Surrounded's Letitia Wright Didn't Want A Stunt Double For Those Shooting Scenes - Exclusive
In her first role since taking on the Black Panther mantle in 2022's "Wakanda Forever," Letitia Wright plays a freedwoman and former Buffalo Soldier who disguises herself as a man to survive the post-Civil War Wild West in "Surrounded."
As Mo Washington, Wright must endure the harsh Western landscape while guarding a murderous thief (Jamie Bell) after her stagecoach is ambushed by outlaws. Fortunately, she is quick on the draw and an excellent shot, slinging guns with the best of them in the Western genre.
Pulling the trigger is a newfound skill Wright is proud to have picked up so quickly — and one she refused to use a stunt double for on the set of "Surrounded," which is now available on digital everywhere. (The movie was shot in late 2020, almost a year before Wright's "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" on-set accident involving a motorcycle stunt gone awry.)
During an exclusive interview with Looper, Letitia Wright divulged exactly what it took to turn her into a true markswoman for "Surrounded."
'It's me giving the best I can give'
When talking about her nimble gunslinging skills in "Surrounded," Letitia Wright is quick to point out that "there are no stunt doubles" when it comes to the film's shooting scenes. "It's me giving the best I can give," she says.
"I'm a quick learner," Wright says. "I got to learn and put that to the forefront." But she's just as quick to give credit where credit is due: "We had a great team, a great props master who was adamant that I needed to understand the ins and outs of my gun and how to keep safe at all times. He was literally like a guardian angel during filming. He believed in me more than I believed in myself. ... He taught me well."
Wright calls the training "a beautiful experience" and explains that the most gratifying part of being on the set of "Surrounded" was realizing her own "endurance" and working with co-stars Jamie Bell, Jeffrey Donovan, and the late Michael K. Williams, who died in 2021. "Seeing everybody work so hard to bring this story to life, ... my gun-slinging skills, [and] everything coming together to make it a true Western — I am really proud of that," she says.
"Surrounded" is now available on digital everywhere.