Based on the best-selling novel by Andy McNab, SAS: Red Notice stars Sam Heughan (Bloodshot), Ruby Rose (Batwoman), Andy Serkis (The Batman), Hannah John-Kamen (Ant-Man and the Wasp), Tom Hopper (The Umbrella Academy), Noel Clarke (Star Trek Into Darkness) and two time Academy Award Nominee Tom Wilkinson (Batman Begins).
Set for release from Vertical Entertainment on March 16th, it follows Tom Buckingham, a suspended special forces operator, who is taking Dr. Sophie Hart from London to Paris to propose. When their train is deep inside the Channel Tunnel, heavily armed mercenaries, led by Grace Lewis, seize control of it and hold everyone hostage. Grace threatens to blow up the Channel Tunnel and declare economic war on a government that has its fair share of secrets to keep.
Unarmed and cut off from his counter terror team, Tom is the only hope that Sophie and the other passengers have to make it out alive. To save them he must embrace the unique psychology that makes Grace such a formidable adversary.
Last weekend, we caught up with Sam Heughan to discuss his role as ex-SAS operative and psychopath Tom Buckingham. As well as the similarities between that character and Die Hard's John McClane, we also discussed how he prepared for the role, and the movie's standout action sequence.
It also sounds like Sam is very excited about the possibility of reprising the role in a sequel one day.
Check out the full video interview below:
Something I really loved [about SAS: Red Notice] was that Die Hard/John McClane feel to your character: one guy, being put through the wringer, getting more and more beat up as he goes along. What was fun for you to explore about that?
I think you’re right. Certainly, our writer Laurence Malkin, he did look at Die Hard and that whole theme. I guess it’s also got elements of Bourne and James Bond in it as well. I think, for me, the real draw was the fact it’s very authentic. It’s based on Andy McNab, it’s based on his experience. Obviously, it’s fiction, but in a very real world, and it’s kind of scary to see how these mercenaries and the military operate around the grey areas. He was really the draw for me; I knew of [Andy] through Bravo Two Zero and his books, but to meet the man and get access to him was just incredible.
We know that the SAS are the best at what they do, so for you, what sort of training and preparation did you do to make sure you could convincingly portray this special forces guy and have it come across as realistically as it does in the film?
I mean, for sure. Great amount of respect to them and to everything they do. I spoke not only with Andy, who was a great fountain of knowledge, but a couple of ex special forces operators. On the military and tactical side, it was a lot of working with drills and weapons in South Africa, and then with Andy himself, we did a lot of work on tactical movement, clearing out compounds, etc. So, it really was as much as I could fit in to give me a basis or grounding in that world. He wss such an amazing fountain of knowledge and advice, and the SAS work as a team, and you’re only as strong as your weakest link, so it was intriguing to see how they work together.
Without getting into spoilers, something that stood out to me was your fight with Ruby Rose’s character. What was it like for the two of you to shoot that because things get brutal, and it looks like the two of you actually did a lot of your own stunts there?
Yeah, we did. Obviously, Ruby has done a lot of action herself, and we wanted that fight to be different to other ones in the movie. Tom goes through a lot, but this one was supposed to be as vicious and lethal and brutal as possible. They are trying to stop the other one, but have both got great skills. The size difference was interesting. How does a woman that’s smaller in size and stature fight someone of my size? She’s vicious! We did do a lot of that, and it was freezing cold and snowing, and I think honestly, it’s an incredible sequence, and I love that portion of the movie.
I know it’s always hard to say before a film comes out, but it does feel like SAS: Red Notice has some serious franchise potential; if you do get to come back, where would you like to see Tom’s story go next?
I think we all would love to see it come back. It only just starts the journey really. Tom has this discovery about who he is and what his condition is, so I think it would be cool to see Tom explore what it is to be a good psychopath and what he does with that information. I guess it gives him more power, and Declan is still out there, so there’s definitely room for a franchise, I think.
SAS: Red Notice is set to be released on March 16th theatrically and via premium VOD.