In Inheritance, when Maya (Phoebe Dynevor) learns that her father (Rhys Ifans) was once a spy, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an international conspiracy. In her quest for answers, Maya becomes a target and must travel the globe, mastering her father’s skills and unraveling the mysteries of his past in this gripping espionage thriller.
However, what makes this movie - helmed by Limitless director Neil Burger - particularly unique is the fact it was essentially produced undercover. Filmed using an iPhone, Inheritance was shot without the people surrounding Dynevor and Ifans knowing what was happening...or that they were extras!
That lends a unique sense of reality to the project and, when we recently got to sit down with Ifans to discuss his role as the mysterious Sam, he explained how he approached those scenes and the way being out in the world inspired and influenced his performance.
The Amazing Spider-Man and House of the Dragon star also talks about figuring out who Sam was and what he enjoyed about sharing the screen with Dynevor as father and daughter.
You can check out the full interview below.
The way Neil shot this is so fascinating, but how challenging was it to swap film sets and extras for shooting scenes on a plane or in a market surrounded by real people who didn’t know you were making a film?
I mean, what’s not to love? All of what you mentioned made it easier. There were very different difficulties but on the whole, we found it - and I can speak for Phoebe - thrilling to be doing somewhere that everything we did in public. A log of this film, as you know, was shot in very populated, public places. If felt mischievous. It felt like we were doing something a little bit wrong. Of course, adding to that, Phoebe and I got to work with the greatest actors on the planet. The greatest actors on the planet are members of the public who don’t know they’re in a film. That’s just the best acting ever!
It was just great to be around that energy and, you know, to shoot a scene and quietly say ‘Action’ and not make a big pomp and ceremony of, ‘Yes, we’re making a movie - you will all be quite and pay attention.’ No, it wasn’t that. We had to covertly slip these scenes in in the hope no one interrupted us and, if they did, we would use it. It felt a little bit like theatre. Live street theatre. So, I found that endlessly fun and exciting.
Sam is such a mysterious, morally dubious guy, how much did you and Neil talk about his backstory and the sort of man he was before or while you were shooting?
What occurred to me is so often…the truth is, with anyone who becomes a spy is that rarely does anyone go to school or university, unless maybe it’s Oxford or Cambridge where they say, ‘When I grow up, I’m going to be a spy!’ Most people fall into this world of espionage and for whatever reason, they fall into it and find it difficult to get out of or they have to do it to repay a debt. I think that’s what happens with Sam. He finds himself deeper and deeper and deeper embroiled in this.
He works for the State Department and then things take over. I think what was interesting to me is at which point, when this happens to someone, I just find it very interesting that you’re doing a job and you can’t even tell the people you love you’re doing it. Morally, before you even do anything, you’re corrupted because you come every night with a huge secret. Of course, we all know that leads to the rack and ruin of any loving relationship. We see that in extremis here. It was interesting to me that someone like him could have got so far down the line, without giving too much away. It’s an allegory about lying in a way. There is no happy ending to that.
So much of this movie hinges on you and Phoebe - what did you enjoy about collaborating with her and figuring out this unique father-daughter relationship?
She’s like him. They’re very similar which is a worry. First of all, Phoebe is exquisite to work with. She’s playful and generous and real and genuine. Phoebe particularly got on board with this process and embraced it. As soon as she did, everyone else did. It made it just a joy to be part of. What I found interesting was to play…spies convince themselves of their own story. They do what actors do and convince themselves that something is right.
I was interested in Sam coming back into her life and getting her on board. I think that genuinely, he wants to engage her with her again. He wants to have her back in his life but things go astray. I wanted to play with that and didn’t want to play someone who was so kind of instantly machiavellian. I wanted someone who is kind of optimistic in his moral corruption. In the midst of all that, there’s a part of him that thinks, ‘This will be okay.’ He’s not manipulative, he’s just neglectful of the moral facts of life somehow.
Inheritance arrives in theaters on January 24, 2025.