Written and directed by Anna Gutto, Paradise Highway is a heart racing and mind-boggling thriller that tackles the difficult subject of human trafficking. Truck driver Sally (Juliette Binoche) agrees to smuggle a young girl named Leila (Hala Finley) across state lines in order to get her brother (Frank Grillo) out of trouble. As the duo continues on their journey, they catch the attention of two detectives, Agent Gerick and Agent Sterling, played by Morgan Freeman and Cameron Monaghan, respectively.
When Monaghan got his hands on the movie’s script, he knew immediately that he wanted to be part of it. He was on set for another project in Montana at the time and was in a slump. “There were a lot of situational and circumstantial challenges for that project that made it difficult to shoot. We weren't getting what we wanted out of it, and I was in a difficult mindset,” says Monaghan. “I just wanted to be inspired by the work and I didn't feel like it was clicking. There was the script going around on set called Paradise Highway that a couple of our producers were also working on. I kept hearing people talk about the script, so I backdoored my way into getting access to it, because I wanted to read something that was great and inspiring.”
And oh boy, the Shameless actor was in for a treat. Noting that the script was “pretty extraordinary,” he shared why he was drawn to the project. “It was dealing with very heavy subject matter, and yet, there was something that was really beautiful and human about the story. I talked to the producers about it, and they talked to Anna. She wasn't familiar with my work. She wasn't sure whether I was right for the role or not, so she had me read for it, and I did."
In our conversation with Monaghan, we talked about his character’s journey throughout Paradise Highway, working alongside Morgan Freeman, lessons he learned from being on set, and the message he’d like audiences to take away from the movie.
Game ZXC: How would you describe your character’s journey throughout the movie?
Monaghan: My guy recently graduated from Yale and has been working a desk job in the FBI for the last couple of years. He requests field experience and gets assigned to human trafficking and sexual slavery. He shows up at a murder scene where someone who is involved in sex trafficking has been killed, and the team is pursuing whoever that murderer might be.
I get assigned to work with a retired former FBI agent played by Morgan Freeman, who has been doing this job for over 50 years. I play this new agent who is stuck on the road with someone on the opposite end of their career. A lot of the humor of the story is just the fact that these guys are really at odds with each other.
We're both pursuing a truck driver played by Juliette Binoche, who has a 12-year-old girl with her. Unbeknownst to us, these two characters have developed a special relationship. The movie is a two-hander between those two characters and Morgan Freeman and my character as we're chasing after them.
GR: What was your experience working with Morgan Freeman?
Monaghan: When you're working with someone who has that level of experience, it’s not that you're necessarily looking for tips, so much as you're just observing the work itself, and how they handle themselves. He has an incredible presence. Everyone knows that at this point. The man is a legend and for very good reason. It was special to be able to see him in the moment that they call action. His eyes are so alive and present in a really beautiful and fresh way.
He always gives you something to play off of, there's always some sort of conflict, question, or exploration to be had. That being said, I'm coming in as an actor who was hired to do a job. We were working on a tight schedule and a tight budget. It was really important to show up prepared and with your own ideas, and to not sit back and be admiring someone else, but rather to be working together to try to build the best thing you can as quickly as possible.
GR: That's incredible. I'm a big fan of your previous work. Were there any lessons that you learned from working on Paradise Highway?
Monaghan: I'm very thankful for all the opportunities that I've had as an actor. To find a project that you think is truly special and introduces you to something new doesn't come around very often. I don't know if there are many jobs from my past where I can truly say, from beginning to end, I was proud of and excited about every single moment along the way and the work that I had done, but there was something about this set that I thought was really special. It was an amazing opportunity to know what that feels like, and it’s something I definitely would like to experience more in the future.
GR: Given the sensitive situation that Paradise Highway explores, what would you like audiences to take away from the movie?
Monaghan: This movie is dealing with human trafficking, and it's within the context of the United States. Upon becoming part of this project, I read a lot about human trafficking in America and what those statistics look like. It's much, much worse than I thought. There are millions of people who are involved in sexual slavery at the moment, and the situation is specifically bad in the United States. I would really like for people to have an awareness of it, to understand what it looks like, what to look out for, and to try to be a part of these causes, if they can.
I really hope that this movie creates awareness about the subject matter because, look, if even one person has their life changed or affected by this, then I think that the movie is doing its job.
Paradise Highway releases July 29, 2022 in select theaters, on digital, and on demand.