Exclusive Interview: Kat Graham and Ryan Phillippe Talk Collide

Kat Graham and Ryan Phillippe are two of the stars of the must-see new film, Collide.

A gripping thriller chronicling three couples over the course of one fateful night in an LA restaurant. Hunter (Ryan Phillippe) finds himself on an awkward blind date with the captivating Tamira (Kat Graham), while a busboy (Dylan Flashner) and his girlfriend (Aisha Dee) are hiding mounds of cocaine to score a big payday, and outside, Peter (Jim Gaffigan) sits in his car observing his wife’s (Drea de Matteo) infidelity with the restaurant’s manager (David Cade). Though all strangers, their stories are weaved together as they hurl towards an explosive end.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Kat and Ryan about Collide, how they prepared to tackle their characters’ emotional arcs, and more.

PC: Kat, your character has dealt with so much grief and adversity in her life, and you handle that with so much nuance. As an actress, how did you create this space for yourself to dive into her emotional past?
Kat: I did a lot of prep work. I’m not somebody that ever would take full credit because I work with this woman named Ivana Chubbuck who does a lot of the heavy lifting with everything that I do. I always rely on my coaches, for sure. You can do a lot of great work off screen, but if you don’t have a great actor to work with, a lot of your beats can fall flat and you don’t get to where you need to get to. Thankfully, I got to share the space with Ryan who made me feel so safe and supported. Between both of them, they helped me get to where I wanted this character to live energetically.

Ryan: I’ve gotta say that Kat is such an intense actress and so powerful. The material is pitched in such a way emotionally that she legitimately scared me to the point where I went to the director and was like, “I’m kind of freaked out.” He was like, “Exactly. That’s exactly how you should feel. That’s the situation.” She brought the heat for sure.

PC: There’s so much great tension between your two characters. Ryan, in addition to the work that you’ve done on screen, you’ve also written, directed, and produced. How has your experience behind the camera impacted the way that you approach your work on screen, specifically with this character who’s coming to terms with the fact that his life of privilege has been built on the suffering of others?
Ryan: Yeah. Firstly, I would say that those roles are very different for me. When I’m working on something as just an actor, I try to fully immerse myself in whatever is required for the character. When you’re a producer or filmmaker, you’re micromanaging everything. You usually give yourself over as fully as you do when you’re just acting.

I’ve always struggled with the notion of privilege. I didn’t grow up with a lot of money, but I am White. There are certain privileges that go along with that obviously. But going into playing this character who comes from such a sordid background and is confronted with that, those are themes and messages that have always been relevant and have always been on my mind. So delving into and exploring what that is and coming to terms with those types of lives was of interest to me. As awkward as it feels when you’re watching it, that’s the way it should be.

That’s the way it was written in that realm. When we sat down to work together, we hadn’t spent much time together before. You’re seeing us meet for the first time and exploring what these characters are going through and what their backgrounds are in real time.

Kat: It was really brave of Ryan to take this role because it’s the same kind of bravery that Edward Norton had when he did American History X, putting yourself into a character’s shoes and having to create empathy and compassion. It’s super, super brave as an actor to make decisions to take a role like this and bring it to life. You feel for that character still. He did a remarkable job in it, for sure!

Make sure to follow Kat (Twitter/Instagram) and Ryan (Twiter/Instagram). Collide is out now in theaters and on-demand on August 12.