Hannah Waddingham and Octavia Spencer: Actresses discuss starring in and the making of ‘Ride or Die’

Two powerhouse actresses are leading one of Prime Video’s next big TV shows. 

‘Ride or Die’ is an action comedy about a couple of best friends who have to go on the run after one of them is revealed to be an international assassination.  

It stars Hannah Waddingham, of ‘Ted Lasso’ fame, and Octavia Spencer, Academy Award winner for ‘The Help’, as Judith Burton and Debbie Claybourne.  

Though this is the first project the two have worked on together, Spencer says the way they fell into a rhythm was seamless. 

“We were the only two people thought of for our roles, and then we both are active producers,” she told Hosking. 

“We are vested in this from different vantage points, so it was easy.” 

Waddingham agreed, telling Hosking they didn’t have to think about that bit at all. 

“There was no kind of work required to find the chemistry – it was just there in spades.”  

Waddingham was approached directly for the role by Spencer and the show’s creator Tessa Coates, Spencer saying they knew she was going to be as committed as she was. 

“There’s nothing about that role that no one thought that Hannah would not be able to do." 

“I mean, it’s a role of a lifetime, and my character is a role of my career,” Spencer told Hosking. 

“And we both are playing characters that we've never, they're complete departures from anything that we've done. 

Unsurprisingly, ‘Ride or Die’ is filled with action sequences and stunt work – none of which, Waddingham says, is CGI. 

“I’ve got the bruises to prove it.”  

“If I was going to get on board with this woman [Spencer] and with Tessa Coates, with this glorious piece of work, I wasn’t going to be the weak link.”  

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Something good coming to Prime Video. We'll give you the
details at the end of this, but it's called Ride
or Die. Stars Hannah Waddingham and Octavius Spencer got a
James Bond mission impossible vibe to it, so something to
look forward to. Hannah Waddingham and Octavia Spencer R and
D with us from London. Good morning, Good morning. First
of all, Hannah, how was what both of you? How

(00:20):
was last night.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
Epic and so wonderful to hear the audience laugh their
asses off, then go silent, regroup, think ooh, we're going
on a ride here. I wanted to stand up and go.

Speaker 1 (00:33):
I know, Octavia, how was it for you? And do
you carry any nervousness going into a night like that
when you're getting a sort of bit of instant feedback?

Speaker 3 (00:44):
Well, you know, I didn't sit through last night because
I barely got into London on I don't know what day.
It is hilarious. I'm a little bit jet lag, so
I planned to sit through at the New York screening.
I didn't sit through last night.

Speaker 1 (01:00):
Have you seen the whole thing yet or not?

Speaker 3 (01:03):
Oh my gosh, not with an audience.

Speaker 2 (01:06):
Yeah, it's really really something else with an audience.

Speaker 1 (01:09):
It was just brilliant, Hannah, Hannah, do not freak out
of this question because this is not a tabloid program. God,
but no, but I am interested you this new relationship,
and much is being made of it. All I want
to know is how had the British press been.

Speaker 2 (01:24):
With you and this which this new relationship?

Speaker 1 (01:28):
Right? No, No, no, your personal relationship.

Speaker 2 (01:31):
But I'm here to talk about this relationship.

Speaker 1 (01:33):
I know you're here, but I'm just I'm just a.

Speaker 2 (01:35):
Much more important.

Speaker 1 (01:36):
No, it is but the press treating you sensibly?

Speaker 4 (01:40):
Yes they are, and does that surprise you? No, the
British press, Hannah, are famous for their treatment of famous
people in relationships.

Speaker 1 (01:52):
You must know that.

Speaker 2 (01:54):
Well, they've been very nice about our premiere last night.

Speaker 1 (01:57):
Well, I'm very pleased to hear it, Octavia. As far
as the relationship, you two have not worked together before,
as far as I know, how does the how does
the ice get broken? The ideas come together the vibe form?

Speaker 3 (02:11):
Well, I think there was always a mutual respect. I
mean we were the only two people thought of for
our roles, and then we both are active producers, so
we had we we are vested in this from from
different vantage points. So it was easy. It was a

(02:32):
very seamless to fall into a rhythm.

Speaker 2 (02:35):
Yeah, it was. It was the greatest part of it
is that we didn't even have to think about that.
But before there was no kind of work required to
find the chemistry. It was just there in space.

Speaker 1 (02:44):
So Hannah, who rings you up and goes, I've got Octavia,
I've got you. Here's the plot, here's the idea, got
a budgets go for Weell, how does that start? Well?

Speaker 2 (02:52):
My team sent me an email and said, you know,
Tessa Coates and Octavia Spencer would like you to get
on a zoom And I was like, who what now?
And I got on the zoom and they went through
the pitch with me. Tessa was gloriously animated and I
at the end of it, I just went, my god,

(03:12):
what where this is? Like the where have you? Where
does this come from? Out of your brain? And whoever
you get to play Judith, this is just going to
be the role of her career. You know what do
you want me to do?

Speaker 1 (03:24):
It?

Speaker 2 (03:24):
Like advice?

Speaker 3 (03:25):
You want it?

Speaker 2 (03:25):
Want me to come in and produce with you on it?
And Octavia's whole face filled the screen where we won
you dummy, and I just want one, Octavis Spencer Oscar
Winner saying that was the biggest pinchery moment. But to
know that that pitch that I just listened to and
imagined in my mind's eyes so immediately was coming my way,
I absolutely said yes in the room.

Speaker 1 (03:45):
And so from your point of view, October, what are
you looking for in her? In the character.

Speaker 3 (03:51):
And in Hannah's character, Well, there is a she's a
statue esque woman and she's a brilliant actress. We knew
that she was going to be as committed as she was.
I mean, there is nothing about that role that no
one thought that Hannah would not be able to do,
and she you surpassed anyone's expectations. I mean, it was

(04:14):
it was a it was It's a role of a lifetime.
And my character is a role of my career, and
we both are playing characters that we've never They're complete
departures from anything that.

Speaker 1 (04:26):
We so so for you of tbe given you're on
the production side of this equation. It looks big money
to me, right, looks like big production. How hard is
it to get big production money across the line for
what is you know, a series, not a movie.

Speaker 3 (04:40):
Very difficult, It is very difficult. I've never been on
a set where we had three filming units working all in. Yeah,
from day one we had a stunt unit, always filming.
We had our first unit, which is the unit where
the major major photography, and then this a unit when

(05:00):
when you're transitioning to your next episode. So we always
had three units.

Speaker 2 (05:05):
I mean that's just unheard of.

Speaker 1 (05:06):
Yeah, didn't have that, didn't have that on tied Less.

Speaker 2 (05:09):
So I ah, it's totally different beast, you know, totally
different beast.

Speaker 1 (05:15):
The stunt work, how much of it's real? How much
of its c gied aied whatever?

Speaker 2 (05:22):
Oh no, no, no, no, no, no cgid yeah no,
I got the bruises to brew it.

Speaker 1 (05:30):
So what sort of hurdle was that for you? Physically?
Once once my friend was it massive?

Speaker 2 (05:36):
Yeah, But I went at it like a dog with
its squeaky toy in its mouth, like I had to you,
you have to, you know, if I was going to
get on board with with this woman and with Tessa Coats,
with this glorious piece of work, I wasn't going to
be the weak link.

Speaker 1 (05:54):
And so did you have to leap physically and some
was there a training program involved so or was it
more coordination or what?

Speaker 2 (06:00):
No? No, no, no, full on training and just every
day I was just up in it. So by the
time I got to set, you know, the scenes were
my almost light relief sometimes because certainly the first five
or six weeks I was on it, on it, on it,

(06:21):
and it taught me a discipline that I am just
so proud to have been a part of. Their an
extraordinary group of people. Stunties.

Speaker 1 (06:29):
Really, do you hold the physical gains that you made?
Do you feel physically different because of the whole exercise
and there we'll want to maintain you've gained.

Speaker 2 (06:37):
Yeah, I'm shooting a movie at the moment. It was
actually funny. I didn't sell you this. I was shooting
something the other day and they decided to add in
some stunt work for me, some fight stuff, and the
head of stunts they showed me these few moves they
wanted me to do, and at the end of it
he went, have you have you just done a lot
of fighting in life or of you?

Speaker 1 (06:57):
And I went, oh, I have no.

Speaker 2 (06:59):
One to I've just been playing an assassin for the
last five months. And he was like, oh my God,
I just wondered why you were just l And it's
not something I ever thought. I'm quite a kind of softy,
silly sausage in real life, and I've always danced, but
never been that physical. And also the limitations of just
stopping or moving, having passed and moving through and having

(07:21):
to do it over and over and over again. And
that's when I realized only the other day that actually
I'm far more comfortable with that than I thought I was.

Speaker 3 (07:30):
So now it's become second nature.

Speaker 2 (07:32):
Yeah, yeah, it has. I don't shy.

Speaker 1 (07:33):
Away, Toba as far as you're concerned the series via
film and the potential for it. I mean, this could
go for River, couldn't. It's got a mission impossible vibe
about it.

Speaker 3 (07:44):
Well, you know, one would hope, you know, but that
depends on viewership. I mean, you watched it.

Speaker 1 (07:52):
What do you think I think? Well, obviously, I think
it's magnificent. I'm in an interview with you, but I
don't lie. I'm straight up and down.

Speaker 2 (07:58):
How many episodes if you watch my friend, let's put
you on the score.

Speaker 1 (08:01):
I've watched Date, Yes, yes I have. I've watched Date.
But here's here's the point. It can go for river.
What's the thing they're looking for? Is it just numbers?
It's always numbers.

Speaker 2 (08:18):
Oh god, it's got to be.

Speaker 3 (08:19):
It's going to be numbers, I mean to justify what
they're spending on it.

Speaker 1 (08:23):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (08:23):
And the demographic, well, we look at the demographic. Who's
who's leaning into it. That's very important as well.

Speaker 1 (08:30):
Okay, well, obviously when I work in media, I don't
care who's demographic it is. It is just anyone's welcome
to enjoy the program.

Speaker 2 (08:38):
Yeah, yes, anyone's welcome. But it's I find it fascinating.
You know what different parts have peaked people's interests from
different age demographic is what I mean? Yeah, that where
you know, why why were you know, twenty five to
forty year olds interested in three? But you know that's
just the geek in me. I love all of that.

Speaker 3 (09:00):
I also think it's how proficient people are with technology.
I mean, people fifty five to whatever perhaps aren't on
social media and aren't as engaged, so people don't know
that there is a huge swath of audience that really
is engaged, you know, as engaged as a twenty five

(09:22):
to thirty four or something.

Speaker 1 (09:23):
Well, fantastic all all I can do is wish you
the very best octobera George Eastman the George Eastman Award
I read about They're going to have a lovely night
for you and you'll just talk about yourself a lot,
and they'll do a highlights reel and then we'll all
have dinner and celebrate. I mean, that's a thing. That's
a thing, isn't it.

Speaker 3 (09:38):
You know I am. I'm humbled by it, and I
hope I don't have to talk about myself a lot.
I hope I get to talk about other people I've
had a chance to work with.

Speaker 1 (09:50):
Well, good luck with Ryde or Die. Lovely to meet
and talk with you both. We'll talk on the second series.
How's that?

Speaker 3 (09:56):
Hey? Me? All right?

Speaker 1 (09:58):
Yeah? Weddingham and October Spencer Prime Video. It is this
time next week, next Wednesday, Wednesday, next week. Uh, it's it's.
It's it's if you like Mission Impossible, James Bond, It's it's,
it's it's a lot of that.

Speaker 3 (10:12):
For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to
news Talks it'd be from six am weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.