Before hiring any actor for roles, directors of many franchises do not only consider the media presence of an actor but also their screen presence. Matthew Vaughn also did a similar thing when he hired actors like Sam Rockwell and Henry Cavill for his upcoming thriller, Argylle as he recently revealed in an interview. Henry Cavill and Sam Rockwell had to play the role of 2 contrasting spies in the movie and Matthew Vaughn tried to establish just that by casting 2 actors who are very different from each other.
Matthew Vaughn opens about casting Sam Rockwell in Argylle
Sam Rockwell will be portraying the role of a spy, Aidan in Matthew Vaughn’s upcoming thriller, Argylle. No one expected Vaughn to cast Rockwell in the role of a spy against Henry Cavill but in a recent interview with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the director was asked about the performance of Rockwell as an action star. Josh Horowitz asked, “Where in the spectrum is Rockwell like the Colin Firth to the Henry Cavill level of action?” Vaughn replied, “He has his own rainbow.”
Matthew Vaughn further went on to describe how he sort of differed from the theme of the novel of the same name and created something new altogether.
“One of the themes of the film, it is not in the book, that’s where it gets interesting is the world of Espionage and how it’s portrayed whether it’s Kingsman or Bond that we have this idea of what the spies are. Then you have the Lcari version of what spies are and I thought well Lcari is quite serious. Why don’t I do a mashup of a Lcari-style spy film and Kingsman style spy film but the two balance each other out and create a new genre.”
Vaughn further revealed why he would cast Henry Cavill and Sam Rockwell in Argylle instead of the biggest Hollywood stars like Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt.
Matthew Vaughn talks about the contrast in personalities of 2 spies
In the movie, Argylle, Sam Rockwell will be playing the role of an actual underground spy, and Henry Cavill will be playing the role of the titular character who is also a spy, but in a fantasy world. That is why while casting for the roles of these 2 spies, Matthew Vaughn was looking for actors who would contrast each other. Vaughn said,
“Rockwell can walk in a room and I love him dearly but you’re not going to notice him. Henry Cavill walks in a room, you’re going to notice Henry, and if you’re a spy, a real spy you don’t want to be noticed. So, Rockwell actually is a proper super spy. I am sorry guys but I’m going for it, I am warming up now. So, if Hollywood had made this movie, they would have cast Brad Pitt as the super spy and they would have thought it’d be great to cast Tom Cruise as the other one and go HEY.”
Argylle has a very star-studded lineup other than Henry Cavill, and Sam Rockwell, even John Cena, Dua Lipa, and Samuel L. Jackson are also a part of the movie.
Argylle is all set to be released in theatres later this week on Friday.
