Role Play centers on a mother-of-two whose secret career as a hired assassin is exposed with shocking results.
The wryly comic thriller, airing on Prime Video from Friday, January 12, sees Kaley Cuoco (The Big Bang Theory, The Flight Attendant and Based on a True Story) play Emma Brackett, who is juggling a quiet suburban existence in New Jersey with her deadly work, which her husband Dave, played by David Oyelowo (Lawmen: Bass Reeves, The Girl Before), has no idea about.
When Emma and Dave decide to bring some fun into their relationship by taking on new identities for a date night and pretending to meet as strangers in a New York City bar, they encounter enigmatic businessman, Bob Kellerman (Bill Nighy), who appears to recognise Emma. As Emma’s lies unravel and Dave learns the truth, danger ensues, but can they protect their family?
In an exclusive interview, Kaley Cuoco and David Oyelowo tell What To Watch all about Role Play…
Role Play has lots of twists and turns. How would you describe Emma and Dave and their relationship?
David Oyelowo: "They have quite the secret, I think they need therapy! But I would say they're a loving couple who are going through a very challenging time in their marriage.”
Kaley Cuoco: “Yes, obviously what Emma is doing is quite terrible. But it's about marriages and going through tough things. They have a family and are committed, and how do they make this work?”
Kaley, you became a mother earlier this year, to Matilda, did that give you a new insight into the pressures that Emma is under juggling work and family?
Kaley Cuoco: “[When we filmed it] I wasn't a mom yet, but it's weird how that all happened around the same time. It made me appreciate even more that relationship of dealing with your kids, wanting to be there for them, having a career that you're committed to, and walking that line, which a lot of working parents do. That's been interesting for me and a new experience that I hadn't felt before.”
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What impact does it have on Dave and Emma when Emma’s secret is exposed?
David Oyelowo: “It all hits the fan at that point. And that's where the action and the comedy come from. Then Dave thinks, 'Right, I'm going to go and fetch my wife out of this crazy situation.' Love is sacrifice and that's who Dave is. That's the thing that's going to help this couple through. The film is fun, but also relatable."
Kaley Cuoco: “Yes a lot of people can relate to moments like that, as fantastical as the film can feel.”
What do you think makes it different from other spy dramas?
Kaley Cuoco: “We have seen these types of stories before. But there is true love in this. That's what the story is about. We've got the action and the fighting and that's all fun. But that is secondary and the love comes first."
Did you enjoy the stunts and the action though?
Kaley Cuoco: “That was one of the main things that attracted me. It gave me an opportunity to do some fight sequences and to play a badass!”
Finally, what was it like working with Bill Nighy and Connie Nielsen, who plays Emma’s mysterious former mentor Gwen Carver?
David Oyelowo: “Some of the folks that we got to spar with just made it a dream job. I got some lovely scenes with Connie Nielsen and Bill Nighy did a show with my wife many years ago, and he is the definition to me of a national treasure. He's so great and brings an incredible energy, and just ups everyone's game when he comes in. What a dream to work with him.”
Kaley Cuoco: “I have a very cute story. Because I was pregnant, I was craving Taco Bell and Subway. Bill heard me saying I wanted Subway and he goes, 'I love Subway'. I was like, 'Do you want a Subway lunch date with me?' And he's like, 'I would love nothing more.'
"I got us both so much Subway. He didn't know I was pregnant, so he was probably in shock at how much I ate, but we had this lovely lunch together. I'll never forget it. I have photos. He'll still send me a text and be like, ‘Remember that Subway date?!’”
David Oyelowo: “I got a little jealous!”
Role Play streams from Friday, January 12 on Prime Video.
Caren Clark
Caren has been a journalist specializing in TV for almost two decades and is a Senior Features Writer for TV Times, TV & Satellite Week and What’s On TV magazines and she also writes for What to Watch.
Over the years, she has spent many a day in a muddy field or an on-set catering bus chatting to numerous stars on location including the likes of Olivia Colman, David Tennant, Suranne Jones, Jamie Dornan, Dame Judi Dench and Sir Derek Jacobi as well as Hollywood actors such as Glenn Close and Kiefer Sutherland.
Caren will happily sit down and watch any kind of telly (well, maybe not sci-fi!), but she particularly loves period dramas like Call the Midwife, Downton Abbey and The Crown and she’s also a big fan of juicy crime thrillers from Line of Duty to Poirot.
In her spare time, Caren enjoys going to the cinema and theatre or curling up with a good book.
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