Sharon Duncan-Brewster adds the world of John Wick to her resume in the upcoming film Ballerina.
Duncan-Brewster is no stranger to action or adventure, having been seen in RogueOne and Andor as Senator Pamlo and in Dune as Liet-Kynes.
In Ballerina, Duncan-Brewster plays Nogi, an instructor at the Roma Ruska Ballet School. Nogi shows Eve the ways of the assassin, teaching her to turn even her weaknesses into the deadliest of weapons.
Ahead of the movie’s release, we sat down with Duncan-Brewster to talk about joining the cast, her enjoyment of action flicks (and wanting to do more of them). Duncan-Brewster also spoke about the different experience on the Ballerina set compared to her other work, and how she hopes her character might appear in future stories in the John Wick series.
Check out the full interview with Sharon Duncan-Brewster below:
Joining an already established world like the John Wick franchise is a daunting task, but Duncan-Brewster was up to the task. Despite not being familiar with the series, she was excited to join the cast and immerse herself in the world.
“I did feel like the films, the previous films, John Wick films, have been a Bible for me because I didn’t know, I didn’t really know much about John Wick. I knew Keanu was in a film called John Wick, but that was as much as because I don’t really watch that well, I hadn’t watched that many action movies of late. However, up to that period. But I’d seen the first one once. I had a chat with Chad and Len about me coming on to play Nogi, and I’d only seen the first John Wick, but after I found out I was doing it, I dove in,” Duncan Brewster said.
Given the nature of the John Wick universe, there are many action sequences and tones to consider regarding the characters. So, we wondered what differences Duncan-Brewster has experienced with working on past projects.
Duncan-Brewster shared, “I’d say things are a lot darker, for sure. There are a lot of normally lit rooms where you can see certain things, but not others. Yeah, I think the beauty of the style of filming definitely is apparent when you’re on set. There’s definite sort of action thriller, slightly noir-esque feel to it, which I believe they have definitely nudged towards and respect, but still have developed their own language as visually. Yeah, the sets, you know, there’s a room that’s got bullet holes in it, and then there’s another room that’s got guns in it. But, you know, every every little detail, I know they are sacred, and they spend a lot of time. It’s a lot of detail and dedication to making sure this thing was authentic and realistic as possible.”
Duncan-Brewster has worked in action films before, but as an actor with film, theater, and television under her belt, we wondered if there were other genres she’d like to explore.
“Yeah, there were dreams. There was a dream. There was a wish, a bucket list, a wishlist. There were some things on fridges and walls. Do a such and such film. It was always do a sci-fi film, right? Then it was do an action film. Then it was do a film that is highly acclaimed. I have all these sort of stickers and things that I’ve posted in my in my previous years, and so a lot of the boxes have been ticked. The dreams have come true and and it’s like, well, what happens now? Do I just go low budget feature. What do I do? And I, I’ve always been the person I like to do it all. I don’t ever want to stay in one realm. However, they’ve given me a taste for this action stuff, man. And oh, I want more. I’m hungry,” Duncan-Brewster said.
Duncan-Brewster continued, “There’s something about when you’re playing a character who is known for being strong and training somebody – now Nogi is Eve’s mentor. She’s her trainer. She’s just a Mr. Miyagi of the Ruska Roma, as far as I’m concerned. And she, we know this woman’s got the skills. We know she had to have been there herself. And what has she had to do in order to now find herself as a trainer? And for me, those are sort of questions that I have asked in the past, but would love to sort of see, you know, how she been tested? Would she come back? Would we see her again in this world? Because Ballerina is just the beginning.”