From real-life stunt man and director David Leitch, the director of Bullet Train, Deadpool 2, Atomic Blonde and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw and the producer of John Wick, Nobody and Violent Night, comes his most personal film yet; The Fall Guy.

Set to be released in the region on Thursday May 2, the movie has a stellar cast including Ryan Gosling as Colt Seavers Jody Moreno, Emily Blunt as Jody Moreno, Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Tom Ryder and Stephani Hsu as Alma Milan.

Being dubbed as an ode to Hollywood’s stunt men and women, the movie is already touted to be a hit and ahead of the UAE release date Cosmo ME chatted to Stephanie Hsu on how she was cast, working with Barbie’s Ryan Gosling and what it was really like on set.

Cosmo ME: Can you talk about how this opportunity came to you and what made you want to be a part of The Fall Guy?

Funnily enough, I was invited to the Bullet Train premiere, and I had such a blast in that theatre! Then a few months later I got a call that was like, “Hey, David Leitch and Kelly McCormick are working on another movie and they would like to talk to you about it.” So, we hopped on a Zoom call and the rest is history… You know, action movies in general are fun, but I’ve never gotten to do something of this scale before. It just feels like the perfect storm of action and heart, which is a testament to Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt.

Cosmo ME: Who is your character, Alma Milan, in your eyes?

She is my love letter to every PA and assistant I’ve ever worked with or witnessed. On set I spied on all the assistants and PAs for inspiration. Alma was always carrying millions of things, simply because I would look around and see everyone running and sweating to get things done. These people work very hard dealing with all sorts of shenanigans and the craziest scenarios, so Alma Milan became my love letter to assistants and PAs seen and unseen.

Cosmo ME: How is her relationship with her boss, the narcissistic movie star Tom Ryder?

Ryder is the quintessential movie star you never want to work with that somehow has gained immense fame and financial success. He is that kind of garbage human being you sometimes encounter when you are starting out and want to work for someone who is in the thick of everything. Alma loves this industry and wants to be a producer, but here she is swallowing the hard pill of Tom Ryder until she can get out of that situation.

Cosmo ME: Apart from having to deal with Ryder, Alma develops a relationship with the stuntman Colt Seavers, the true hero of this story.

The beautiful thing about Colt is that in our story he is this legend, and he’s also one of those good guys whose gotten screwed over by people like Ryder as well. So he relates to Alma and they form a fun team that sort of launches him on this journey to save the day.

Cosmo ME: How was the experience of being a part of a production like The Fall Guy?

I have never been on a set this big! The Fall Guy is the most spectacular shoot I’ve worked on, and it was a whirlwind for me. It was so impressive and awesome to witness such a well-oiled machine with everyone working at the top of their game.

Cosmo ME: And what can you say of the filmmaker behind it all, David Leitch?

After working with him I have a newfound appreciation for action films, especially the David Leitch ones because they are so hard to pull off. David was managing many moving parts, and I think it’s beautiful that his background is as a stuntman. It makes my heart tender because no one else could have pulled this off. He knows what it’s like to be on the ground, and he knows the level of risk and what type of communication needs to happen in order to achieve an action shot successfully. I feel excited that he’s getting to share this part of his story and his heart with a wider audience because stunt artists do amazing things and make movies as special as they are. David Leitch is incredible and such a badass, but he’s also kind of mellow and soft-spoken at times. I just love how much magic he holds inside his brain.

Cosmo ME: How was it to work with an actor of the calibre of Ryan Gosling, who portrays Colt Seavers?

You know, it’s funny because I had never met Ryan before this shoot, but watching his work I had the suspicion that we were maybe cut from the same cloth. I’ll never forget my first day filming when Alma and Colt meet because he’s so silly, and we had a lot of fun improvising. One of the things I was happy to witness working alongside him is how he really tries to make every scene specific and better, making the story that much more dimensional too—which is truly such a testament to his collaborative spirit and aristry.Ryan Gosling is an incredible actor and collaborator.

And what about Emily Blunt?

Emily Blunt brings a whole other dimension of heart and intelligence to this movie.

She is so hilarious, so sharp, and so brilliant—a total badass!

So, why do you believe people will enjoy The Fall Guy?

People will enjoy this movie because we’re long overdue for an awesome love story within an action film. I believe what makes this movie extra special is that you have the adrenaline

rush you get from these huge fights, flips and action sequences; but the core of the story has so much heart and is really about two people finding each other again, and I truly feel audiences are going to find comfort and delight in that.

Watching it on the big screen enhances that whole experience, right?

It is so important to see movies in general, and especially of this scale, in theaters. I don’t understand why anyone would want to see a film like The Fall Guy on a laptop. I mean, with its scale, it is seriously something to behold and enjoy with the sound shaking your seat and friends and strangers nearby. Witnessing a story like this in a theatre is such an important ritual to help process it. I promise you want to see The Fall Guy on an epic big screen with a soda in hand.

And the title has so much meaning.

There are so many layers within this movie—it’s about someone who takes a fall, someone who takes one for the team. And what I love about The Fall Guy is that so much of the film is a love letter, not only to stunt artists, but also to movies as a whole. So, I feel it’s going to hit the spot and cross audiences from different generations. The story is really special, and it was shot in an epic, beautiful, heartfelt, and funny way that I’m very excited for people to see.