A little over a year after The CW’s Batwoman came to an end, Javicia Leslie is lighting up the screen in a new project — Double Life. The high-octane thriller hits theaters and digital this Friday, May 5th, and marks the latest, and possibly most action-packed, blockbuster for Leslie yet. In Double Life, a grieving widow (Pascale Hutton) learns from her late husband’s mistress (Leslie) that his death was no accident. The two women will form an unlikely alliance to uncover the truth behind his murder and unmask the man they both loved. Double Life also stars Vincent Gale, Nial Matter, Aaron Douglas, John Cassini, William MacDonald, Carmen Moore, B.J. Harrison, and Kaaren de Zilva. It is directed by Martin Wood, with a script from Chris Sivertson.
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ComicBook.com recently chatted with Leslie about working on Double Life, and the ways that the film challenged her acting, and even directing, skills. We also spoke about the continued legacy of Batwoman, the reaction to Leslie’s return as Red Death on The Flash, and her role in the upcoming dramedy pilot HPI.
Great Experience
ComicBook.com: What drew you to want to be a part of Double Life?
Javicia Leslie: I grew up watching female-led action films, and I’ve always loved them. I’ve always thought they were so cool. I remember you would see Halle Berry in some of her action films, and I was seeing Sandra Bullock and Julia Roberts in those films. We don’t get them enough. They haven’t really been a strong statement since the ’90s. So when this opportunity came up, when Martin sent me the script, I knew this was something I really wanted to indulge in. And at the time, I didn’t yet know who my costar was going to be. So when I came out to Vancouver and met Pascale, it was like the icing on the cake. It’s funny ’cause I think we’re the same, but also very much the opposite, and then also the opposite of our characters. We had a lot of fun making fun with each other, but also making fun with our characters. And it was just fun. It was a great experience. I really enjoyed it.
Dynamic
I was going to ask about you and Pascale, because you both carry the movie so brilliantly. What was it like to find that dynamic between your two characters?
When you have two women that are in the kind of situation that they’re in, they’re not supposed to get along. They’re not supposed to want to be friends and work together. And obviously, it doesn’t start off like that, but I think at the end of the day, what it kind of shows is that women are stronger together than divided.
Similarities
There were a lot of elements of Jo’s backstory, particularly her family history, that reminded me a lot of Ryan on Batwoman. Did that have an impact on how you played her?
I tried to make sure that it wasn’t like that. There were a lot of similarities when we first started, like Jo working at a bar, and that’s where Ryan started. And obviously, Jo’s mother dying and things like that. I had a conversation with Martin about that like, “We got to kind of pull away from some similarities.” But in truth, there really isn’t. It’s just like if me as Javicia, who’s a bartender, if I have a circumstance like what happened to Jo with her boyfriend, and Jo as a bartender has a circumstance that what happens with my boyfriend, we’re still going to look at it different, because there’s so many other things in our life that are different, that impact who we are today.
So it was my job, as an actress, to find the differences between Jo and Ryan. And I did, and it’s easier. It was fun when we did that. I don’t think we’ve ever really seen that version of Ryan. We got a little sexy towards the end of Batwoman, but this movie started from sexiness.
Stunts
How did your action work on Batwoman and your other previous projects kind of help you with the action scenes on Double Life?
That’s funny because my stunt double comes from Batwoman.
Oh, nice.
I think that I understand the language. I think when you first get into stunts, you just need to understand what they’re saying, like, “Okay, this is when you come in, this is when you leave out. We’re going to have your stunt double for this part. You’re going to do this part. What can you do? What can’t you do? What are you comfortable with doing? What you’re not comfortable with doing?” And then our stunt coordinator specifically, already knew my stunt coordinator from Batwoman so he kind of knew what I was able to do, which made everything very easy and seamless. So yeah, I think from this point on, that just continues to add to my ability to be able to do stunts.
Favorites
If you had to pick one scene in the movie that was your favorite to film, what would it be?
It’s funny because I think what makes my favorite scenes aren’t necessarily what happens in the movie. It’s what happens on set. But we did a scene in the office — this is when we go to check out his office — and while we’re waiting for them to set up, we have a speaker, we’re playing “I’m Every Woman”, which is my favorite song. And everybody on set — male, female, every age, every race — everyone knows the song. And just to see this many people sing it and just turn up and have such a good time and come to life because of a commonality like music. It was so beautiful to me.
Directing
What would you say surprised you the most about the experience of working on Double Life?
Well, I shadowed Martin Wood as a director. Oh yeah, speaking of my favorite thing, one of the last scenes before I finished, before I wrapped, I shot.
Oh wow!
Really cool, yeah. And so I think what surprised me, is just how much that is a passion of mine. I can’t wait to really have the opportunity to direct. And so, it was really an honor to be able to do that with Martin.
If you got the opportunity, would you be interested in directing any of the DC related stuff? I know a lot of your Arrowverse co-stars have done that in the past.
We were supposed to do that, before we ended. So yeah, for sure. Whatever show I do next, I want to direct.
Co-Stars
One of your other co-stars on the movie, Carmen Moore, was also on The Flash. Did that come up at all? Did you guys talk about that at all when you were on set?
Of course! [When I saw her, I was like] ‘Carmen!’ and she was like ‘Javicia!’ And then we took a picture and sent it to Martin. I didn’t expect that, but I do know she’s on the show and has been on the show for a while. And it was really just great to be able to do work with her. She’s so amazing. Yeah, I had a good time.
Takeaway
What do you hope people take away from Double Life, once they watch it?
What if you just want to watch a fun movie? Sometimes you just want to watch a thriller that has you on the edge of your seat. You don’t know what’s going to happen. You don’t know who the bad guy is. That’s another great thing about this movie, you really don’t know who the bad guy is, and there’s a little twist. I love any movies with twists, and so it reminds me really of a classic thriller, like a classic crime whodunit.
Red Death
What was your favorite reaction to the Red Death arc on The Flash?
I think people didn’t know that I would be able to go there. You know what I mean? Especially fans of Batwoman, they’ve only seen such a tame, positive light when it comes to Ryan. And so to see me play in that world of evil and maniacal, I don’t think that they expected that. I didn’t expect it. I know when we were on set, the directors just kept saying, ‘No, go.’ I’m like, ‘Keep going?’ ‘Yes, keep going, go further.’ I’m like, ‘Really?’ They’re like, ‘Yes, unhinge, unhinge.’ So to be able to play in that, I was scared sh-tless. But when it came out and I got to see it, I was like, ‘Aw, this is fun.’
Ryan
if you got the opportunity to play Ryan again, or revisit her story in any way, what would you most want to explore?
Definitely more stunts. I think that Ryan’s fighting sequences are really great because she’s not a superhero, so it’s not really… I mean, she’s a superhero. She doesn’t have magic power, so it’s not like she’s like, “Da da da da.” It’s like fight scenes, and I love that. I love the fight sequences. I would just more Gotham, I would love to explore more Gotham instead of putting her somewhere else. What else can we do in Gotham? Gotham is such a cool world, and it’s a world that I grew up reading and watching and being entertained by. And so I think there’s still so much to play with in that world.
HPI
You mentioned the next show that you’re working on. What can you tease about HPI? That does sound like a very cool project and I was very excited to hear that you’re part of it.
It’s fun! Yeah. It’s funny, because I feel like it’s a dramedy, but more on the comedy than the drama. And all of the actors, I had so much fun with. We were in Vancouver again. I think everything comes to Vancouver at this point. But this time, it’s such a great cast and I had such a good time, and Drew Goddard, Rob, all of them, they did such a great job with the script. It’s one of those shows I think everyone’s really, really going to enjoy. And Kaitlin is just amazing. I hadn’t met her before and I don’t know that I had really had the opportunity yet to watch her. And then as soon as I got to work with her, I’m like, “I got to watch everything she’s done!” Because she’s so good. It was a lot of fun.
