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[Thisstorycontainsspoilersfor[ThisstorycontainsspoilersforThe death of Robin Hood.]
In 2021, Jodie Comer, like many of us, was completely blown away by Michael Sarnosky’s film. pig.
The actor and director happened to share the same talent agency, so they agreed to have a public meeting via Zoom to express their mutual admiration for each other. A year later, the two randomly found themselves sitting next to each other at a dinner party where they got to know each other better. But it took until 2024 for the stars to finally align on a professional level thanks to Sarnosky’s revised tale called The death of Robin Hood.
The slow-burning thriller is based in part on a 17th-century ballad in which the hero’s outlaw cousin, an evil chief, bleeds an older and ailing Robin to death under the guise of an ancient medical treatment known as bloodletting. Comer quickly agreed to play the writer-director’s therapist and share uniquely intimate scenes with Hugh Jackman’s Robin Hood, especially since she had briefly worked with the latter on a musical that didn’t work out.
But Comer and Jackman’s roles mirror the poem’s portrayal. The initiate, seen here as Sister Brigid, is as benevolent as can be, sharing no familial connection with the famous Robin Hood. Seriously injured, he is left on the doorstep of her island monastery where she nurses him back to good enough health through bloodletting and treatment. But it’s not until the third act that Brigid catches up with the audience and learns that the man she has come to know as “Randolph” is actually Robin Hood, the murderous highwayman who burned her family alive years before. He may have stolen silver from the corrupt upper class to help those less fortunate, but contrary to the legends told about him, he caused much more pain and destruction.
As the head of a religious island community that stresses tolerance, Sister Brigid comes dangerously close to adopting the character of the treacherous nun from the source material. She cuts off Robin’s arm during a bloodletting session, but rather than let his blood draw become fatal, she stops herself from avenging her family.
“Where did this get anyone? Where did it get Robin? She’s bracing herself for the moment, Now you have to practice what you preach“Comer says Hollywood Reporter. “It’s easy to talk about these things, but it’s really about how you’re able to act on it in your own life.”
Robin eventually allows her to cut off his arm again so that he can free himself from his personal suffering as well as keep Brigid’s house safe from his old and new enemies. But knowing that voluntary euthanasia is still a hotly debated topic, Comer wonders how audiences will handle her character’s assistance in Robin’s suicide. She hopes they realize the completely different intentions behind the final bloodshed scene and the earlier scene that flirted with revenge. Mind you, she tried to stop the bleeding in the last round as well, but he used the last of his strength to hold her back.
“I don’t know if there’s going to be a mystery, for some people, about her helping him during his death,” Comer says. “I don’t know if people are going to guess what her motive is or if it’s going to seem like it’s pure.” “There’s a huge contradiction that she has to deal with at that time, but I’ve always been so amazed at the grace that she can find in that moment. She has this ability to no Matching pain with pain or violence with violence.”
The death of Robin Hood It shares some lines with two other recent Comer films, The end from which we begin (2023) and After 28 years (2025). In all three, her characters spend time in peaceful island communities that serve as exceptions to the harsh worlds that surround them. Every woman does her best to take care of her own children or other people’s children. Admittedly, the thematic overlap has not registered with Comer yet.
“Maybe I need to become a mother. I don’t know. Maybe I’m experiencing something in my acting that I should investigate more in my private life,” Comer says. “They all have topics that I’m always very drawn to, but I find it fascinating when people pick up topics I don’t necessarily know in the process.“
Below, during a conversation with THRComer – who is “excited” to reunite with Sarnosky in Damon Lindelof’s upcoming film adaptation of the novel Series for HBO – also discusses how important revisionist tales are in the age of remakes and reboots.
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So I loved pig Like the rest of us, apparently, you and Michael Sarnosky had a general shortly thereafter. Who started?
Well, we have the same agent, which is nice. They very kindly introduced us to it on Zoom after I watched it pig. It must have been in the time of coronavirus, and it was a bit more formal because you’re meeting someone for the first time and hoping to work with them. Then, maybe about a year later, we sat next to each other for dinner. So it was a nice opportunity to meet him informally and not necessarily talk about work.
Two years later, the script was written for The death of Robin Hood He came through, being a huge fan [of Michael’s]I was so excited. I didn’t receive any sort of premise or log line; I’ve just been sent the script. So I read it, and I thought it was so amazing and amazing. I was amazed by his interpretations and how well I felt the poetic text. So I jumped at the chance to be able to work with him.
I consider this the third film in the “The Island” trilogy. The end from which we begin, After 28 years and The death of Robin Hood Each features isolated island communities, and your characters care for the children in different ways across the three stories. I’m sure you weren’t aware of these dividing lines at the time, but in hindsight, can you recognize why you were drawn to themes of motherhood and caregiving?
Maybe I need to become a mother. I don’t know. Maybe I’m experiencing something in my acting that I should investigate more in my private life. I can’t say I was aware of it, but all of those stories seem so intimate and tangible and so human. The nuances and emotional nuances of the human condition, and how we behave towards each other, is something I really enjoy seeing and experiencing in my own life. So, they all have themes that always appeal to me a lot, but I find it fascinating when people pick up themes that I don’t necessarily know in the process.
Your character, Sister Brigid, is endlessly sentimental, but in the source material, the lead character is truly evil. Would you have continued to play the role if it had been written that way?
I don’t really know if I can fully answer this question because it was never presented to me. There were aspects of Robin Hood that I was familiar with, but I wasn’t very familiar with the folklore, so I wasn’t comparing it to previous iterations. But maybe I would play this version of it because I wanted to work with Michael. Fortunately, I was dealt very different cards, which is nice.
(Spoiler warning.) I don’t know what people’s experience will be with the movie, but there is a revelation about Robin’s connection to her past. Without knowing it, it was a huge catalyst in her life, and it caused a lot of pain. I don’t know if there will be a mystery to some people about her helping him during his death. I don’t know if people will guess what her motive is or if it will seem pure. There’s a huge contradiction that she has to deal with in that, but I was always so amazed at the grace that she was able to find in that moment. She has that ability to do that no Matching pain with pain or violence with violence. She talks a lot about philosophy and mythology. So I felt that she would consider it almost an oath to meet him later in her life, especially given the vulnerable situation he was in, and how she was given the role of caretaker for him at that moment. There was something I really enjoyed.
(Spoiler warning.) Before the ending I just mentioned, there’s a dark scene where the treacherous nun character tries on size. But then she catches herself because she doesn’t want to continue the cycle of violence that led them all there.
right! Where did that get anyone? where Robin arrived? You often share stories, offer advice, or offer a point of view, and then prepare for the moment. Now you have to practice what you preach. It’s easy to talk about these things, but it’s really about how you can act on them in your own life.
Robin Hood has long been a symbol of social justice and the fight against corruption and greed, but this film posits that there is a dark side to the folklore surrounding him. What was your first impression of Michael’s revolutionary attitude toward this character who we’ve all grown up to believe is a hero?
Well, Michael went back to the poetry of the early 14th century to explore something that felt ancient but was also new and true. This exploration is not one-dimensional or absolute, but feels more realistic to what she imagines the world might look like at that time. There is nothing fancy about it. He’s so gritty and grounded, and I just loved him. It’s a perspective he’s never seen before, and one that felt completely original to Michael.
In a world where we explore and remake so much of the same material, it’s really exciting and important to give space for something new to be born from it. In general, we can become quite possessive about our interpretation or experience of a well-known story. So, it’s great when a narrator or director comes in with a different point of view.
I loved working with Michael because the piece was his own. He spent a lot of time with her. When you’re working with a director who also wrote the material, you just want to be extremely serviceable. There is a cinematic scope to this film that is absolutely breathtaking, but it also prioritizes emotional arc and character development. I’ve definitely had experiences with directors where one was more prominent than the other, so it was great to work with someone who was into all of that.
This is an industry that also creates its own legendary figures. Even Hugh Jackman has a bit of that reputation at this point in his long and varied career. Does it all go away once the cameras roll?
completely. She forgets about that as soon as she meets Hugh. Due to the nature of the work, there are a lot of projections on people. We always project our version of them or who we interpret to be. But people are people at the end of the day, especially Hugh. What you see is what you get. There’s an energy about him that makes you feel like you’ve known him for a while, and he’s so generous, personable, kind, and committed. So, you have to take people as you find them, and it’s always great to be led by someone with those qualities. It puts everyone at ease immediately.
I initially assumed that your history with Shawn Levy and Ryan Reynolds had something to do with you and Hugh collaborating on this film, but I didn’t know that you worked together briefly on a type of music that was never produced.
Yes, we spent a few days organizing a writing workshop for something. I came to New York and spent three days with him in a formal office setting, which was beautiful. I worked closely with Ryan and Sean free manThey obviously have a very close relationship with Hugh. So I’m sure Hugh asked them how I was on set. You always do this if you’re thinking about working with someone. You’ll ask people, “What’s your experience with this person?” So I’m sure this happened on some level.
What Michael did well pig and A Quiet Place: Day One The characters are depicted eating together in a meaningful way. Most movies or shows are filmed or cut around it.
Actors also avoid it.
It also drives me crazy when one character prepares an elaborate meal for the rest of their family, and the family barely touches the food before heading out the door. Thus, one of my favorite scenes in Robin Hood It is a quiet scene where Brigid, Robin/Randolph, and Margaret eat soup together. Is it rare to have a director who cares so much about eating scenes?
This is fun. This is funny, isn’t it? I love to eat. It’s a big part of our lives, and something we often share with others. So I’m with you. When there is a dining scene on screen, I will notice the actors moving their food around their plate.
or They will have a huge array of food hidden in their cheek.
Yes, I say: “You have to eat the food!” (He laughs.) But that soup scene is a pretty big scene within the movie, and I’m glad you enjoyed it. What I remember most about this scene is that I had to hold the bowls in such a way that my thumbs were going into the soup to carry them.
I just got this exactly Conversation with Rebecca Hallit was just Seth Rogen’s thumb in the cappuccino he gave her studio. It’s very strange that you brought this up.
(He laughs.) Yes, it’s like you’re in a restaurant and someone brings you soup or cappuccino and sticks their thumb in it. The spoon was very large and also wooden. It was all so true at the time and so transformative. There’s an intimacy when sharing a meal with someone, and I feel like I’ve done a lot of that, honestly. Villanelle[on[onKilling Eve]He was eating all the time, so I would do anything that made it seem more true to life.
I don’t know about you, but I live alone. If I’m home and I’m eating, I eat like a wild animal. I probably ate half the meal while it was cooking. There’s something very chaotic about our identity when we’re alone.
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The death of Robin Hood Now showing in cinemas.
