At first glance, Deep Cover, the latest comedy from Prime Video, might not appear to be a movie inspired by true events.
In this movie, Tom Kingsley (known for Stath Lets Flats) is the director, and Bryce Dallas Howard plays a role as a comedy instructor specializing in improvisation. She finds herself enlisted by the police for an undercover mission that leads her deep into the criminal core of London.
She brings two of her pupils – a determined method actor portrayed by Orlando Bloom and an uneasy IT specialist represented by Nick Mohammed – with her on this adventure, and before long, the threesome earns respect from the criminal groups they are infiltrating as they gradually become entangled in a series of escalating perilous predicaments.
While it may initially sound unbelievable, the movie was in fact somewhat based – though not strictly adhering – on a real-life event. If this piques your curiosity, continue reading for all the details you require.
Is Deep Cover based on a true story? Writers Ben Ashenden and Alexander Owen explain
“Well, we owe the original idea to not only two other writers – but reality,” Ashenden explained.
As a movie reviewer, I stumbled upon an intriguing piece of news in New York. It appeared that the NYPD had been secretly employing actors for undercover operations, specifically targeting low-key stings such as purchasing counterfeit handbags. The reasoning behind this seemingly unconventional choice was quite fascinating: Actors are known for their ability to stay immersed in a character, a skill that apparently surpasses that of regular police officers.
They proposed: “Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly, well-recognized for their work on the Jurassic World series, initially conceived an idea and mused, ‘What if it were improv comedians instead?’ They then crafted a narrative and screenplay, but it never materialized.
Approximately ten years passed, and then we encountered Colin during his acting role in Jurassic World: Dominion. We started conversing, and I learned he is quite fond of the live comedy scene in the UK. He graciously offered us a tremendous opportunity by saying, “I’ve got this script… inspired by that concept, would you be interested in revisiting it? Revise the script. Let’s move the setting from New York to London. Use British actors for an authentic British comedy film feel.
“So yeah, that’s the origin point, a glimmer of something true!”
The core storyline of the movie primarily sticks to its original concept, but in developing the three main characters, Ashenden and Owen drew significant inspiration from their personal experiences within the comedy world.
Owen clarified, “I believe we managed to incorporate valuable aspects into the psychological portrayal of our three principal characters. Our aim for these three characters was to offer distinct viewpoints regarding live performances.
In this movie, Bryce Dallas Howard plays an accomplished improvisational comedian who conducts classes. Orlando Bloom portrays an actor who employs improvisation as a means to refine his character performances, although he’s quite intense and serious. Nick, however, is not a performer by trade; instead, he’s enrolled in the improv comedy class to boost his communication abilities, and he’s incredibly anxious about it.
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Thus, it seems we incorporated traits from people we’re familiar with when creating the characters of Bryce and Orlando!
Mohammed continued, “At first, I doubted my own recollections, thinking they were fabricated. However, as it turned out, they were rooted in a minor occurrence, albeit far from the dramatic events portrayed in the movie.
“But yeah, it’s really… I mean, it sounds like the premise to a film, which it obviously is now!”
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2025-06-12 12:34