After having its theatrical release date delayed for over a year, F9 is finally out in movie theaters worldwide -- reuniting audiences with the high-octane adventures of Dom Toretto and his devoted family. Returning for the epic installment is Nathalie Emmanuel, reprising her role as the team's resident tech expert Ramsey. In F9, Ramsey is tighter with the Fast family than ever before and finally gets the opportunity to be behind the wheel herself.
In an exclusive interview with CBR, Emmanuel spoke about working with returning director Justin Lin and franchise newcomer John Cena, continuing to develop her rapport with her Fast and Furious franchise co-stars to deepen her performance as Ramsey and the empowering opportunity for her character to take part in the high-speed mayhem.
Nathalie, you've been with this franchise for several films now but this is your first time working with Justin Lin as the director. How was it having him behind the camera?
Nathalie Emmanuel: Working with Justin was fantastic! He's such a fundamental kind of person in this entire world through all of these movies, he directed so many of them. So the fact that I hadn't worked with him yet, this felt like a rite of passage to work with Justin Lin. Obviously, I had such great experiences with James Wan and F. Gary Gray, they were so wonderful to work with, but there was something about Justin because he had done a few [previous films] and the rest of the family were huge fans of him and trusted him and I wanted to have that experience as well. It was really, really great to work with him, he's just so much fun and really, really tuned in to every element that's happening. I don't know how he fits everything in his brain but he does and he's a really great captain.
You're in three films deep now with this franchise. Where do you find the creative space and mileage to find new directions for your character?
Emmanuel: The plot throws up so many opportunities and I think there are so many opportunities to find new aspects of the character. Just the fact that we see Ramsey in such an unusual situation where she's out of her comfort zone and the fact that she has to step up and help in a way she's not confident in. There are added layers to the character that the storyline will just give you then, over time because of the ease and comfort I have with my co-stars, I think there's a freedom to play and find new things in the moment as well. It's a combination of the two.
To build off that, Ramsey is often partnered with Ludacris' Tej and Tyrese's Roman. How is it finding new directions to continue to play off both of them as scene partners?
Emmanuel: It's so fun working with those guys! It's really fun watching them flow and you can't help but pick up something they've thrown out there and play with it. It's just like a really organic thing and I think that the energy on set is that everyone wants you to win and so the space feels very freeing. That's very true of Tyrese and Chris, they both bring so much to the table and there's lots of opportunities to try something new. As our working relationships and friendships grow over these years, it kind of happens quite organically and I feel lucky.
As someone that's a fan of wrestling, you've gotten to work with Dwayne Johnson and now you're working with John Cena. What did John bring to the production for this film?
Emmanuel: John is amazing and to pretend I wasn't excited by his casting would just not be true. He's just such a lovely guy and so sweet and curious and just has a very calming energy and I really liked that. He really did such a great job with Jakob [Toretto] and... It's John Cena, he's amazing! It was just a real pleasure to act with him and he brought so much and added so much to this movie and the fabric of this world, the history we didn't know about. He brought so much weight with him, he really smashed it.
Like you were saying, Ramsey really does step up in this film and play a more hands-on role. How intimidating was it to get behind the wheel and yet empowering and liberating at the same time?
Emmanuel: It's not very intimidating because, obviously, we have a fantastic second unit that does the actual driving. They're very specific, dangerous stunts that I'm in no way equipped or trained to do. The actual driving stuff is not me, I credit our incredible stunt team. I am in a static van with a green screen behind me so my job was really just to make it look like I was driving physically and reacting to the things that weren't there. It wasn't quite as hands-on as one might think but it was empowering in the sense that we haven't really seen Ramsey drive.
She's always there with her computer, that's where she knows what she's doing. She knows computers and she's always kind of looking for different routes to help the team in the moment. The fact that she is thrown out of her comfort zone and has to drive is really empowering and added to her character. She's not afraid to go for it and wing it when the situation calls for it and the stakes are really high and it shows a part of her character that we haven't really seen before. Her fearlessness came out which I think is really, really great and I'm happy that I got to do that. Also, the fun and levity of it was just really great.
After the delay, this film comes out on the 20th anniversary of the franchise and so much of this movie is about legacy. Do you remember being introduced to the franchise as a fan and then becoming part of it yourself?
Emmanuel: I remember I saw the first movie at a friend's house. I didn't see it at the cinema. I think it was maybe the type of movie that my parents thought I was a bit too young for but I saw it at a friend's house and I remember thinking it was just so cool and about this cool subculture, I had never heard about and had these very diverse people in it being really cool in cars. I remember thinking it was amazing and Michelle Rodriguez -- I had already been obsessed with her from Girlfight -- I just thought she was the coolest. I just thought it was really cool and I hadn't really seen a movie like that where I felt represented, that felt really amazing.
I remember when I got the call that I got the part in Furious 7, it was about three in the morning because I was in London and L.A. is eight hours behind. I just screamed and woke my entire house but I had to start packing because I had to fly pretty much immediately because of work visas and I suddenly had to pack my case at three in the morning. It was really fun because I then had the opportunity to binge-watch all of the movies back-to-back and I basically set up camp, with snacks and just watched 1-6 and said, "I'm working, guys! This is research!" with my feet up in bed eating popcorn. It was one of the most fun research sessions I've ever done. [laughs]
Directed by Justin Lin, F9 stars Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, John Cena, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jordana Brewster, Sung Kang, Helen Mirren, Kurt Russell and Charlize Theron. The film is now in theaters.