Rory McCann and Jack Lowden Talk Their Thrilling New Heist Film Tornado

Stars Rory McCann and Jack Lowden recently offered an inside look at their new period action drama, Tornado, in an exclusive interview with ComicBook. The film, written and directed by John Maclean, follows a young woman named Tornado (Kōki) as she flees a ruthless gang of highwaymen led by the relentless Sugarman (Tim Roth). McCann, known for his memorable role as The Hound in Game of Thrones, and Lowden, who has garnered acclaim for his versatile performances, discussed their experiences working on the film, sharing anecdotes about co-star Roth, their approaches to their characters, and the unique atmosphere of the production. Their insights paint a picture of a challenging yet rewarding shoot for this visually driven heist film.

“I couldn’t believe I was working with Tim Roth,” McCann shared his excitement about collaborating with veteran actor. “That was quite a delight. He’s pretty chatty, and he’s up for telling stories while they’re changing cameras or waiting for a storm to pass. We’re in a small tent, and suddenly he’s talking about working with [Quentin] Tarantino. We’re all going, ‘Oh yeah, here we go, this is what we want. Tell us more stories, tell us who else is a bastard.’ He was good fun, he was a delight to work with.” McCann also mentioned missing out on working with Joanne Whalley-Kilmer, noting a personal connection: “She was the first-ever actor that I ever saw acting. I got a job in Willow in 1987, just by chance.”

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“I don’t think I was there for the Tarantino,” Lowden said, while also revealing he had many stories about Roth. “I think I was probably trying to be cool and aloof and not ask him anything, but what I did ask him about was the film that he did where he played Oliver Cromwell called To Kill a King, which is one of my favourite films. Tim was devilishly good in that, and so I was asking him about that.” 

Jack Lowden Plays Tim Roth’s Son in Tornado

Regarding the on-set dynamics, Lowden emphasized how Roth played a key role in the making of Tornado. “Tim just used to hit me a lot before takes, which is frowned upon,” Lowden joked, before clarifying. “No, it was fairly … We had no rehearsals. We had no time. It was fairly instantaneous. The fact that Tim’s as good as he is, that normally just takes care of it. John’s one of these directors who is very good at trusting his actors, and he just gets out of the way. If he sees anything that’s sh-t or if anything that could be better, he’ll say, but he ultimately trusts you. I, ultimately, obviously trust Tim Roth. So it was wonderful.”

“‘Little’ in front of anybody’s name tells you a lot,” Lowden told us about his character, “Little Sugar,” the son of Roth’s Sugarman. “And it tells you even more when the director asks you to play it and you’re 6’1″. So I instantly loved, I loved that,” Lowden shared. “And [Tim Roth’s] character being called ‘Sugar Man,’ I couldn’t get the song ‘Sinner Man’ out of my head every time someone said his name, though. It has Little John vibes, which I really like.”

Lowden described his character, Little Sugar, as someone for whom “violence has always been the answer,” emulating his father and their surroundings. However, he doesn’t necessarily see an innate evil in him. “I think he just hates the fact that there’s a gang, that he doesn’t have his father’s attention all the time,” Lowden mused. “I think he might’ve gone on to be something in a different environment, but I think greed is just the real driver of everything for him and his father.”

“The thing about this film is that it’s an ode to cinema and it’s a very, very visual, heavily reliant on the visuals,” Lowden also explained about Tornado. “John was very adamant. He was very clear, very quickly. He was like, ‘Jack, a lot of this is just gonna be you leaning against trees, dude, is that okay?’ I was like, ‘Yes, John, whatever you want.’”

McCann’s Tornado Role and Moving On From Westeros

“They’re looking for a big, bad guy – this is bad guys chasing the good guys – I physically look like that,” McCann reflected on often being cast in historical or physically imposing roles. “I don’t really go into more contemporary things, I think, because of my size. It’s almost comedy casting, as well. I’m 6’6″. Unless you’ve got someone 6′ beside me, it’s hard to even do a two-shot with. Maybe that’s why I end up doing these big, crazy characters.” When asked about the contrast between playing The Hound in Game of Thrones and a character named Kitten in Tornado, McCann admitted, “I didn’t even think about that. I am trying to think even why I was named Kitten… I actually don’t know. I should have read the script.” He humorously attributed some memory loss to the camaraderie on set: “The problem is they hired a pub for the whole shoot… I think he [McCann] told me a lot, and I can’t remember.”

“I had such a great time there,” McCann said about Game of Thrones. “I think I was on there for nine years. I was there at the very beginning, even for the pilot. So it was time to move on, of course. Happy times, but it was definitely time to move on. You don’t want to spend more than nine years on one job, so I’m just waiting for the next one. Well, mind you, I’ve got the next one. I’m growing my beard for something else.” After Tornado, McCann will be seen next on Season 2 of Ahsoka, where he’ll take the role of Baylan Skoll from the late Ray Stevenson.

Tornado was released in theaters on May 30 for a limited run, before moving to Shudder at a later date.

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