Steven Soderbergh’s latest crime thriller, No Sudden Move, is coming to HBO Max on July 1. The cinematic caper follows Curt and Robert, two small-time criminals played by Don Cheadle and Benicio del Toro who try to make it big and get more caught up than they could have imagined.
Cheadle and Del Toro spoke to Screen Rant about their collaboration with Soderbergh and their own efforts to immerse themselves in the setting of 1950s Detroit.
Curt is really the brains of the operation, and he makes a lot of bold moves in this criminal underworld. What was it about Curt that attracted you to the role and really interested you in the character?
Don Cheadle: Well, this is something that I'd been talking about with Steven and Ed for a minute, months before we actually started. We were talking about a place to set this, and the kinds of issues that are brought up in this movie in a very elegant way. It's not hitting you over the head; they're just feathered in - things that are very relevant to today.
But this complicated character, who has been burnt and did some burning himself, is now on the other side of that. He's trying to figure out really just how to not die, and how to have the ability to walk away from this car crash that in many ways he started.
It was fun. I knew that working with Benicio was going to be a blast; I've been wanting to do that for a long time. It's the sixth time I've worked with Steven, and I was pretty sure that I could count on that experience being fulfilling. Once we felt comfortable about coming back during COVID, which took a minute and had to be proven to me that it was going to be possible - lo and behold, we were able to get through the script and get through the movie and filming with no incidents. So, we were very fortunate and glad to have something to share with everybody.
Cinematically, this is a welcome change for me, because I'm so used to other types of films. But the setting of this film is the 1950s in racially-charged Detroit, and Ronald definitely had some reservations about working with Kurt. How does the relationship between the two grow, and what fascinated you about the opportunity to play Ronald?
Benicio del Toro: Ronald Russo's a little bit of a character that I don't know if I would like to be friends with myself. He's got some things that I don't approve of and don't like, but it's interesting to play a character that you don't necessarily like. I've done that before.
But there's something about it that's like, how do you show it without showing it? And that's the game I try to play. And you're only as good as the actor you're playing with. So, working with Don Cheadle, you know you're in good hands and you know that it's gonna make you better. And then also working with Steven Soderbergh, again, is just one of those things that you just don't say no to. You just do it.
Then the script. The story has all kinds of elements, all kinds of turns that are really interesting and a lot of fun, and I think it keeps you guessing. It was a lot of fun watching the whole movie put together last night.
Don, I want to talk to you about Curt's deep, gravelly voice. Can you talk to me about finding the right sound for Curt, and some of the nuances you wanted to add to the performance to make the character come to life?
Don Cheadle: Well, in the research, there was a guy I came across whose name escapes me - I was actually searching for it right before we started this. He's a Detroit bar owner who is about the same age that Kurt would be now, and he came up during this time. That's where his voice that, and it was sort of an homage to him and those guys of that era. When you talked like that, it meant something, you know what I mean? That was a dude you had to listen to.
In a way, it's kind of an homage to my uncles from that same era. One in particular, who we call Hoss. When Hoss talks, he talks quietly sometimes, you got to lean in and pay attention. That's just one of the things that I think helped me to flesh out the character, in addition to the clothes. Marci Rodgers did a great job; she's our costumer. And the music that was ultimately added in post by David Holmes, all of these things help you really be in a time and place that's very evocative of Detroit in the 1950s.
