Exclusive: Director Anthony Mandler Remembers Michael K. Williams in Surrounded

Surrounded stars Letitia Wright as Moses Washington, a former slave and Union soldier who masquerades as a man. The story takes place five years after the Civil War. Washington has a claim for land in Colorado. She endures cruelty and racism while securing a stagecoach ride out west. They’re ambushed by notorious bank robber Tommy Walsh (Jamie Bell) and his gang. A firefight results in Washington capturing Walsh as they wait for the sheriff’s posse in the unforgiving wilderness. He recognizes her as a woman. Washington must defend herself from attackers, the elements, and Walsh’s murderous subterfuge.

Famed photographer and music video director Anthony Mandler spoke with MovieWeb about his second feature. Surrounded became a vastly different film after Wright’s involvement. The original plot had “a woman and African-American man” surviving in a “theater-like” setting. Mandler saw “an opportunity to do more” after learning about Cathay Williams. She pretended to be William Cathay and enlisted in the army as a Buffalo Soldier. Wright’s character was modeled after Williams to reflect themes of racial and gender inequity.

Surrounded’s characters “suffer from loss and deep trauma.” They unexpectedly bond because Walsh understands Washington’s struggles. Mandler embraced “the opportunity to play with classic Western tropes and put them on their heads.” He and Wright added “layers” to Washington that explained her gritty resolve. Everyone looks for “love, salvation, and acceptance.” It’s ironic that Washington can be her true self around a dangerous criminal.

Surrounded marks the final performance of the brilliant Michael K. Williams. He has a fantastic cameo as a duplicitous bounty hunter. Mandler knew Williams for decades and considered him “family.” He extols Williams as “an actor who can control power with a dial.” He had the ability to be transformative by “doing so little.” As Mandler explained:

Mandler was able to show Williams the film “a month before his death.” He keeps a picture of the actor on his fireplace; he “loved” Williams dearly and is “torn apart that he’s not with us.”

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Letitia Wright as Moses Washington

MovieWeb: Letitia Wright produces and stars as a tough lead in a gritty Western with contrasting themes. Start from the beginning. How did you get involved with Surrounded?

Anthony Mandler: I was given the script by a mutual producer friend. I was really interested in the way the film used classic tropes. It brings you into what is essentially a theater-like setting. These two characters unexpectedly level up on their journeys. When I read the first script, it was not as written. It was two White male characters. I thought there was an opportunity to do more with this. Initially, we thought about a woman and an African-American man, and then stumbled across the Cathay Williams story. We took a piece of that as inspiration. I love the idea of a Black woman hiding as a man in the old west. Why? What did she have to do to survive in society and get her peace? We’re all looking for love, salvation, and acceptance.

Anthony Mandler: When you look at her character and Tommy’s character, they both suffer from deep trauma as it relates to the loss of innocence. So in constructing the character with Letitia, it was really about layering that experience. Her honesty, and her feelings, met with some history. We built it out. That’s where that came from. Once we had that, I saw the opportunity to play with classic Western tropes and turn them on their heads. Then add this social commentary. It’s me versus you. My trauma versus yours.

MW: You have a Black woman, pretending to be a man, in the old west, with a criminal who wants to kill her. But he understands who she is and actually gives her the most respect of any character in the film. Talk about the evolution of the script from the original draft?

Anthony Mandler: Once we had that new construct, we knew we had some very interesting untold stories to tell. The work with Letitia was to dig deep and find who Mo Washington would be. What makes her feel safe? What makes her dangerous? How does she perceive conflict? What’s the step-up evolution for her? That became the scene around the campfire, where she looks at this man who she has every reason in the world to hate.

Anthony Mandler: He’s created chaos. She’s lost her gold deed. Her future’s uncertain. These two people are sharing this exceptional space. They are both surrounded by vast emptiness. My feeling is she had no reason to trust anyone. But at this moment, she lets her guard down. They find each other in that way.

Related: Letitia Wright Says ‘Amazing’ Michael K. Williams Was ‘Beautiful to Work With’ on His Final Film Surrounded

Michael K. Williams’ Final Performance

MW: Michael K. Williams has a fantastic cameo here. I’m honored to have interviewed him over the years. He was such a brilliant performer. You can’t help but feel sadness seeing him. What was he like to work with on his last film?

Anthony Mandler: Michael was my friend for 20 years. He was someone I considered family. This was a conclusion of our relationship, getting to this point where we can share a film together. He was such a beautiful, kind, gentle, loving human who had this ability to play some the meanest, toughest people we’ve seen on screen. That’s not who he was. Being able to watch his transformation up close, he drowned Michael K. Williams and became Will. Who he was as an actual person doesn’t exist in Chalky White [Boardwalk Empire] or Omar [The Wire]. He was able to bring his life experiences to those characters as a vessel.

Anthony Mandler: Michael K. Williams was the opposite of those characters. The way he worked with his eyes, voice, and body…he was masterful…he could push a moment by doing so little. Some actors can control power with a little dial. Overacting…people feel they need to do too much. Jeffrey Wright is kind of the same way. It’s almost like under-acting. They have such a subtle feel on the needle. They know how to rock that thing a little bit and make it resonate.

Anthony Mandler: It was a gift to work with Michael. I got to show him the movie about a month before he passed away. We had a brotherly embrace. He was a great supporter of me…and me of him. I’ve been speaking about him today a lot. I have a great photo here [points to his fireplace] of him from 1997. I loved him dearly. I’m torn apart that he’s not with us.

Surrounded will have a VOD and digital release on June 20th from MGM.