Daniel I mean I heard you really fought to get this part. When you first got the script, what did you think about it, what was it about the film that made you want to be in this so much?
Allison Williams: Warning, he’s really English and it’s kind of shocking just from experience.
Daniel Kaluuya: I said this today actually you know this is a lot of things that black people say in private. And just seeing it in the film and I was like “can you actually do that?” And so I was like, I thought it would shake things up and I just wanted to be part of something that just f-ed sh-t up to be honest. That’s what it is. It’s Jordan … I just wanted to help Jordan tell his story.
Jordan Peele: [Jason] asked me, is that true? That stuff in the script. I said, Yes it’s all true … Yeah actually you talk about reactions I wasn’t expecting … I thought one of the scariest parts about this movie from an industry standpoint would be the fact that at the end of it, a black man was killing a family of white people and the theater was like, “Yessssssss.” And I thought that was impossible and I remember we took a lot of care to make sure that Chris was getting out right, that he wasn’t becoming a monster and in fact he gets right up to that moment of killing someone … Rose who kind of out crazies him at the end there and he realizes that he cannot let her take his soul basically. That he can leave her to die on the side of the road like his mother did essentially. But I always thought the moment where he puts his hands on her neck I always thought the reaction of any crowd would be like “Oh I can’t even … this is like … but no Motherf—er lets cheer on that sh-t.” And I was like damn this must be working, the audience cheering the white chick murder and white people cheering. It’s a full feat ladies and gentlemen.
Allison Williams: I’m very proud of it.
Jason Blum: I wanted to run her over but I’m glad that we didn’t. And it was the right choice not to but I really wanted to run her over.
Jordan Peele: It’s true. Jason did pitch … nah some of you are gonna be like that’s a good idea. He pitched that before Rod takes off he puts it in to the reverse gear and just boom boom boom. Twice.
Jason Blum: Forward run her over and then back …
Jordan Peele: Tonally, tonally that would have been a complete f—-ing ridiculous move. I mean that’s what Marlon Wayans is going to do in the parody of Get Out. What’s it gonna be called? Get The F-ck Out Of Here.
So Allison I’ve seen this movie twice now and you’ve got a really difficult role to play because you know I didn’t suspect too strongly, the first time, but the second time watching I was looking for clues.
Allison Williams: Yeah the second time it’s totally different. You’re with me the second time.
Yeah, how did you get that tone right? And how did you work with Jordan who just kind of nailed that down?
Allison Williams: Yeah the three of us spent hours crafting all it, making sure all the scenes with us together felt really real. And essentially like … I mean this is what I wish I could talk about in press but I don’t want to spoil it for people. Rose was trained to do this since she was little. And basically she becomes whoever she needs to become to attract whichever gentlemen it is she’s trying to bring home. So she became this person that she thought Chris would love. Don’t be mad, it’s not real … And so we kind of worked on who that person is and then we also worked on who the person is that … That very blank slate that she refers back to. She’s like frozen in time hence the Dirty Dancing and the Fruit loops and the milk and that all came from this person’s brain.
Jordan Peele: That’s like my favorite scene. It’s so weird and f—ed up but you cannot figure out why but she’s just such a unique psychopath to get just that. It’s like we want answers but all we get is that weird scene.
Allison Williams: Yeah I focused a lot of attention on figuring out who she is when no one is looking, so that I could figure out who she is when everyone is looking. I’m happy to report it’s not easy to play the psycho one. It was really hard. I had to be alone. I had to listen to “Let The Bodies Hit The Floor.” I’m not kidding that’s literally what I listened to. I would just stand alone and no one would talk me and I didn’t even say no one was allowed to talk to me. Like people just did not want to be around me, I was not pleasant to interact with.
Jordan Peele: It’s creepy, it was really creepy. That was like … you went in when you were Ro-Ro. It was so cool to watch you … we talked about Rose, we talked about the first two-thirds of the movie. The whole idea was like lets not even acknowledge … she’s so good at this, you don’t even need to know the truth yourself when you’re playing it. It’s just so cool to see the flip.
Allison Williams: I think that just for most of it. We treated each of those scenes as what they were. Rose is a really good actor or at least as good as I am. So like medium good, good enough whatever you guys decide. She takes him to the lake because they need to do their auction but she makes him feel that she takes him to the lake because … you know, “let’s go away, let’s talk about his.” Like she won’t let the cop take his ID because then he can identify him when he goes missing but she always makes him feel like … yeah I know. That second viewing is really fun by the way.
Jordan Peele: One of the great feats that she did. I remember at one point … Whenever I say this is impossible but people surprise me but with that phone call with Rod I was like “I don’t think we could do this without special effects but if you could have the creepy face of Ro-Ro but have like the natural bright sunny voice.” She was like, “give me a half hour.” She went and she nailed that scene. There’s no audio effects on that, it’s just sick performing.
Allison William: Thanks.
Let me bring in Lil Rel here. You have a kind of comic performance in the film which is really crucial because otherwise it might be completely unbearable. You have a great relationship with Daniel. Did you kind of get to hang out? Most of it is just via the phone so how did you guys work together?
Lil Rel: It’s more or less on set and just talking but I think just the way Jordan explained, Rod and Chris’s relationship. And I’m just a friend that keeps it 100 with him … which is why I love the role. I feel like I represent the audience that’s watching the movie. And from the beginning of the movie, he ain’t bulls—ing like,”No get the f— out, I think this is some crazy sh-t.” And that’s one of the reasons I fell in love with the script. It’s a realism to it. Like you said earlier this movie is probably like everything my aunty said would happen if I brought home a white girl like, “Okay good luck…”
I mean that’s what attracted me to the role and Jordan did a good job of just letting us put our own cadences to each character and every time I watch it … this is like my 5th time watching this, I’m just gonna keep watching this, I don’t care. I like how real Rod is. Even the sh-t he saying. Like Jeffrey Dahmer sh-t, that’s Jeffrey Dahmer’s business. That just cracked me up and I love the crowd reaction … we used to the police coming and, “Here we go, this the real sh-t.” Just to see the reaction.
Allison Williams: That’s what Rose expected too!
Lil Rel: But people … That’s a legit thing but to see Rod show up and you see that friendship. Just him being an asshole, he just murdered all these people, there’s blood all over. “I did tell you not to go in there, brother.” Which is why I appreciate being in this movie too, so Thanks Jordan.
