'One Ranger' Interview: Thomas Jane Talks New Action Thriller

Moviefone speaks with Thomas Jane about 'One Ranger.' "I've had a lot of fun creating classic characters and people that are a little left of center."

Opening in theaters on May 5th is the new action thriller ‘One Ranger’ from writer and director Jesse V. Johnson (‘White Elephant’).

What is the plot of ‘One Ranger?’

In 'One Ranger,' a gunslinging Texas ranger (Thomas Jane) tracks a bank robber (Dean Jagger) across the desert — only to discover he’s an international terrorist set on detonating a bomb in the heart of London. When the lawman’s partner is killed, he is drawn into partnership with a British intelligence agent (Dominique Tipper) and her boss (John Malkovich) to bring the outlaw to justice — dead or alive.

One Ranger

"London is about to get a taste of Texas."

R1 hr 35 minMay 5th, 2023

Showtimes & Tickets

Watch One Ranger Online

Who is in the cast of ‘One Ranger?’

'One Ranger’ stars Thomas Jane (‘Boogie Nights,’ ‘The Punisher,’ ‘The Predator’), Dominique Tipper (‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’), Dean Jagger (‘Game of Thrones’), Patrick Bergin (‘Patriot Games’), and John Malkovich (‘In the Line of Fire,’ ‘Being John Malkovich,’ ‘RED’).

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Thomas Jane about his work on ‘One Ranger,’ the “fish out of water” premise, creating his character, his partnership with Dominique Tipper’s character, the action sequences, working with John Malkovich and the possibilities of a sequel.

Thomas Jane in 'One Ranger.'

You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Thomas Jane, and writer and director Jesse V. Johnson about ‘One Ranger.’

Moviefone: To begin with, I thought this character fit you like a glove and is a prefect Thomas Jane role. Did you recognize that when you first read the script, and what were some of the aspects of the character you were excited to explore on screen?

Thomas Jane: I've had a lot of fun with creating iconic, classic characters, people that are a little left of center. This guy, just by being alive in 2023, is already a fish out of water even in his own world. We're fortunate enough to be the opening night film at the Dallas Film Festival, so we're in Texas Ranger country right now. I feel a real responsibility to creating something that these guys are probably going to watch. It's probably only a few of them, but they're going to watch this thing. So, I wanted to make sure not to embarrass myself and create something that honored who they are and what they do, because we need more Texas Rangers in the world right now.

MF: Can you talk about the unlikely partnership that your character forms with Dominique Tipper's character throughout the events of the film?

TJ: We had this British character in the script and we were batting around ideas, and I had just worked with Dominique for five years on ‘The Expanse,’ and we had a really nice relationship. She's a good egg. She's dedicated, and we had the connection already between the two of us. So for us it was creating the antagonism that these two obviously are from opposite sides of the pond, and we wanted to have fun with that. But we knew that underneath was the respect that we both just naturally have for each other, so she ended up being a perfect choice and I'm just glad she said yes. It was a lot of fun but it was a tough shoot.

Dominique Tipper in 'One Ranger.'

MF: I know you’ve worked with John Malkovich before, but what was it like for you to reunite with him again and work together on this movie?

TJ: He's one of those consummate actors that every actor respects and admires. I remember when he did ‘Of Mice and Men’ back in the day, that must have been like the ‘80s when he hit the scene doing theater in Chicago and all that. So he’s always been someone to look up to and its always a thrill when you get to work with that caliber of talent. He always shows up. He showed up and he did his job. He was present, and he was there. A lot of these actors that come in for a short period of time, you can't really count on them. Sometimes they need cue cards, you know what I mean? Not Malkovich. He shows up to have fun, and we certainly did have a good time. These two characters were allies. They're on the same side, ostensibly, but they have very different ideas about how to get the job done, and that was fun. We had a respect, but also there was an antagonism and you're always looking for that kind of thing.
Thomas Jane in 'One Ranger.'

MF: I know that you did a lot of your own stunts and action sequences in this film, do you enjoy doing that and does it help you to stay in character and make those scenes as realistic as possible?

TJ: I'm a huge fan of Harrison Ford and if you watch his movies, even in something like ‘Frantic,’ that Polanski directed. Where his family gets kidnapped and he's got to go after them, but he's a regular dude. His physicality is just so great. He can say so much with the character just in the way that he moves his body, whether it's ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ or something else. I grew up watching this guy, with his physicality. You know that it's him because of the way he moves. You know that's not a stunt guy because it's Harrison Ford and the way he moves his body is telling us that he's scared but he's going to do it anyway, that he's never been in this situation before but he's figuring it out as he goes along. I always aspire to bring something like that because it always struck me. That's why I like to have fun with the stunts and doing them.

MF: Finally, have you given any thought to a sequel and is this a character that you would like to play again?