With Taylor Sheridan’s Those Who Wish Me Dead now available to watch in theaters and on HBO Max, we got the chance to catch up with two of the stars of the movie, Angelina Jolie and Finn Little.
Little leads as Connor, a young boy on the run from two ruthless killers (Aidan Gillen and Nicholas Hoult). He manages to make his way to the Montana wilderness and that’s where he runs into Jolie’s character, Hannah. Hannah’s a smokejumper who now prefers the solitude of a fire watchtower. Completely isolated in the woods, Hannah becomes Connor’s only hope of survival and must help him evade those hunting him and a growing fire nearby while also managing the trauma of her past.
It was intimidating enough chatting with a big screen legend like Jolie on Zoom for four minutes; Little had to carry a whole feature film alongside her! But the rising start insists that Jolie was actually the kind of co-star who put him at ease with the way she operates on set. Here’s what Little said when asked what he saw Jolie do while making Those Who Wish Me Dead that he’d like to back-pocket and take with him to future sets:
“She was there to work and she was so professional, but she could also sit down and have a joke and have a conversation with you and she was really inviting and friendly and I found that very calming on set on such a big production.”
So perhaps Little will follow in Jolie’s footsteps down the line by bringing that quality to future project, but there is something he’s doing right now that mirrors Jolie’s priorities when filming; Little got the chance to do some of his own stunts. After Jolie recalled discovering the value of doing her own stuntwork while making 2001’s Tomb Raider and highlighting the importance of achieving “maximum authenticity on screen” by finding the right balance of stunts and visual effects, Little took a moment to pinpoint the stunt he was most proud of in the film:
“Jumping off the fire tower with Angelina on the rope. That was an amazing day. Just going for it was super fun and I had absolute faith in the system that they were using. Wade Allen, the stunt coordinator, he was absolutely great on set. And I found it really amazing that Taylor Sheridan, the director, would let me do that because he really lets you do it so that you can understand the stress and everything that the characters are going through.”
Before we wrapped our chat, Jolie took a moment to celebrate Chloé Zhao’s big Academy Award win. Here’s what Jolie said when asked what it was like seeing her Eternals director make history by taking home the Best Director statue:
“I was thrilled! We all know her talent. I’m fortunate to say I know her as a person and she’s a great lady, so it’s deserving. In many ways it made me very, very happy.”
If you’re looking for more from Jolie and Little, be sure to catch our full conversation in the video at the top of this article! Those Who Wish Me Dead is currently available to watch in theaters and on HBO Max. You can also catch Jolie in Marvel’s Eternals when the film hits theaters on November 6th.