In Old Guy, an ageing hitman (Christoph Waltz) is forced to train a young prodigy (Cooper Hoffman) when his employer moves to replace the old guard. But when they learn they are being betrayed, the unlikely pair turns into a lethal team with their double-crossing bosses in their sights. Lucy Liu also stars in this action-packed comedy from the director of Con Air and The Expendables 2.
Earlier this week, we sat down for a conversation with Lucy and Simon to find out what drew the Kill Bill and Charlie's Angels icon to the project and why Spectre star Christoph Waltz was the right choice to play the titular "old guy."
The actor is best known for his villainous roles but, based on what West and Liu say here, you can expect to see a totally different side of him here. They also talk about exploring Belfast's underworld and whether they'd be down for collaborating on a sequel.
Old Guy is a fun ride and, in Liu's case, she plays a character very different from the action heroes she's so often portrayed on screen. We also hear from her on that and why it felt like a refreshing change of pace.
You can watch the full interview with Lucy and Simon discussing Old Guy in the player below.
Lucy, you’ve been part of some iconic action projects, so when Simon came to you with Old Guy, what was it that drew you to this project and Anata?
Lucy: I really am a huge fan of Christoph and I think he’s very selective about his projects. I also love that Simon has decided to forego the bigger commercial movies to do things that he loves. This movie reminds me so much of a throwback to movies that were in the 70s. Even though there’s obviously a plot, the characters are really the ones that are leading the story and I loved that. It’s really between the three of them and how they change and how they morph as this journey goes on when they go to Belfast.
Simon, we’ve seen Christoph play many villains but this is a very different, very fun role for him - what made him the right choice to play this somewhat eccentric ageing hitman?
Simon: Well, I wanted to do something unexpected in the casting as well as the story. Christoph, I think, has got a great sense of humour that he doesn’t always get to use on screen and I think it was a chance to show the audience a different side to Christoph and have him, instead of this buttoned up, super bright together character, he’s actually the exact opposite in this. He’s actually, not a degenerate, but he’s living life to the full even though he’s in his 60s and still living life like he’s in his 20s. Christoph relished the idea of playing that part, so I thought I had a good shot of getting him because it was something different and a lot of fun. It’s a really fun character. He’s a person you want to spend time with and he’s got a great sense of humour. People like to be with people that have sense of humour so I thought the audience would want to spend that time with him too.
And Lucy, you get some great scenes with Christoph - what about the dynamic between Anata and Danny did you have fun exploring while working on this movie?
Lucy: Well, they’re very old friends and you can feel that dynamic. I think when she gets rejected from the man of her dreams, she doesn’t want his sympathy or his pity. When he makes an appeal towards her with affection and that he could take care of her, she knows what a kind of disorganised human being he is and it almost makes matters worse. But as the trip continues, she realises what heart he has and I think their connection changes and it grows stronger.
Something I liked about this film was getting to explore a gritty underworld of gangsters and crime. It feels very grounded and realistic which extends to the action. What did you, as a filmmaker enjoy about delving into that, Simon, and Lucy, what was it like being thrown into it as an actor?
Simon: I love this story because it is in the gritty underworld but these are very normal people with exotic jobs. It’s set in London to start with and then moves to Northern Ireland in this road trip way. These are exotic characters that you find wandering around the streets of London. Christoph plays a Polish character and Lucy…we’re not sure where she’s from. She sounds American. These are very exotic characters in a gritty world and they’re just having normal conversations even though their jobs are pretty outrageous. Being a contract killer is not a normal job but their conversations and aspirations and jokes and jibes are all the same as normal people have. The jobs they have are secondary to the relationships and that’s what I loved about the story. They’re three ostensibly normal people but in an extraordinary situation with extraordinary jobs.
Lucy: Well said, Simon! I think what was also attractive to me was I was just sort of the girl in it without having to be the one dealing with the action which is what a lot of people expect me to be doing. And so, I could step away from that and just be part of it as a witness to what was happening around them as well as somebody who was trying to fulfil whatever ideals about her life and this relationship that she had. In reality, it was not something that was real at all.
No spoilers, but I had a great time in this world…how would you both feel about coming back for a possible sequel to continue the stories of these characters?
Simon: Yeah, speaking for myself, I’d love to. I think we really kind of scratch the surface of these three characters and I think they could go around the world together. That would be a lot of fun. I’d love to come back.
Lucy: I would be very curious to see how that works out with Old Guy [Laughs]. How does that work?
Simon: It would be Older Guy.
Lucy: Older Guy!
Old Guy arrives in select theaters and on Digital on February 21.