Interview by Michael J. Lee, Executive Editor for RadioFree.com
July 17, 2022

A cunning student learns that winning at any cost has its consequences in the young adult comedy Honor Society.

Determined to secure her collegiate future, Machiavellian high school senior Honor Rose (Angourie Rice) sets out to eliminate her academic competition for a coveted recommendation for Harvard from their guidance counselor Mr. Calvin (Christopher Mintz-Plasse). Identifying bullied outcast Michael (Gaten Matarazzo), antisocial creative Kennedy (Amy Keum), and lacrosse captain Travis (Armani Jackson) as her chief rivals, Honor conspires to sabotage their grades with extracurricular distractions. But as she works her way into their lives, she encounters unexpected obstacles forcing her to re-evaluate her personal priorities.

Since her scene-stealing, breakout role in 2016's The Nice Guys alongside Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling, Angourie Rice has compiled an impressive list of credits that includes Sofia Coppola's The Beguiled, the fantasy romance Every Day, a memorable installment of the dystopian anthology series Black Mirror, HBO's acclaimed drama Mare of Easttown, and a recurring stint in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the journalistic Betty Brant from the franchise's Spider-Man films. In addition to her acting endeavors, she cultivates her love of books as host of a podcast called The Community Library.

In this exclusive interview, Angourie talks about her experience of working on Honor Society, comparing and contrasting her own life to that of her onscreen alter ego.

Honor Society is streaming now exclusively on Paramount+.

RadioFree.com: Based on your social media, you're clearly a voracious reader--you take pictures of books and you have a podcast for books. Is it safe to assume you had a love for academics growing up, and how did you compare to Honor as a student?

ANGOURIE: Yes, you are correct. I was very studious, very academic as a kid. [laughs] Always loved reading, and loved it all throughout high school. And so yeah, I felt very similar to Honor. When I read the script, I saw a lot of myself in her. So that was one of the main reasons why I wanted to do the project--I felt very similar to her.

Perhaps one way in which you're dissimilar: you claim to not be good at sports, while Honor is captain of her volleyball team and founder of the karate club. So how many takes were required to movie magic the shot of Honor spiking a ball over a net?

[laughs] So many, you have no idea! We just rolled the camera and we did it maybe 35 times. I'm not exaggerating. We did it so many times. And for some reason, they were like, "Okay, you're going to hit it, you're going to hit the ball into the ground!" And maybe 10 or 15 times, I hit the camera by accident. I was hitting it, but I didn't know where it was going. I was just like, "At least I'm hitting the ball!" That's all that was my goal, and that's what I did. Let me tell you, there's a lot of smoke and mirrors. Movie magic indeed!

You've been in some action films, but haven't really had many opportunities to throw hands yourself. How did you feel about getting to put Honor's karate to use in a fight scene with co-star Miku Martineau?

It was so much fun! I was so excited for that day. We learnt the fight choreography together. It was such a busy shoot because I was in every scene, so [at] lunchtime, I would go and practice with Miku. And yeah, we had a really great time.

Honor has a very calculated and curated social media presence. When you're putting that together, do you simply contribute pictures of your own, or is it actually a day of taking in-character selfies?

It's a combination of both. So a lot of them are my pictures, and a lot of them...I took home maybe three or four outfits from costumes, and I did a day of selfies myself.

As an actor, do you have any sort of specific routines before starting a role, similar to the regimented ritual Honor goes through to begin her day?

No, I don't! [laughs] Usually, I'm a very routine, focused person, but when it comes to working, I'm tired in the morning and I'm tired when I come home. So I do what needs to get done in whatever order works, whatever's convenient, whatever's right there. I don't have a routine. [laughs]

Have you read anything recently featuring a character you'd like to play in a film adaptation, either because you connected to them, or because you thought it might be an interesting challenge?

Good question! Ummm...The things I've been reading recently, there haven't really been any characters that I feel like I could play. But I am re-reading Pride and Prejudice at the moment. I mean, it's always a dream to be in a Jane Austen adaptation for me, so... [laughs]

Any interest in trying your hand at writing?

I love writing. I've always loved writing, and something that's really interesting to me is having full control over a story. The actor comes in at the last minute...And I love acting--it's what I've always loved doing--but yeah, the idea of creating a story...I love that idea.

Can't wait to see what you're doing next...Thanks for your time today!

Thank you so much! Bye!

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