Taking inspiration from Danny Lyon’s 1968 photo book The Bikeriders, the film casts Mike Faist as the photographer himself, and follows him as he interviews Kathy—as he did in real life—about her experiences with this eternally muddy, motley crew of men. As she opens up, we follow the club’s fortunes from their modest beginnings to their rapidly growing power and a profoundly tragic end.
Kathy, with her singular Midwestern twang, unbridled confidence, humor, and no-nonsense approach, is unique, but she’s also, in many ways, a classic Comer creation—someone who delights in chewing the scenery and stealing every single shot. She’s always excellent, but here, the actor takes it up yet another notch, and reminds us once again why she’s one of the most in-demand actors of her generation.
Ahead of the film landing in theaters on June 21, Comer discusses why Kathy reminded her of her nan, how she held her own on a male-dominated set, why she picked up smoking to prepare for the part (and singed her eyelashes as a result), and what she’s learning as an executive producer on a buzzy forthcoming project.
Vogue: I heard that you Zoomed with Jeff and he sent you a recording of the real Kathy’s voice. What did you make of it? Was that enough for you to know you wanted to do this?
Jodie Comer: It was. I mean, I was already in, truth be told . I wasn’t playing it that cool. I Zoomed with Jeff while I was doing a play in London. I’d been sent the script—it wasn’t a formal offer, and he wanted to speak to me about it. I thought, Don’t get too excited. But then, I read the script and just fell in love with her on the page. A lot of Kathy’s real audio is in her dialogue. You could feel the kind of texture of her. Jeff and I chatted for over an hour and we were firing on all cylinders. Then he was like, “Just so you know, I have 30 minutes of audio of her.” I was like, “Please, for the love of God, send me that right now.” It was amazing to hear Danny, and the chaos of the kitchen, and the kids running around, and her lighting her cigarettes, and her hesitation, and her humor—all these details that we have within ourselves, but we pay no attention to. It just felt so rich. And I was like , “Okay, let’s do this.”