The Day of the Jackal Lashana Lynch wanted realistic chase scenes
After stunt-heavy roles in “The Woman King” and “No Time to Die,” Lashana Lynch was ready for something less physically demanding. “I’m really proud of that moment [doing all her own stunts in ‘The Woman King’]but I didn’t want to do it again anytime soon,” she admits. So when she was offered the crime film “The Day of the Jackal” – while she was still filming “Bob Marley: One Love,” an experience she describes as “quiet, calm, wonderful” with no stunts – it’s not an immediate yes.
“It took me a while to read the episodes, not because I didn’t think they would be good, but because I was very aware – hyper aware – of influencing the legacy movement that is part of ‘No Time.’ to Die,’ which was such a great deal for the world,” Lynch says Variety. “But then I read the first three episodes and was completely sucked in.”
In ‘The Day of the Jackal’, Lynch plays Bianca, a detective obsessively hunting an enigmatic assassin known only as the Jackal (played by Eddie Redmayne). In addition to the fast-paced storyline, Lynch was also drawn to exploring “the psychology behind women in service with a fine-tooth comb, and also how they find the balance between being a good person, a good wife and a good mother, making good choices to to sustain beautiful lives.”
Although the series, which launched in the UK on Sky on November 7 and premiered on Peacock on Thursday evening, features its fair share of action scenes, Lynch made the decision early on that she wouldn’t do her own stunts this time around. . “With respect – I love the stunt industry and I think they should all be celebrated, especially women,” she says.
Instead, Lynch focused on acting and producing, having started on the project as an executive producer alongside Redmayne. The dual roles made her find herself thinking about scenes in a new way. “I divided my mind between what would feel good in my body and what would feel good as an actor, but also how things were going to be edited together,” she recalls. “What music would suit this best? What will the sound be like? Will the microphone pick up all the heavy breathing or will there be a lot of ADR? There were so many things going through my head that I just wanted everything to be as rich of experiences as possible, both for us and for the audience.”
Part of her vision for the series was to keep it grounded. “I’ve worked with guns before, and it’s tough, but at some point I thought, ‘Gosh, these chases really need to be read as completely realistic,’” says Lynch. “And I don’t want anyone to glorify anything or think that these are two superheroes running around having the perfect chase. It was the complications – both in the story and in the fact that I wanted better for the industry at every point. That’s a lot of weight to pack into every moment.”
Despite being done with stunt work (at least for now), the actor is still open to returning to the Bond franchise, reprising her role as 007 agent Nomi, who was set to take over from Daniel Craig at the end of ‘No Time to Die’. .” “If there’s enough story that makes sense, I’m sure audiences will have a really cool experience seeing Nomi again,” she says. “But I really don’t know. It remains up in the air.”
Has she heard anything from Bond producers Eon about what happens with the next episode? ‘I didn’t do that. I really didn’t do that,” Lynch says seriously. “And it’s so intriguing to be in the position where I’m part of that world and everyone assumes — or some people assume — that I would have information. I really don’t! Really. But I’m as intrigued as anyone.”
