'Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant's Jake Gyllenhaal and Dar Salim

Moviefone speaks with Jake Gyllenhaal and Dar Salim about 'Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant.' "It was inspiring and truly a fun collaboration," Gyllenhaal said.

Opening in theaters on April 21st is the new action thriller 'Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant' from acclaimed director Guy Ritchie (‘Snatch,’ ‘Aladdin,’ ‘The Gentlemen’).

What is 'Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant’ movie about?

‘Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant’ follows US Army Sergeant John Kinley (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Afghan interpreter Ahmed (Dar Salim). After an ambush, Ahmed goes to Herculean lengths to save Kinley’s life. When Kinley learns that Ahmed and his family were not given safe passage to America as promised, he must repay his debt by returning to the war zone to retrieve them before the Taliban hunts them down first.

Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant

"A bond. A pledge. A commitment."

R2 hr 3 minApr 21st, 2023

Showtimes & Tickets

Watch Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant Online

Who is in the cast of 'Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant?’

'Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant’ stars Jake Gyllenhaal (‘End of Watch,’ ‘Nightcrawler,’ ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’) as Sergeant John Kinley, and Dar Salim (‘Go With Peace, Jamil’) as Ahmed, as well as Antony Starr (‘Wish You Were Here’), Alexander Ludwig (‘The Hunger Games’), Bobby Schofield (‘Cherry’), Emily Beecham (‘Little Joe’), and Jonny Lee Miller (‘Trainspotting’).

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Jake Gyllenhaal and Dar Salim about their work on 'Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant,’ working with Ritchie, the unusual script, Salim’s approach to his character, the bond the two lead characters form, and the film’s theme of “Paying your debts.’

(L to R) Dar Salim as Ahmed and Jake Gyllenhaal as Sgt. John Kinley in The Covenant,' directed by Guy Ritchie, a Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film. Credit: Christopher Raphael / Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures. © 2023 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.

You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview with Gyllenhaal and Salim about 'Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant.’

Moviefone: To begin with, Jake, I understand this was a bit of an unusual screenplay in that it was more of a template than a full script. What was it like for you to have the experience of working with Guy Ritchie in that way, where you're really finding the scene at the beginning of each day?

Jake Gyllenhaal: I mean, Guy was explicit when he first sent the script. He said, "I'm sending you a 60-page script. Some of it is fleshed out in a certain way and some of it isn't. But we know where we're going and we know what we want to say." To me, the most important thing with a filmmaker, any storyteller, is when they know what they want to say, particularly when they can communicate it very simply, then I know that we have a touchstone. Oftentimes you can start with 110 page script and not have a touchstone. So it didn't matter the length, what mattered was the belief in the story and the storyteller. Then when we got there, it was a process of, "Okay, come to set. Here's the scenes today. How do we start working on them? What are your ideas?" Then he would write in the morning. He writes very quickly. He'd write in the morning and write us the scene. He'd either change the scene or edit it, or sometimes write the whole thing out based on his thoughts from the night before or our discussions. Then we'd go out there and we'd play it. The next day we would add on to the board. As the board got bigger, he'd be able to have more to play with and references that we had done. Then we'd start telling the story that once existed as a foundation of a home. Then we were just building every aspect of the home. It was really inspiring, and truly just a really fun collaboration. I mean, he was the leader, but to be a part of it in that way was fantastic.

Dar Salim as Ahmed in 'The Covenant,' directed by Guy Ritchie, a Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film. Credit: Christopher Raphael / Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures © 2023 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.

MF: Dar, can you talk about your approach to playing Ahmed, the bond that he forms with John, and why he's willing to risk not only his life, but his family's safety to help him?

Dar Salim: I mean, I think the bond he has with John is a reluctant one. I think that's the interesting thing about the story is they don't even like each other, these guys in the beginning, but they're just thrown into this situation where they have to trust each other slowly. Then I think what's interesting is that you see at the end of the day, that as humans so much more unites us than divides us. He's someone that you can relate to. He's a guy who will do anything to keep his family safe. He just wants to give his children the opportunities that he doesn't have himself. But even a man like that, when he's faced with the ultimate choices, it's a reminder that most of us have good in us and that we will do what's right in that moment. That's the mirror of the relationship between those two men. So that was the key to playing Ahmed, I think.

Jake Gyllenhaal as Sgt. John Kinley in 'The Covenant,' directed by Guy Ritchie, a Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film. Credit: Christopher Raphael / Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures. © 2023 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.

MF: Finally, Jake, John says something in the movie that really resonated with me. It's the idea of “Paying your debts.” Did that idea also resonate with you personally, and how does that motivate John’s actions in the second part of the film?

JG: Well, it absolutely is. It's the ultimate motivator. I mean, there's also another one, which is he has this unresolved thing in him, and he knows he won't be able to really live his life if he doesn't resolve it. It's a great paradox, the idea that someone saved your life, but you know you can't actually live the life that was saved until you help them. I think that is the story, and even when you might not like them as much as you would've liked to. I think that's the point, is that we are, as Americans, a country of heroes, often reluctant ones, but that's the fabric of who we are. The goodness in us can be brought out, and not always the ways that we think or the ways movies tell us we should. It's not sentimentalized this movie. The relationship isn't. But inside of us doing good is the action. That's what this says. That's what it's about. It's not about the words. My favorite line in it is, "I'm not here to translate. I'm here to interpret." Because it's not about the words, it's about interpreting action. That's the most important thing. It's where you can find goodness.