This piece contains spoilers for “Rebel Ridge,” which premiered on Netflix on Sept. 6.
Aaron Pierre recalled exactly how he felt when he reached the end of the script for Netflix’s “Rebel Ridge.”
In the high-velocity action-thriller, the 30-year-old actor plays an ex-marine named Terry Richmond who, after a volatile encounter with a pair of dirty cops, faces off against an entire, nearly all-white police force. In perhaps the film’s biggest twist, Pierre’s character survives the violent battle — which includes shootouts, hand-to-hand combat and even jiu-jitsu — through the very end, something even he couldn’t believe initially.
“I remember the first time I read it. Of course, on the way to the end of the script, I was super hyped, and I was on this wild, energized ride with Terry,” Pierre said over Zoom. “But I did have this nervousness when I was reading it for the first time, like, ‘All of this is cool and dope, but what’s going to happen to my boy?’”
From the start, “Rebel Ridge” thrusts Terry into an unraveling tale about systemic injustice, institutional corruption, prejudice and greed in the small Southern town of Shelby Springs. It begins with the protagonist on an urgent mission to post bail for his cousin, who’s been arrested. Along the way, he’s abruptly stopped by the police, who seize his life savings and derail his plan to save his cousin’s life. His means of resolution almost turn deadly during a fight with local police Chief Sandy Burnne (Don Johnson), especially after Terry uncovers a sinister criminal conspiracy stemming from the police department. However, unlike the common outcome we see in real-life escalated situations involving Black people and police, director-writer Jeremy Saulnier envisioned a different conclusion for Terry — one where the Black man lives.
“I wanted to see if I can get this guy across the finish line,” Saulnier said of the movie’s intentions on Zoom. “If so, how might that actually play out? Because we all know, having Terry Richmond go toe-to-toe with the officers, certain things needed to happen to get him across the finish line. I was very cognizant of that as a storyteller and always looking for plausibility and emotional truth.”
Saulnier knows his graphic filmography (“Blue Ruin,” “Green Room,” “Hold the Dark”) over the years has “filled my audiences with dread.” Even “Rebel Ridge” carries the threat of violence over just about every moment in the filmmaker’s two-hour-plus film, up until the very last scene. But with his new Netflix offering, Saulnier wanted to spare audiences another “gut punch” by achieving a story that captured the spirit of classic American action and addressed some of the country’s most taboo subjects: race and policing.
Saulnier wrote the script for “Rebel Ridge” in 2018, inspired by the concept of civil asset forfeiture, a legal way the government can seize property suspected of being linked to criminal activity without formally charging someone with a crime. Terry wrestles with this predicament throughout the movie’s first half, which, unfortunately, leads to the death of his cousin. However, it sets up an explosive back half of the film, in which he surprisingly escapes impossible circumstances to uncover a deep-rooted scheme that’s taken hold of the local township.
The twist-and-turn plot hooked Pierre, who stepped into the role of Terry after John Boyega’s 2021 departure, although Pierre credited Saulnier’s “beautiful screenplay” wholly for getting him fully onboard.
“It’s not every day that an opportunity like this presents itself,” Pierre said of his leading action role. “The script is of such a high quality that I was immediately thrilled to even be in connection with it. And when I got connected with Jeremy, that was one of the first things I articulated to him — the nuance, details and dynamic nature of not only the script but all of the characters. It just is a beautiful screenplay. So, for me, it was undeniable. There’s no world where I would’ve said anything but yes to be part of this project.”
Saying yes to the pulse-pounding action and gripping story at the center of “Rebel Ridge” was easy for Pierre. Going into production, he came prepared with a support system he developed early on in his career to shield his mental health in situations where he knew he’d be triggered — like portraying a man oppressed by a system that was never designed to protect him.
“I knew that, as a Black man, I wanted to, in my career, pursue telling stories that made my community, my diaspora, feel seen and heard,” Pierre said. “So I knew that on that journey, I would be in situations where I would have to allow myself to be vulnerable, to be triggered. In the context of film, cinema, television and theater, I will do that always because I feel like that’s a small way that I can make my community feel seen, respected and appreciated.”
The hard part for Pierre began with his endless hours of action training to build Terry’s muscular physique and prepare his innate survival skills for the big screen, not to mention getting acquainted with the source material that resonated in more ways than one. Though the actor grew up across the pond in south London, away from the issues of modern America, he found common ground with Terry’s “fiercely loyal” pursuit of justice.
“Terry embodies characteristics that I greatly admire,” Pierre said “His capacity to be centered, grounded, assured and have this mental clarity in any situation, that’s something that I really aspire to have.”
One instance Pierre brought up that highlights those traits is in the final moments of “Rebel Ridge,” where Terry sets off a showdown between himself and the cops and threatens to expose a townwide money scheme Sandy concocted to resolve a wrongful death settlement. One by one, he picks off the horde of officers through a sea of flying bullets and tear gas as he races to turn over evidence of the cops’ corruption. It’s an incredibly calculated, high-action sequence that teases Terry’s presumed demise but becomes his satisfying hero moment.
“I just felt this wave of relief, of joy, that he survived such tumultuous and volatile situations,” Pierre said of his reaction to Terry’s fate. “I felt that that is something that would resonate with people when they watched it.”
Saulnier echoed similar sentiments about his movie’s resolute ending, adding, “The film is certainly harrowing at times, but some people have a euphoric response to [Terry surviving], whether it be wish fulfillment or seeing the sky through to the end. It’s a new kind of feedback for me, and it’s pretty addictive to hear [audiences] screaming, laughing and clapping with joy.”
Pierre looks forward to viewers’ reactions to the action-packed thrills and emotionally charged scenes that he and the “Rebel Ridge” crew poured so much into. To him, the best reward is knowing audiences will, hopefully, be intensely moved by this project he holds so near and dear.
“We all were so invested. I think for that reason, on the days where there were emotional scenes, we all felt it,” Pierre said. “And that actually led to us all having the capacity to empathize and hold each other and love on each other during this intense but beautiful shoot that we would do an infinite amount of times. Again, this movie, it’s something I really hold close to my heart.”