Advertisement

Exclusive: Blake Lively was cast in The Rhythm Section because she was unexpected

Photo credit: Paramount
Photo credit: Paramount

From Digital Spy

After her dark turn in A Simple Favour, Blake Lively will next be seen as an assassin in spy thriller The Rhythm Section.

The movie sees Lively play Stephanie, who discovers that the plane crash that killed her entire family might not have been an accident. Determined to get revenge, she embarks on a dangerous mission to track down those responsible.

Lively might not be the first name that comes to mind for the role and it turns out that was exactly the point. "What was appealing for me to have Blake do the role is we see the usual suspects doing this all the time," director Reed Morano told Digital Spy.

Photo credit: Paramount
Photo credit: Paramount

"And I actually find that as an audience member, it's much more interesting for me to watch actors outside of their genre doing different things. Actors oftentimes have a really wide range of capabilities and Blake is the prime example of that."

Morano added that she "knew" Lively would be perfect for the role and noted that she bears a lot of similarity to Stephanie.

"Stephanie is a very determined and ambitious character in order to pull off what she pulls off, and she doesn't take no for an answer. I would actually say that in real life, Blake is a lot like Stephanie in many ways," she explained.

Photo credit: Paramount
Photo credit: Paramount

"She is very, very determined. When she sets her sights on something she wants to do, she doesn't stop until she does it. It's a very admirable quality."

The Rhythm Section is produced by James Bond makers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson, so you'd be forgiven for thinking you could expect the movie to be a 'female James Bond' outing.

That couldn't be further from the truth though as Morano noted that it's more driven by Stephanie's journey to "reclaim her life and find a sort of purpose".

Photo credit: Paramount
Photo credit: Paramount

"It felt like the film about a female assassin that I would want to see. I could make it feel realistic and she felt more grounded like a real person, a real person who's essentially pretending to be an assassin in order to achieve her goal," she added.

"What I liked about it was the opportunity to show a real woman in these situations not doing everything totally right all the time, and not actually succeeding all the time. Not every punch plans and it's more realistic

"I also like that she is a flawed character who was very deeply emotionally damaged and has to find her way out of that."

Morano has also been speaking to Digital Spy about the release date changes and the on-set injury that Lively suffered.

The Rhythm Section is released in cinemas on January 31.


Digital Spy now has a newsletter – sign up to get it sent straight to your inbox.

Want up-to-the-minute entertainment news and features? Just hit 'Like' on our Digital Spy Facebook page and 'Follow' on our @digitalspy Instagram and Twitter accounts.

You Might Also Like