Coming up Mothers Day weekend, Kerry Washington will star in a new film about the rougher side of parenting – literally.
“Shadow Force” stars Washington and Omar Sy as two former shadow operatives on the run from their old team. The couple must stay out of harm’s way and avoid the bounty on their heads while keeping their young son Ky (Jahleel Kamara) safe at the same time.
Ahead of its Mothers Day weekend release on May 9, the film played at this year’s Atlanta Film Festival on April 27, with Washington in attendance. In addition to starring in the film, Washington also produced the film through her company Simpson Street.
Rough Draft Atlanta spoke with Washington about the film ahead of its release. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
You were on “Scandal” for quite some time. Since that show ended, I feel like you’ve been hard to pin down – you’ve done so many different, varied things, from “The Prom,” to “American Son.” I was wondering, what was your process, coming out of doing one thing for so long, of choosing roles moving forward?
Kerry Washington: It’s funny that you say that. I mean, I feel like what I’ve really done is return to the kind of actor I was before “Scandal.” Before “Scandal,” I really thought of myself as more of a character actor – somebody who kind of disappears into different roles and different genres. People didn’t necessarily connect that the girl from “Save the Last Dance” was the same girl from “Ray,” was the same girl from “The Last King of Scotland.” So it was really easy for me to like, live my life, and grocery shop! [Laughs] I wasn’t a household name in the way that I was in the “Scandal” years, because that character, Olivia Pope, became so iconic.
I think I’ve really been committed to making sure that I continue to stretch myself, and to try new things, and to take on new challenges, and to just be adventurous and courageous in my choices.
I’ve heard you mention the character actor thing before. Is that something you enjoy, the chameleonic aspect of it?
Washington: Yeah. I feel like I learn so much from every character that I play, and so when I reach for something that’s unlike anything I’ve ever done before, the lessons are often bigger.
What do you think you learned from this character in “Shadow Force?”
Washington: “Shadow Force” taught me so much, because I was actually writing my memoir while I was making this, and so my family was going through this really intense process of unfolding our truth and being courageous with each other. It was really transformative to our family. So I feel like in some ways, “Shadow Force” allowed me the opportunity to take some of this emotional, spiritual, psychological strength that I was working on in my personal life and turn it into a real physical strength. Like, what do these qualities feel like in my body, in my cells? I think I learned a lot from [my character] Kyrah about what I can do – the idea of doing hard things, feeling more courageous, and stronger, and more capable of meeting the challenges and the things that scare me.
It’s interesting you bring up the physical aspects of this, because this is a very action heavy film. What was the training process like for you? Obviously, you have stunt people, but what was that relationship like and how much were you actually doing?
Washington: I did a lot of my own stuff. I do have an incredible stunt person, Cina [McKenna], and a lot of what she did that was super helpful was teach me how to do this stunt safely, because this is what she does – like where to put the padding, how to fall. She did do some incredible work in the film, but I did a ton of it. And a lot of it we both did.
The training was thrilling. We started working months before, doing weight training and Pilates, just to get in shape to be able to even take on the martial arts. And then doing the fight training, the fight choreography, the weapons training, the stunt training – it was a lot! But it was also one of the great ways that Omar [Sy, Washington’s co-star] got to know each other, because we started training together before we started filming. We really learned how to communicate, how to trust each other. Some of that chemistry that you see in the film, I think is because we trained together. Some of the competitive spirit that this couple has was developed in that time.
Well, you guys have that big fight. So I assume there has to be a lot of trust there, yeah?
Washington: Yeah. Because it’s one thing when you’re on set doing a movie and somebody makes a mistake, like you miss a line. There are no real stakes involved. But if you make a mistake in fight training, people can get really hurt. So you do have to lean in and trust each other, and communicate and be very connected.
Speaking of Omar Sy, I’ve heard you talk about how you were very proactive in reaching out to him to get him into the movie. I was wondering, what was it about him that made you think of him and go, yes – that’s the person?
Washington: Well, he’s extraordinarily talented. He’s not hard to look at. I knew he could do the action, because I’m a big “Lupin” fan. But also, this character is unique, because I think he embodies a kind of modern fatherhood, where he is badass and fierce and fearless – all the things – but he’s also doing the primary parenting. So there’s a level of sensitivity and warmth and care that I needed to believe from this actor as well, and I really felt like Omar could embody all of those things. He also leveled up the film because he made it a global story. He made this romance a romance that could cross territories and cross languages. I just think he expanded the world of the film when he came on.
It’s interesting you bring up the softer parenting aspect, because obviously you guys have non-traditional jobs in this movie, but it still felt very familiar, as far as deciding what to hide from your kids versus what to tell them.
Washington: How do you try to protect their joy, right? We live in a really complicated world, but you want your kids to be safe, and you want to protect them from the things that could be really traumatic and make sure that they can still have their joy. That was something that I really related to when I read it, too, and I think even more so in the world we live in now. I feel like I’m constantly like – I don’t want to lie to my kids about what’s going on, but I want to make sure that I’m still leaving them space to not just be walking around in a state of anxiety all the time.
I wanted to ask you about producing. I believe you started your production company, Simpson Street, back in 2016. Since starting that and stepping into more producer roles, has that changed the way you look at filmmaking or the way you look at the industry? How has that evolved since taking that kind of role on?
Washington: It’s been such a gift for me, because I think early in my career, for a lot of actors, you’re so focused on approval, and people liking you and being invited to the party – not like, the Vanity Fair party, but like the actual production. Just getting a job. I think producing has really given me more agency to create jobs. Not just for myself, but for other people, so that I’m not just waiting for a seat at the table, I’m building the table. Which means it’s also the actual table I want to be at. It means that I just am able to contribute more, and be more additive, and to not wait around, but to, again, share opportunity.
Do you think it’s helped you grow as an actor as well?
Washington: I do, because I think because I’ve been able to create more opportunities for myself, I’ve been able to take more risks. Nobody was knocking down my door to do an action movie. It was something I really wanted to do, and so I feel like creating that opportunity for myself has helped me grow a lot.
At Simpson Street, we really believe in the power of partnership, and so to work with people like Reese Witherspoon, or we have a show that we’re about to start filming in a couple of weeks with Apple called “Imperfect Women,” that is being produced by myself and [Elisabeth] Moss. Having partners that I so deeply admire and respect as actors and producers is also really fun, because I learn so much from my partners.
Yeah, having the power to choose who you want to work with.
Washington: Yeah, and to help each other push the material forward.
What do you hope that people take away from this film?
Washington: I love that the film comes out Mother’s Day weekend, because I do think in many ways, it’s like an homage to bad ass parents. I think all parents feel like we are doing our best to be fierce and fearless, but also loving and create joy. So I think it’s so great that you can grab the bad ass moms you know, and the dope ass dads, and go celebrate with this fun adventure. I love that as audiences have been leaving screenings, they’re saying, “I laughed. I cried twice.” That up and down is really exciting and fulfilling. I hope that when people leave the theater, they think about what matters and who matters most to them, and they give them an extra squeeze.
