ComingSoon Editor-in-Chief Tyler Treese spoke with Surrounded stars Letitia Wright and Jamie Bell about the Western drama movie and working with the late Michael K. Williams. The movie is out today digitally.
“Five years after the Civil War, freedwoman and former Buffalo Soldier Moses “Mo” Washington travels west to lay claim on a gold mine- the summation of years of toil for Mo and her community. It is a mean, dangerous world for an unaccompanied Black woman in 1870 America, and so Mo travels into the deep frontier disguised as a man,” says the synopsis. “After her stagecoach is ambushed by a group of murderous thieves, Mo is forced to hold legendary outlaw Tommy Walsh captive while the remaining surviving passengers seek out help. What ensues is a battle of wills, blurring the line between captor and captive, as they both try to survive the harsh western landscape.”
Tyler Treese: Letitia, you got to work with the great Michael K. Williams in this movie before he tragically passed. What really stood out about getting to work with him and him as a scene partner?
Letitia Wright: He’s a great artist — really dedicated. We had already established that vibe with myself and Jamie, just working hard. Then he came on set and just linked up with us, fit right in. I just got to learn so much from him in-between those moments of being on set. Laughing, joking, sharing great memories with each other — I shared my first Thanksgiving with him as well. We all had Thanksgiving at my place in New Mexico. So just beautiful fond memories of him and yeah … really, really wish he was here with us, man.
Jamie, what I loved about your character was there was a lot more meat to him than just being a generic bandit, but you can never really trust him. What was it like, getting to take this character in so many different directions throughout the film?
Jamie Bell: It’s such a good question. First of all, the antagonist is only as good as the protagonist — they have to work off of each other. So I thought what Letitia had brought to it with her character and her backstory and her journey and the drive and the goal that she wanted … I had to just do the opposite of all those things and represent someone who didn’t stand for the moral goodness and stood for something else. I think of this movie kind of like a play in so many ways, you know?
So much of it was coming up with it on the set and trying to surprise Letitia and try and surprise Anthony [Mandler], our director. Ultimately, he’s a selfish man. He’s a man out for himself, right? He has to be the inverse of everything that Moe is and wants. So having a great scene partner like Letitia … it was just always kind of dancing with her and trying to do the opposite of her. So I was very fortunate in that regard.
Letitia, this movie is an intriguing look at both racism and sexism. While it’s set in the past, these are still huge issues, and there’s so much we can take from what we see in this movie. What did you like specifically about exploring these topics in the context of this Western movie?
Letitia Wright: Yes. Nice to explore things that would make audience members look at it from another lens and another perspective, but also remind us that these things are still happening today. So all-in-all, it was just another opportunity to challenge ourselves as creators and creatives to do something that felt familiar, but it also felt different at the same time.
