Javicia Leslie Talks 'Double Life' and Playing Red Death on 'The Flash'
Moviefone speaks with Javicia Leslie about 'Double Life' and the final season of 'The Flash.' "It was an honor to suit back up and get a chance to say goodbye."
Opening in theaters and digital on May 5th, and On Demand May 19th is the new thriller ‘Double Life,’ which was directed by Martin Wood (‘Stargate SG-1’).
What is the plot of ‘Double Life?’
Sharon Setter (Pascale Hutton), a grieving widow learns from her late husband’s mistress, Jo Creuzot (Javicia Leslie) that his death was no accident. The two women will form an unlikely alliance to uncover the truth behind his murder and unmask the man (Niall Matter) that they both loved.
Who is in the cast of ‘Double Life?’
‘Double Life’ stars Pascale Hutton (‘The Unspoken’) as Sharon Setter, Javicia Leslie (‘Batwoman’) as Jo Creuzot, Carmen Moore (‘The Flash’) as Detective Carmen Traxler, John Cassini (‘Se7en’) as Louis Strand, Vincent Gale (‘Firewall’) as Larry, Aaron Douglas (‘Battlestar Galactica’) as Sheldon Roberts, and Niall Matter (‘Watchmen’) as Mark Setter.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Javicia Leslie about her work on ‘Double Life,’ the plot, its 90’s vibe, her approach to her character, working with actress Pascale Hutton, the unusual bond between their characters, and reprising her ‘Batwoman’ role as Ryan Wilder on the final season of ‘The Flash.’
Javicia Leslie as Jo Creuzot in the Thriller, 'Double Life,' a Paramount Global Content Distribution release. Courtesy of Paramount Global Content Distribution.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview with Javicia Leslie about ‘Double Life’ and 'The Flash.'
Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about your approach to playing Jo Creuzot, and what were some of the aspects of the character that you were excited to explore on screen?
Javicia Leslie: So, my approach with playing Jo, it's funny because I've been a bartender many times. On ‘Batwoman’ I was a bartender, and on ‘God Friended me’ I was a bartender, so it was kind of funny to get another role playing a bartender. But I think there's something about that energy, specifically a person that knows how to get in the mix of things and knows how to make things work no matter what, and knows how to keep the ball rolling no matter what. I think that's an element that Jo has throughout this movie, throughout the story, is that, "Okay, things didn't necessarily go the way she expected, but how can we keep going? How can we figure this out? How can we make things happen?" One of the things that I was excited by, but I was also nervous by, was maybe not necessarily being the good guy, because I'm kind of used to being the good guy. So when I read the script, I was like, "Okay, how do I feel about this?" But I immediately accepted it. I immediately took it in and I played with it, and I had fun with it because one of my teachers always says, "A murderer can love his children." You're complex as a human being, and you have to play with all those complexities. I had a lot of fun with that with this project.
MF: Can you talk about when Jo discovers the truth about her boyfriend, and how that moves her forward feeling both grief and betrayal?
JL: Yeah, because I think there's a moment in the film where there's a realization that even though this isn't what I thought it was, I still love this person. We all go through that. We all sometimes fall in love with the wrong person, and we can't change how we feel about them. So I think the reveal definitely took her for a spin, but at the end of the day, it doesn't change what their story was before that happened. And how real that was. I think she questioned, was it real? But when you know it's real, you know it's real. It is what it is. They had a secret, but we all have secrets. That's kind of what this movie's about is all of our secrets.
Javicia Leslie as Jo Creuzot in the Thriller, 'Double Life,' a Paramount Global Content Distribution release. Courtesy of Paramount Global Content Distribution.
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MF: Can you talk about the unusual friendship that Jo and Sharon form while trying to solve this mystery?
JL: It’s a bit of ‘Thelma and Louise’ action, except we don't go off the cliff. I think that obviously they have a commonality and they both really start to realize there's something that obviously he saw on you, and something he saw on me. They're good people. Joe and Sharon are good people, so it doesn't surprise me that at least in the beginning, they probably thought a friendship could develop. So, I think that that's the beautiful part of this. Yeah, we're telling the story of these two “junior detectives” that are going out trying to solve the murder mystery, but really we're telling a story of this beautiful female friendship that goes through this journey within however long the film is. To see these two women, because sometimes we tell these stories and women are fighting, and they don't come together at the end. It's always about a guy or the guy is a hero, and that's not this story, and I love that.
MF: What was it like working with Pascale Hutton on that relationship?
JL: So much fun. I didn't know Pascale before this project. It's funny because when you first meet someone, you're kind of just figuring out their energy and who they are. I'm a Gemini, so I immediately figure out how I can fit into their world versus the opposite. So I'm immediately like, "Okay, well what can I do to make sure she's comfortable and make sure I'm comfortable, so that we can tell the story?" I didn't have to do that at all. Pascale's the kind of person, she's so open and available and takes you as you are. We spent so much time laughing, making jokes and making fun of our characters sometimes. You know what I mean? Like, "Girl, you know you wouldn't do this. You know I wouldn't do that." She's Canadian, so she's laughing at me because I'm always cold. It was just really a great experience, and she was a part of it being such a great experience.
(L to R) Javicia Leslie as Jo Creuzot and Pascale Hutton as Sharon Setter in the Thriller, 'Double Life,' a Paramount Global Content Distribution release. Courtesy of Paramount Global Content Distribution.
MF: You mentioned ‘Thelma and Louise’ and the movie definitely has a ‘90s thriller vibe, can you talk about that?
JL: I don't know that it was technically set to be that vibe, but that's what I felt and that's what I fell in love with. I loved thrillers from the '90s, especially with Sandra Bullock and Julia Roberts. Oh my God, do you remember when Sandra Bullock did ‘The Net?’ Like those types of films where it's so high-paced, I like that kind of energy. So, to be able to be a part of those stories is really cool.
MF: Finally, what was it like for you to have a chance to reprise your role as Ryan Wilder from ‘Batwoman’ on the final season of ‘The Flash?’
JL: It was an honor. You know what's funny? I didn't come back on ‘The Flash’ as Batwoman really. So, it felt opposite of it. It felt like I'm really just doing a completely different character, which I was. I tried to make sure, even as Batwoman is very controlled, she thinks through everything, which makes sense. But Red Death was completely the opposite. I think that she thought through things, but it was still this unhinged aspect that I had as Red Death. So it was really fun to play that. Then of course, it was an honor to be able to suit back up as Batwoman and kick a little butt, then leave in an epic way, or as epic as we could. So it was great to get a chance to say goodbye.
(L to R) Grant Gustin as The Flash and Javicia Leslie as Red Death in 'The Flash.' Photo: The CW. © 2023 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Other Movies Similar to ‘Double Life:’
- 'Thelma & Louise' (1991)
- 'Sleeping with the Enemy' (1991)
- 'Copycat' (1995)
- 'The Net' (1995)
- 'Kiss the Girls' (1997)
- 'Double Jeopardy' (1999)
- 'Along Came a Spider' (2001)
Buy Javicia Leslie Movies On Amazon
'Double Life’ is produced by Lighthouse Pictures, Motion Picture Corporation of America, and Brad Krevoy Television. It is scheduled to release in theaters on May 5th, 2023.
