Sam Rockwell is back on the big screen with See How They Run. The Oscar winner stars in the whodunnit as Inspector Stoppard, a world-weary English detective who finds himself caught up in a mystery to solve a string of murders surrounding the stage production of an Agatha Christie story.

Alongside Rockwell, the cast for See How They Run includes Saoirse Ronan, Adrien Brody, Ruth Wilson, Reece Shearsmith, Harris Dickinson, David Oyelowo, Charlie Cooper, Shirley Henderson, Pippa Bennett-Warner, and Pearl Chanda.

Related: Top 10 Sam Rockwell Movies, According to IMDb

In anticipation of the film's release, Screen Rant spoke exclusively with star Sam Rockwell to discuss See How They Run, the fun of blending comedy and drama, the challenges of an English accent, and more.

Sam Rockwell in See How They Run

Screen Rant: I'm very excited to talk about See How They Run. I gotta say, it was an absolute blast from start to finish.

Sam Rockwell: Thanks, man, thanks for watching.

Absolutely. What about the script really caught your attention?

Sam Rockwell: I don't know, that's a good question, I don't know the answer to that. [Laughs] Let me think on that.

What was it like getting to the heart of your character? Because he's very much the prototypical world-weary detective, but at the same time, he has his own unique layers.

Sam Rockwell: I think it's the vulnerability of him that is the key thing. His broken heart, he's a war veteran, that all plays into it. I think any great misanthrope in a movie or play is all about being vulnerable, you know? Even Bad Santa or Educating Rita or Walter Matthau in Bad News Bears, those are all broken hearts.

They're so easy to want to relate to, and your character lines up well with that. What was it then like developing a rapport with Saoirse Ronan for this film, because you two have such great chemistry on screen?

Sam Rockwell: Oh, thanks man, it was easy. She's a really lovely person, and funny, very funny, and really a hard worker, she shows up really prepared.

Sam Rockwell Saoirse Ronan See How They Run

What was your first reaction to when you saw who was the murderer?

Sam Rockwell: I was surprised, but I'm pretty gullible, so I don't know. Did you figure it out?

I didn't know. I had one idea, and it was wrong. I thought it was the Belgian hotel guy, to be honest.

Sam Rockwell: Oh, yeah, sure, sure.

What was it like developing your accent for the film, because it was interesting to see you be one only one of two Americans in the cast, but then still use an English accent?

Sam Rockwell: Yeah, it was really fun. It's one of the reasons I took the role, it was a challenge. I'd done it on stage before, but never on film, so it was a really exciting challenge, and scary, but fun.

How long did it take for you to really get back into that voice?

Sam Rockwell: I think a few months, I had about four months, maybe, in total to prepare. So I worked with two different dialect coaches, I had various people take my lines and vowel sounds and stuff like that.

What was your reaction when you finally when you saw the final product on film?

Sam Rockwell: I loved it, I really liked the film, and I liked what I did, and I liked what everybody else did. I was really pleased with it.

Was there any sequence that you enjoyed performing the most throughout the film? Because you have drama, you have comedyyou run the gamut in it?

Sam Rockwell: Yeah, I like all these scenes with all these great actors. But the scene in the pub with Saoirse and the scene with David Oyelowo and the scene with Pearl and Harris, Harris is very funny as Attenborough. Adrien Brody and I in the dream sequence is very fun, but they're all great. Reese, Ruth Wilson, these are great actors.

Saoirse Ronan  Sam Rockwell in See How They Run

With a film like this, there are oftentimes inspirations from the genre that a director will give to their cast to watch to help prepare. Did Tom George give you any?

Sam Rockwell: Yeah, you know, funny enough, we watched only one mystery film, which is The Big Lebowski, that he recommended. Obviously, Murder on the Orient Express and Colombo is a good influence, but he mentioned Big Lebowski, and he mentioned The Death of Stalin as both being a tone for the comedy.

What with Martin McDonagh, you've done those really fine line comedy-drama blends, but what was it like walking that line for this film?

Sam Rockwell: It was great, because we knew we were doing a comedy, but there was moments of drama, moments of pathos. I think you just gotta keep it real, always keep it real.

See How They Run Synopsis

Saoirse Ronan and Sam Rockwell in See How They Run

In the West End of 1950s London, plans for a movie version of a smash-hit play come to an abrupt halt after the film’s Hollywood director is murdered. When world-weary Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell) and eager rookie Constable Stalker (Saoirse Ronan) take on the case, the two find themselves thrown into a puzzling whodunit within the glamorously sordid theater underground, investigating the mysterious homicide at their own peril.

Check out our other interviews with See How They Run star Charlie Cooper and director Tom George.

See How They Run hits theaters on September 16.