Aaron Pierre is on his way to becoming a star. ‘Rebel Ridge’ tells you why

Growing up in West Croydon, London, Pierre was interested in track and field. He thought gold medal-winning sprinter Maurice Greene was the coolest man on earth. Pierre ran the 60 meters, 100 meters and the second leg of the 4×100 meter relay.

“One thing that’s been drilled into me is to stay calm in high-pressure situations — man, one of these relays is the second leg,” Pierre says, speaking over Zoom from his apartment in Los Angeles. “When the whole school is outside and you get that baton, you just have to put one foot in front of the other.”

How quickly Pierre can put one foot in front of the other is interesting not just because of the rapid pace of his career. It’s also because the 30-year-old is extremely nimble as an actor and has an amazing staying power.

In Jeremy Sallier’s “Rebel Ridge,” a tense, suspense thriller that debuts Friday on Netflix, Pierre plays Terry Richmond, a former Marine who is stopped by police while riding his bike and has a bag of money confiscated from him — his cousin’s bail money. What follows is a tense and evolving standoff with the rural town’s corrupt police department and its chief. And until he does, Pierre’s Richmond is unflinchingly patient and fearless. He’s an exceptionally calm martial arts expert. A suave Rambo.

“I had to manipulate my mind a bit,” says Pierre. “The character that Jerry Soulier has written and created is very dangerous. Obviously, there’s a temptation to overdo it. I told Jeremy that I had to do my best to make Terry Richmond’s cool image seem normal.”

“Rebel Ridge” is one of those quintessential movie-watching experiences: Pierre is clearly on his way to becoming a star. From the moment he rides into town on his bike, he dominates the screen with a singular power. He has the body of a chiseled athlete, but he has the heavy, sad eyes and the resonant voice of an actor trained by Shakespeare.

Although Pierre has been seen in several movies and series before, “Rebel Ridge” is his first film in a lead role.

“When I was on Zoom with Aaron, all I had seen was a clip from ‘Underground Railroad,’ and that was enough to sell me,” Saulnier says. “I saw his ability. I saw his presence. I said, ‘This is it. This is my guy.'”

Saulnier, the writer-director of “Green Room” and “Blue Ruin,” is one of the most talented genre craftsmen in Hollywood. “Rebel Ridge” is his first film in seven years, but it serves as a reminder of his skill at giving thrillers a worldly authenticity and rich atmosphere.

“I miss the texture,” says Soulier. “Like seeing the shocks on the cars and knowing you’re in a real vehicle, even when you’re doing dialogue scenes. That level of verisimilitude, I think, is being removed from filmmaking. If top-tier filmmakers with $100 million-plus budgets can’t sell dialogue scenes in car interiors, then we should just go back to basics.”

Sallier had previously cast John Boyega in “Rebel Ridge,” but Boyega left the film just before production began. Sallier calls that severance “water under the bridge.”

“John and I both agree that this was the best path for both of us. There’s no malice in it whatsoever,” says Soulier. “Whatever pressure system was created when we were trying to cast that role resulted in a very unique experience. When I watch the film and how people are reacting to it now, it’s undeniable what a brilliant actor Aaron Pierre is.”

Pierre grew up on a council estate in West Croydon. He says his father is an actor, teacher and life coach; his mother, among other things, has been a project manager. He talks fondly about her and his London youth.

“West Croydon is my favourite place in the world. It’s contributed a lot to who I am today,” says Pierre. “It really instilled in me the importance of purpose. It’s also contributed a lot to the way I view my journey, my career journey. For me, as passionate as I am about what I do and I wouldn’t want to do anything else, I’m a son, I’m a brother, I’m a friend. I’m so much more than just an actor.”

Pierre began acting as a teenager and eventually graduated from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. In the summer of 2018, he landed the role of Cassio in a production of “Othello” at the Globe Theatre, starring Andre Holland and Mark Rylance. Barry Jenkins saw it and messaged Pierre via Twitter that night. “I was sure someone was making fun of me,” Pierre laughs. This led to “The Underground Railroad.”

Pierre began to recognize himself as a screen actor while working with Jenkins. He says Jenkins taught him to value truth and honesty above all else in acting. On his first day on set, Jenkins confronted him about a crucial scene he didn’t like.

Pierre laughed and said, “Barry came up to me and said, ‘Aaron, I really liked your first few takes, but we haven’t gotten to the truth yet. I want you to find the truth, and I want you to find it now because the sun is about to set.'”

However, “Rebel Ridge” presented a number of new demands, including being the first one on the call sheet. The pandemic and Boyega’s unexpected exit led to a troubled road to production for the film. But Saulnier remained committed to making it exactly what he envisioned.

“There were definitely a couple of turns along the way where I could have backed out and been fine,” says Saulnier. “I prepared myself and made sure that whatever version we came up with, if it wasn’t the best version, it would have been better to put it on the shelf. The fight was to hold the line on quality.”

Soulier was inspired by real-life examples of civil asset forfeiture, in which police can seize money based on mere suspicion. Soulier admits that “Rebel Ridge,” which portrays a black man caught up in Southern racism, has some of the trappings of films like “Mississippi Burning.” But Pierre’s Richmond is a more modern man, facing a prejudice that’s only gone below the surface, hidden under a legal veil.

“One of the many things I loved about this character was his ability to control his emotions, even in moments that are undeniably, obviously unjust and intentionally so,” Pierre says. “He does it in a way that’s not so performative and so arrogant that even when he talks about how patient he is with you, you still might not fully understand. He doesn’t show off his extensive martial arts certifications or resume. He’s simply trying to let you know that you’re approaching a limit.”

For Soulier, “Rebel Ridge” is his first film that relies less on high levels of brutality, despite being steeped in ominous, shadowy darkness. Instead, “Rebel Ridge” is a slow-burning warm-up fueled by Pierre’s calm performance.

“This moment has been a long time coming,” Pierre says gratefully. “And I’m just doing my best to be present in it.”

This article is generated from an automated news agency feed without any modifications to the text.