Michelle Dockery Praises Flight Risk’s Unique Script

Michelle Dockery finds herself in a precarious position in Flight Risk. Dockery stars as US Marshal Madolyn Harris alongside Mark Wahlberg (Daryl Booth / The Pilot) and Topher Grace (Winston) in this Mel Gibson-directed film. Madolyn is tasked with flying Winston, an accountant serving as an informant against a high-profile crime family, from his hideout in Alaska to New York City. Things turn sideways when Daryl, their pilot, reveals himself to be a hitman tasked with killing Winston.

Flight Risk is not the first time that Dockery has took to the skies for a major motion-picture. She previously starred opposite Liam Neeson in 2014’s Non-Stop. Outside of her pair of airborne projects, Dockery is best known for playing Lady Mary Crawley in the Downton Abbey franchise, a role for which she has received three Primetime Emmy Award nominations.

In celebration of Flight Risk hitting theaters, ScreenRant spoke with Dockery to discuss who her character of Madolyn Harris is, how she maintains her composure in such a high-stress environment, what it was like to film on one setting opposite just two actors, and how it feels to say goodbye to Downton Abbey later this year.

How Does Michelle Dockery’s Madolyn Keep Her Composure?

“She’s really needing to prove herself to her peers…”

ScreenRant: You play Madolyn Harris, a US Marshal. I would love to know just a little bit about who she is and what she does in order to maintain her composure in such a high-stress environment.

Michelle Dockery: That is one of the key things, in order to be a state marshal, is that you keep your composure in situations that are very, very difficult. I mean, it is the number one part of your responsibility as a state marshal. It is very important to stay calm and to address the situation in the best possible way without it escalating into something that you don’t want it to escalate to. Whereas, and in this film, it’s kind of out of her control, of course, what happens, but she is responsible for arresting federal subjects and escorting them from one place to another. So she’s very responsible for this person, and as the film plays out, you discover that her career has had some kind of ups and downs.

So this one, she’s really needing to prove herself to her peers and her seniors in order to get the job done and to show that she is really capable. There is a huge spanner that’s thrown in the works and she’s really challenged and she has to find a way out of it. It’s an incredible part. I loved it when I first read it. I just thought, ‘Wow, I’ve never read anything like this before.’ And I’ve got so much respect for state marshals and what they do, and my God, if any of them were put in this type of situation, hats off to anyone who does it.

Flight Risk Operates Akin To A Stage Production

Dockery Stars Opposite Two Actors In One Setting

You’re in such a unique circumstance as an actor in this film. You’re starring opposite basically only two other screen partners in Mark and Topher, and the entire film takes place essentially just in this plane. What were some of the challenges that you faced, and maybe even luxuries of only working with two other people and also only being in one setting?

Michelle Dockery: Yeah, it sort of had both. I mean, I really loved that it almost felt like a play. It was just three characters in this one setting for 90 minutes. I mean, it is a really unusual script to read. And the challenges were the minute we saw the plane is stepped up onto the plane and you realize you can’t stand upright. It’s like four foot. There’s very little that you can do on it. From day one, we just had time to explore what we could actually do and how much physically we could do. And it had such a brilliant creative team on this. Amazingly talented people across special effects. The hydraulics of plane, I mean, all of it was just incredible. So as an actor, all you had to do really was your job and navigate how you play out these moments. The fight sequences were a challenge because of course they are in such a small space, but Mark has such a great stunt team who he has such a brilliant shorthand with who choreographed them all really, really well. So it was really exciting. The whole thing was just really fun to be part of.

Michelle Dockery Says Goodbye To Downton Abbey This Year

“We really relished every minute…”

Before I let you go, I obviously know your work in Downton Abbey from over the years. I know you got the third film in the trilogy coming out later this year. Was there any sense of finality when you were shooting that? Did it feel like the end of a franchise or do you think there’s still more to explore?

Michelle Dockery: Look, I think with anything, a show that’s loved that much, I think there’s probably more to explore in the future. But for now, it was the final film. So going into it, knowing that it was the last one, we really relished every minute and we’re such a family. We’ve been doing this for 15 years. So it was emotional knowing that this would be the last.

About Flight Risk (2025)

In this high-stakes suspense thriller, Academy Award® nominee Mark Wahlberg (Actor in a Supporting Role, 2006 – The Departed) plays a pilot transporting an Air Marshal (Michelle Dockery) accompanying a fugitive (Topher Grace) to trial. As they cross the Alaskan wilderness, tensions soar and trust is tested, as not everyone on board is who they seem.

Source: ScreenRant Plus

Flight Risk

Release Date

January 24, 2025

Runtime

91 Minutes

Writers

Jared Rosenberg