A young woman's getaway with her mom and her boyfriend becomes a harrowing fight for survival in Dangerous Waters. The action-thriller centers on Rose as she and her single mom Alma are invited by the latter's new beau Derek for a weekend trip on his boat in the ocean, only for vicious pirates to arrive and kill her mom and wound Derek, setting the boat ablaze and leaving he and Rose for dead, though in their efforts to survive, his motivations fall under question.

Let It Snow's Odeya Rush leads the star-studded cast of Dangerous Waters alongside Euphoria's Eric Dane, You alum Saffron Burrows and Golden Globe nominee Ray Liotta in one of his final roles. Combining a game of mental wits with survival thrills, the movie marks a promising sign for Rush's potential as a future action heroine.

Related: The 10 Best 2023 Action Movies (So Far)

In anticipation of the movie's release, Screen Rant spoke exclusively with star Odeya Rush to discuss Dangerous Waters, branching out into hard-hitting action, working closely with action genre vet Eric Dane, and lessons learned from Ray Liotta. Note: This interview was conducted during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, but the movie has an interim agreement with the union for adhering to requests.

Odeya Rush Talks Dangerous Waters

Screen Rant: Dangerous Waters is really quite the fast-paced thrill ride. What about the project really sparked your initial interest want to be a part of it?

Odeya Rush: Before I read the script, I got the call just saying that there's a film with Ray Liotta and Eric Dean. Ray, you know, I grew up with him, a million different iconic movies come to mind, so obviously, I didn't want to pass up the opportunity to work with a legend. Eric, I actually saw the [episode] with him in Euphoria the day before, and I'm just blown away with what he did with that role. So I was like, "That's so funny. I just saw him in that episode that was all about him that blew everybody away." So I was really excited to read the script. And the script definitely held up, it looked like a very scary excursion to go on, but I was up for something crazy. We said, yes, so I was like it feels like too many good things are happening here for me to say no, even though I'm scared.

I'm in the same boat as everybody with Eric in Euphoria. I'm so used to his action-genre work that that episode was just stunning to watch. Then, he comes back in the action field with this, and given his experience in this kind of genre work, how much did you really work with him to learn about stunt work and action sequences to really help be prepared for this production?

Odeya Rush: Eric's a pro, he approaches a lot of the stunt and action work with a lot of confidence. He has a lot more experience than me, so I took notes from him. We also had an incredible stunt team and my stunt double, Sonja, was just there for me every step of the way. She's so inspiring, such a bada--, and I think what I took from it was also it surprised me how much I enjoyed doing all the action work. I really, really enjoyed it.

Was there any one scene in which Sonja stepped in for you in which you wish you would have been able to have done it yourself?

Odeya Rush: You know what, there's a scene where she's drowning underwater, and I didn't tell them this, but the first movie I did, The Odd Life of Timothy Green, we had to do a scuba diving course. So I can really hold my breath, I've mastered that. I haven't done it in years, but a part of me was like, "I feel like I could have done that, at least I feel like I could have been down there for a minute." That was something that I was like if I had told them, and we trained specifically for that, [I could've done it]. We were training in a lot more stuff. For the gun stuff, we did a lot more training, but that was something that I was like, "I feel like if we decided to really tackle this for me, I could have done it." But I can't move the way she does, I don't want to take the spotlight. [Chuckles] Let's be real here, you know? Yes.

Stunt performers are incredible with the amount of movement that they have, all power to them.

Odeya Rush: Yes! Yes, definitely.

Hopefully, you'll get to put those skills to work on another project in the future, though!

Odeya Rush: I'm putting it to work on my brothers right now. You need some self-defense when you have six brothers, you know? [Chuckles]

What was it like getting to the heart of your character for this movie? She has such a relatable teenage angst, but at the same she's time really trying to find herself in this world as she goes through his harrowing journey.

Odeya Rush: I did a lot of work on her childhood, and what got her to the place that she is, what is making her so tough. You know, she's a survivor, and she's had to take care of her mom, and I think her relationship with her mom, and her relationship with her dad, those relationships are really responsible for who she is at her core. The emotional work was tough, but also we filmed everything chronologically, so it felt more honest than usual. Saffron and I had an amazing connection — Saffron played my mom — then she left, she did her death scene and then left. [Laughs] So, there's a lot of things to draw on there, I think, because of how we filmed it.

Well, that's a rarity, to say the least for chronological filming.

Odeya Rush: It's the most rare, yeah, it's nice when you can do that, it's very, very helpful.

Much of this movie is spent with you and Eric. I know I mentioned the action part earlier, but I love the sort of chess-playing dynamic that you have with each other of really not knowing the other's motives. What was that like developing that unique dynamic with him off-camera before filming began?

Odeya Rush: Eric and I got along great before filming began. He's very funny, he's a very good time. It's nice in these situations, when you're working one-on-one with an actor a lot, it's super important to get along, and he's just someone that's very easy to get along with. And also very inclusive when it comes to doing stuff outside of set, always organizing dinners, and we'd hit each other up, make sure that we're hanging out outside of set as much as possible, too, and sharing experiences. And he's Jewish, as well, so automatically, there's a bond there. [Chuckles]

I'm glad you had that rich experience with him, especially since you guys are such antagonistic to each other movie. Did you find it hard flipping that switch, given how nice of a person he was when filming wasn't happening?

Odeya Rush: I think when he flips the switch, it's so believable and so intense that I just had nothing else to do but react. I feel like he's just an amazing actor, he's very, very believable, so I feel like once we were in our scenes, I didn't have to do too much work. It was a lot of me reacting to his energy.

We can't talk about this movie without talking about Ray Liotta. Unfortunately, he passed during the production of this. What was that like for you when that happened?

Odeya Rush: Devastating, obviously, a huge loss for us and for the world. I think something that will always stay with me from the day that we shot that scene together is how generous he was, how selfless he was. He gave me way more on my coverage than he gave himself, and that was just a class act. He was so selfless and generous, and so excited to be there, and really deeply cared. I think that's something that I took with me for the rest of filming and for every movie I do, I'm going to remember that and take that.

It's a great lesson to learn from a legend like that. You obviously were excited to get to film alongside him, but was there any sort of trepidation knowing that he was this well-established veteran going into filming with him?

Odeya Rush: Of course, yeah. And it was towards the end, so I'm preparing myself and everybody is like, "Ray's coming, Ray's coming!" We all felt the weight of that, of such a great actor coming, so I think once we worked together, I was put at ease so quickly, it was like, "Okay, I don't know what I was scared of." I didn't want to fail him, I wanted to make sure that I keep my composure, but the fact that he was being so giving and caring, it was really, really a lovely experience.

I'm glad you got to have that, it sounds like one that'll carry on forward. Now, I also found the locations of this film really quite interesting as well. I'm sure many of the boat scenes weren't able to be filmed in the middle of the ocean, or at least the interior boat scenes, but what was it like filming in each location for you?

Odeya Rush: The Dominican Republic is beautiful. At lunch, you were going into the water, and we would have moments where you go for a swim during lunch. We were staying in these hotels, and everybody's hanging out and getting lunch — wow, I'm mentioning lunch a lot, I think I'm hungry. [Laughs] We were all at the hotel bar and hanging out, so it's kind of crazy to work in vacation kind of locations, it's nice, I want to do it more often.

Now, did you find it challenging, in a way, to sort of disassociate the vacation feel from the fact you're supposed to be on this stranded island in the movie?

Odeya Rush: I think yes, and no. I think I just enjoyed it, I enjoyed the aspects of it that I could, like being on a beautiful beach, and everybody having a really calm demeanor, and running into the ocean together when the sun is setting, or people surfing when we have breaks. I took that for what I could, and when it was go time, it was something was switched off.

It never ceases to amaze me how actors can do that, so kudos to you for being able to flip that switch.

Odeya Rush: I don't really know how it happens either. [Laughs]

We talked about stunts a little bit earlier, but you mentioned earlier the gun training that you went through, and you do hold yourself very well throughout the film in looking very competent when you have those scenes. Can you walk me through that process of what that was like for you, and what you were feeling as you were going through that gun training?

Odeya Rush: I was very scared, initially, because I've never done anything like it. I didn't know if I would like it, if it would feel natural to me. I very much doubted myself, but the first time I went to the shooting range, I came back with so much confidence of, "Wow, I did that! I did that, and it went well." When we were doing those scenes, filming those scenes, it surprised me how much I enjoyed it. I genuinely had fun, I did not think that I would like doing action scenes like that, because when I see other people doing it, it looks impossible. And it looks like something I'm just not built for. We hold ourselves in these boxes of what we think we're good at, and let's just stick to the things that we grew up doing, and I didn't grow up doing that. I wasn't even interested in that growing up, I was just a very, very artistic kid. So, I surprised myself for sure, but the main thing was how much I enjoyed it.

So now that you've dipped your toes into this action genre field, do have interest in continuing it further with more action heroine roles?

Odeya Rush: Yes, I think the next time something like this comes around, I'll be a lot less scared and more excited. Because, I'll know that I can do it, and I know who to call as my stunt double.

There are so many different kinds of subgenres within action, whether it be hand-to-hand, guns, a mix of those two, or driving, what is something you would like to push yourself to try next in whatever you do in this genre?

Odeya Rush: This isn't really pushing myself, but I would love to be on a jetski in a movie, because I just love jetskis. [Laughs] So, I would love to be in a situation where I'm on a jetski. It isn't really challenging, but I like to be comfortable. I like going back on a jetski, so it would be really cool if I was like some hero, or villain, or something and was like [makes jetski sound]. That could be fun, or maybe a motorcycle, maybe a motorcycle would be cool. I have a lot of fears about motorcycles, but maybe on a movie set, where it's very safe, I can do it.

About Dangerous Waters

A sailing adventure spirals out of control in this tightly wound survival thriller. 19-year-old Rose (Odeya Rush) lives a tough, small-town life in Florida with her single mother Alma (Saffron Burrows). Their luck seems to take a turn when Alma’s new businessman boyfriend, Derek (Eric Dane), whisks them away on a sailing adventure to Bermuda. While at sea, Derek’s “business” is revealed to be less than legitimate when their boat is attacked by savage villains, set on fire, and Alma is viciously killed. Distraught and persecuted by Derek and The Captain (Ray Liotta), Rose unearths a primal instinct of survival and a terrifying need for vengeance. She will not yield until those responsible for her mother’s murder are dead.

Check out our other interview with director John Barr as well.

Dangerous Waters is now in select theaters and on demand.

Source: Screen Rant Plus