, by contrast, cut his teeth acting underZoë Kravitzin her directorial debutBlink Twiceand lovingly composing music with his sister,Maya Hawke. Now Grace, Hawke, and Akinnagbe are performing together as an ensemble inElliott Lester’snew WesternThe Thicket.
Set at the dawn of the 20th century, Hawke’s Jack Parker recruits bounty hunter Reginald Jones (Emmy Award-winning actorPeter Dinklage) to track down ruthless killer Cutthroat Bill (Oscar-nominated actressJuliette Lewis). Jones gathers a band of unlikely heroes, including Akinnagbe’s Eustace Howard and Grace’s Jimmy Sue, to embark on a dangerous journey. Together they will track down Cutthroat Bill into the deadly unclaimed territory known as the Thicket.
Collider’sSteve Weintraubhad the opportunity to talk with Akinnagbe, Grace, and Hawke to discuss which previous projects likeThe Wire, which boots are best in negative-degree weather, working with Metallica’sJames Hetfield, and some solid acting advice from a very famous family. You can watch the full conversation in the video above, or read the transcript below.
Who Stars in ‘The Thicket’?
Gbenga, It’s pretty incredible to be part of an amazing show likeThe Wireat the very beginning of your career. What the hell is it like to have started things off with such an amazing masterpiece of a show?
GBENGA AKINNAGBE: Initially, it was a downer. After doingThe Wireand then going on to other projects, I found myself on set just down, and I didn’t realize why. Then it hit me thatThe Wirewas a very rare experience. That’s still myWirefamily and the show that we got to do together. I had to realize that I had to find something in each project, not compare it, and make it its own thing. That helped. I wasvery, very fortunateto be a part of that show. It’s still very much in the ethos.
They teach classes at college about the show. It’s incredible.
AKINNAGBE: Yeah, colleges all over the world, actually, teach classes on it. I’ve been fortunate to be asked to speak at a few of them. They taught a course on it at Harvard Law a few times, and I’ve spoken there. Again, it’s still very much part of the zeitgeist.
Leslie, you have made a bunch of music. There are going to be people out there who have not heard any of your songs. What’s the first one you want them starting with and why?
LESLIE GRACE: I would say from the start — “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?” That’s the first single I ever released. It’s special to me because it started a lot of new things in my life. It’s a cover of an old classic that I really, really love by The Shirelles, written by Carole King. Oldie, but a goodie
Levon, you come from what’s called atalented family. Your parents and your sister areokayat acting. This is a big role. How much pressure did you put on yourself when coming from a star family?
LEVON HAWKE: I do put a lot of pressure on myself, but I would say that is onlyalleviatedby my family, who always have my back, who I will call in between every scene. I’m so lucky to have them in my corner and get to ask questions. I think it’s hard for a lot of people in this industry who are coming in blind. It’s really scary. It is really intense when there’s a film riding, in some ways, on your performance. If you don’t show up, it can feel like a lot of pressure. Getting so much support and to get to ask nuanced questions, they always give cool, easy advice, like “strength.“My dad’s big thing is,“Just breathe, listen, and speak to who you’re speaking to.“I’ll call him before, all nervous, and that’s what he’ll tell me.
Getting to work with somebody like Peter [Dinklage] — me and Gbenga and Peter had so many moments when we’d go off script and have our little adventures and these mini-scenes. The thing that was very close to my heart was, “Just trust your scene partners.“That’s why I was so lucky to have Leslie and Gbenga and all the amazing people in this film. They just made that so easy.
The Brutal Conditions Helped ‘The Thicket’ Cast Get Into Character
“It was too cold for any BS in the work”
As I was watching this film, I was mesmerized by how cold it was, by the snow, by all the location filming. What was this shootreallylike for you guys? This had to have beenrealwork to make this.
GRACE: We all really wanted to be there, man. You could feel it because we were all freezing. We were freezing, and it really does add to your confidence and your trust in everyone you’re working with and doing this with when you can feel, “Oh, weallcan’t feel our feet, and we’re doing this. No complaints. We’re just here, we’re helping each other.We’re getting through this day together.” That’s a beautiful thing that doesn’t happen on every set.We hadthe gift of the cold to offer that opportunity to bond with each other.
HAWKE: Leslie said it really well: we all wanted to be there. It was cold, it was brutal, but it made the whole job easier when you’re that cold. All we had to think about was surviving, and then it feels like we’re our characters. The rest of it came easy.
AKINNAGBE: It was too cold for any BS in the work. You just were there, like Leslie and Levon said beautifully.It was too cold for the BS, so it allowed us to breathe, look at each other, and talk to each other like [Levon’s] daddy said.
GRACE: Now I will say, I don’t know if you guys had any decisions that you made with your wardrobe prior to [shooting] that you really wish you didn’t make once we were out there? I remember the first day — not the actual first day of shooting — but the first day I realized, “Oh, I really shouldn’t have gone with these boots with Ann [Maskrey, the costume designer].” I was the only person that had a billion and one little holes and hooks to get my boots strapped. Then everyone would switch into comfier shoes, and I had no zip or anything. It was like, “Oh, my feet.“There were moments, I’m sure, for all of us that were like that.
Looking back on the shoot, what shot or sequence ended up being super challenging, whether because of a camera move, dialogue, snow, or whatever the reason? I’m always fascinated by what shots people should look out for.
AKINNAGBE: All of them! [All laugh]
HAWKE: A favorite of mine is a scene where Gbenga and I and Peter are buying these coats and trading for them. We were out in this big plain —Gbenga, do you remember this? It was actually the middle of the day, -30, withfuriouswinds. It made it so every tiny breath you took made ahuge cloudaround your face. You have to be really conscious about the way you breathe and the way you speak to not obscure yourself. It made acting a different battle than I ever thought of.
GRACE: [Laughs] For sure!
AKINNAGBE: As soon as I remember it, a cold just went through my body. I remember that day, and this was after I don’t know how many days of already being outside. The wind was cutting through us, and we had tostartthe day that way. You were just there, you believed everything that was happening. It was like, “Alright, we gotta get these skins, we gotta keep it moving.” Oh my god, it was so cold.
At the End of the Old West, the World of ‘The Thicket’ Is About To Change
One of the things I really enjoyed is how the film takes place at the end of the Old West and the beginning of technology coming in. There’s a great shot of you, Levon, with a car coming by, and you’ve clearly never seen one. Can you talk about how this is a different kind of Western?
HAWKE: Absolutely. The movie opens with that motorcycle rider, who, as we would later find out, is Cutthroat Bill herself. The world is about to change. That’s what’s exciting about this period and this movie.It really feels like we’re at the end of this Old West, and there’s this faint image of modernity that we’re going to reach soon.Then we get excited that the world might be better and people might stop killing each other in the snow. Even though today, we have all the reasons to think our world could be a lot better, looking at a movie like this, you realize how far we have come. It just feels like there’s this family that maybe isaboutto exist, there’s this safety that’saboutto exist, there are these vehicles that areaboutto change our way of life, but it’s just not there yet. This movie has a lot of hope for that future, even though these characters — a lot of them, at least — don’t live to see it realized.
GRACE: Spoiler alert.
AKINNAGBE: That’s what I was gonna say. [Laughs]
I think it’s safe to assume people going in should know that not everyone’s going to survive.
GRACE: It’s a Western, after all.
Even Metallica’s James Hetfield Gets Nervous
I am a huge fan of Metallica and I will admit knowing that James was going to be in the movie was an added bonus. What is it like finding out that James Hetfield is going to be in a movie with you? He does not act typically. This is very rare.
AKINNAGBE: I grew up with Metallica.I was gushing like a schoolboy.I just couldn’t believe it. You’re right, I’ve never seen him do roles, and to get to be in a movie where he’s taking one of the roles, I just wanted to ask him about everything Metallica.This was my childhood, this is my adolescence, this is my adulthood. They were the soundtrack to so many experiences for so many of us. It was cool, and he was a really nice guy! It was amazing.
GRACE: Hewasreally cool. I remember him sitting to my right at the table read. Obviously, internally, I just don’t even want to say anything because we’re all geeked and don’t wanna let that out. But I was like, “Man, I wonder what his voice is gonna sound like once he starts reading.” Then you hear it! It was so cool.
HAWKE: I gotta say, I was so nervous going into this movie, and it’s a big part, and I’ve only got a few movies before this. I’m nervous before set one day, and James turns to me, and he goes, [imitates Hetfield] “Levon,” and I go, “What’s up James?” And he goes, “Look at this,” and holds his hand [shows his hand shaking nervously]. It was the most endearing thing in the world! This guy I look up to so much in the world — he’s huge and strong and so beautiful, he’s this amazing specimen of a human being — and thenthe fact he was nervous, too, really set me at ease.
GRACE: How beautiful!
AKINNAGBE: It is! I love hearing that. That makes work easier for me. [Laughs]
The Thicket
West Texas. A boy who, after his sister is kidnapped by a violent killer known only as Cut Throat Bill, enlists a fierce bounty hunter named Reginald Jones who becomes the leader of the group of outcasts searching for the stolen girl.
The Thicketis now playing in select theaters.Get Tickets
