Hollywood veterans Octavia Spencer and Hannah Waddingham are embracing their futures as vibrant action-comedy leading ladies and pushing back against the industry’s antiquated views on age.
The powerhouse duo star in the new Amazon Prime Video series, ‘Ride or Die’, and have redefined the limits of major, action-packed roles for leading women and younger talent. “I don’t know why there is a presumption that women should disappear after a certain age.
I want people with life experience around me to guide me.
So I think this is an exciting project because we get to examine all of those tropes and do what we want and interpret them in the ways that we want.” said Academy Award-winner Spencer. Ted Lasso’s Waddingham enthusiastically supported her colleague’s sentiments and attacked the unequal standards applied by media commentary. “There’s this thing always that a woman is of a certain age. You don’t hear ‘men of a certain age.’
So we are here to punch that in the face.” she said.
‘Ride or Die’ is written by Tessa Coates and directed in part by ‘Ant-Man’ filmmaker Peyton Reed. It combines cinematic thrills with dry wit and clever character work as it chronicles two lifelong best friends, Debbie Claybourne (Spencer) and Judith Burton (Waddingham). Debbie always thought she knew her friend like the back of her hand — until she finds out Judith has been living a secret life as an international assassin.
After a dangerous job goes awry and a phantom from Judith’s past reappears, the two are plunged into a desperate flight across Europe.
While evading law enforcement, assassins and underground organizations, they must rely on their strong friendship, quick thinking and dark humor to navigate high-speed chases, thrilling train leaps and tactical combat. The eight-episode series will drop on Prime Video globally at the same time and stars Octavia Spencer, Hannah Waddingham, Bill Nighy, Ed Skrein and Sylvia Hoeks in its primary cast.
‘Ride or Die’ is executive produced by Spencer and Waddingham.
In order to fulfill a grueling physical demanding spy thriller, both stars had to have extreme commitment. Spencer admitted that the bond she shares with Waddingham, forged over their shared passion for the project and unwavering dedication since day one, proved the necessary ingredient to make this show possible.
‘Ride or Die’ intentionally overturns tradition by placing physical comedy, complicated stunts and genuine female relationships at the forefront of a genre that has historically been dominated by individual men as the protagonists. As executive producers, Spencer and Waddingham are paving the way for female talent’s long-term potential and flexibility within the modern streaming landscape.