How well can we ever truly know the people closest to us? It’s a question that sits at the heart of Ride or Die, Prime Video’s wildly entertaining action-comedy series that pairs powerhouse performers Octavia Spencer and Hannah Waddingham as two lifelong friends whose seemingly unbreakable bond is put to the ultimate test when one of them is revealed to be an international assassin.
Spencer stars as Debbie Claybourne, an ordinary woman whose world is turned upside down when she discovers that her best friend, Judith Burton (Waddingham), has been living an extraordinary double life. Forced to go on the run across Europe with dangerous criminals and highly trained assassins in pursuit, the pair must navigate not only the chaos surrounding them, but the uncomfortable truths that threaten to unravel decades of friendship.
But beneath the high-octane action, sharp humour and undeniable chemistry between its leading ladies lies a surprisingly thoughtful exploration of trust, betrayal and the complexities of female friendship.
Speaking with our Peter Gray, the Academy Award-winning actress reflected on stepping into the shoes of a character whose decisions often challenged her own instincts, the difference between knowing someone and truly understanding them, and why strength doesn’t necessarily mean having all the answers when life begins to fall apart.
I feel very honoured to speak with you. Going to say, firstly, congratulations on the show. I had so much fun with it! It’s the kind of show that we need to have right now. I know that you’ve said Debbie feels unlike anyone that you’ve played before, which is fascinating given the range of your career. I’m curious, when you find a character who challenged you in this way, does it feel like you’re discovering something new about the character or perhaps rediscovering something about yourself as a performer?
I love that the characters feel different. There are choices that Debbie made in the show that I never would have made. After the betrayal, when (Ana, Sylvia Hoeks’ character) reveals that Judith (Hannah Waddingham’s charactter) cost (me) the job. That type of betrayal is one for me that would end a friendship. So it was interesting to do these scenes as Debbie, knowing full well that’s just not something that I would tolerate. So it’s fun putting on other people’s skin and living in their truths.
What I loved about the friendship at the center if this is that these women have known each other for decades, but they obviously still don’t know so much about each other. Do you think being truly known by somebody is more important than being understood by them? Because I found the show made quite an interesting distinction between the two.
If I’m stepping back to look at things, get that macular view, I don’t think that the friendship is what Debbie thinks. You find out a person has a whole separate life and they aren’t who you think they are. Can you really say that it’s that person that you know. You know what I mean? It’s an interesting situation to be in. That the people I truly know are truly my friends.
And I think you’re very gifted at portraying women who are so capable, but they’re not always given permission to fall apart. With Debbie, was there something liberating about playing a woman whose strength doesn’t always mean having the answers?
I don’t think she needed to have the answers. She’s a real person and in real time, her life is falling apart. In real time, when you suffer that kind of trauma, you don’t have the answers. That’s a misperception about anyone, that you’re going to have the answers as your life is falling apart. It’s what you do with that information and how you reconcile that information and the people you have around you that help you to the other side of that. There are some things Debbie did right, and there are some things I wouldn’t do.
Well, as I said, I just fell in love with this show. And maybe it’s the gay man in me, but I love seeing women do things better than men! It’s so much fun. I’m glad it found an audience that deserved it, and wherever the show goes, maybe we’ll have a second life somewhere. But what we have is such a beautiful form of escapism, so you should be proud of the show.
Thank you, Peter. And listen, if it doesn’t have a life beyond this season, what a fabulous season!
Ride or Die is now streaming on Prime Video.
