With director Tom George’s See How They Run now playing in theaters, I recently caught up with Sam Rockwell to talk about making the Agatha Christie-style whodunnit. The film takes place in the West End of 1950s London where a seasoned detective (Rockwell) and an ambitious rookie (Saoirse Ronan) investigate the murder of a film director that was planning on adapting a hit play into a movie. The film also stars Adrien Brody, Ruth Wilson, Reece Sherrsmith, Harris Dickinson, Charlie Cooper, Pippa Bennett-Warner, Pearl Chandr, Sian Clifford, Jacob Fortune-Lloyd, and David Oyelowo.

During the interview, Rockwell talked about what drew him to the material, how he prepared for the role, having Martin Freeman and Eddie Marsan record the dialogue so he could learn the accent, how they got to film at the Old Vic and The Savoy Hotel because of COVID, and what someone should watch if they’ve never seen his work. In addition, he talked about working on director Matthew Vaughn’s upcoming spy movie, Argylle, which also stars Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, Catherine O’Hara, Ariana DeBose, Rob Delaney, John Cena, and Samuel L. Jackson.

see how they run sam rockwell Saoirse Ronan
Image via Searchlight

RELATED: Matthew Vaughn Talks 'Argylle,' How It's a Mix of 'Die Hard,' ‘Romancing the Stone’ & ‘Lethal Weapon,’ and Why Henry Cavill Should Be Bond

Watch what he had to say above, and below is exactly what we talked about, the See How They Run trailer and synopsis.

Sam Rockwell

  • Why did he want to be part of this project?
  • How did he prepare for the role and the accent?
  • How Martin Freeman and Eddie Marsan recorded some of the dialogue for him so he could learn the accent.
  • What was it like filming at the Old Vic, The Savoy Hotel, and other locations that were shut down due to COVID?
  • What would people be surprised to learn about the making of See How They Run?
  • How they had a 2-week rehearsal before filming.
  • If someone has never seen anything he’s done what is the first thing they should watch and why?
  • What was it like working with Matthew Vaughn on Argylle?

In the West End of 1950s London, plans for a movie version of a smash-hit play come to an abrupt halt after the film’s Hollywood director is murdered. When world-weary Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell) and eager rookie Constable Stalker (Saoirse Ronan) take on the case, the two find themselves thrown into a puzzling whodunit within the glamorously sordid theater underground, investigating the mysterious homicide at their own peril.