Nnamdi Asomugha on How the NFL Prepared Him to Direct ‘The Knife’

From 2003-2013, Nnamdi Asomugha spent the month of August getting ready for the NFL season. Now, the retired Pro Bowl player has gone from shutdown corner to award-winning director with the release of his feature debut, the psychological thriller “The Knife.”

Asomugha also stars in the indie movie, which opened in theaters nationwide on Friday. He plays the patriarch of a young middle-class family whose lives are turned upside down when a woman breaks into their home in the middle of the night. When he can’t remember how the intruder ends up gravely wounded (it’s here the titular knife comes in), they immediately fall under suspicion by the police, led by a detective (Oscar winner Melissa Leo) who is determined to sniff out the truth — at least, the truth as she sees it.

Mark Duplass pitched the project to Asomugha, who has garnered critical acclaim for his work in films like the fact-based drama “Crown Heights” and the period romance “Sylvie’s Love,” with the intention of having him play the lead role. Asomugha was intrigued by the character-driven narrative and how it underlined why this predicament was uniquely tense for a Black family.

“He really understood that some people in society don’t get to make all the decisions,” Asomugha tells Variety about what drew him to Duplass’ initial script. Once he signed on, the duo collaborated on a new draft. “I’m less interested in the fact that people lie and more in the circumstance that led to the lie. So, I started exploring that in the script,” Asomugha explains. “I thought we could go even further, and it could get even more complex. I wanted to make sure that these characters all had secrets.”

Then, with about four months before cameras needed to roll, Duplass suggested that Asomugha consider directing the project.

“Directing was not on the menu,” Asomugha says, laughing at how silly the prospect seemed at the time. “There was no piece of me that said, ‘I want to be a director,’ or thought that was even feasible. It seemed like there’s no way anyone’s going to be able to be a director unless you’ve gone to school and learned what every camera means and what all the shots are.”

But Duplass made a logical argument. “He said, ‘You’ve written it. You should direct it.’” Asomugha recalls. “What went through my mind was, ‘Yeah, to write it, you have to see it.’ So, I did have an idea of how it looked and what the shot was, and it all came together.”

Once Asomugha got on set, he found that the most important aspect of directing — surrounding yourself with talented people in service of one vision — was not markedly different from the sports teams he’d captained over the years.

“I’ve called the plays,” he says, loosely comparing the experience to playing quarterback on the football field. “[That knowledge] just sticks with you. You don’t know where you’re gonna have to use that stuff again, but it comes out at the right moments.”

Read on as Asomugha shares what he learned from stepping into the director’s chair, why he hopes audiences debate “The Knife’s” ending and what he plans to do next.

“The Knife” has won several awards since its Tribeca debut last fall, including the best new narrative director prize. What is that like?

It feels great. When this came to me, I thought, “OK, maybe I can just make this quick short film, and nobody’s ever going to see it. We can just put that out there and then see what happens.” [Then,] as I started to fall into the directing process, it felt like sky’s the limit. To now win awards for directing from Tribeca and the Denver Film Festival and for the film to get accolades, it’s beyond what I would have imagined for the first time out.

How did you prepare to direct? And what was it like to direct yourself?

I’m someone who loves to prepare — the studying and learning — so before we started shooting, that was my happy place. But when we started, I made this decision to shoot only at night, because it all takes place in one night. So, we would start at 4 p.m. and we would end at 4 a.m., which isn’t necessarily typical for an entire shoot. You’re inside a house, so you could shoot at noon if you want, and just black out the windows. But I wanted the actors to feel what it really felt like for their characters to be in a situation like this at 2 a.m.

But what I didn’t take into account was that I’m also one of the actors. And, at 4 a.m., when everyone else is going home because we’re all exhausted and need to sleep, I’m going to get much less sleep than everyone else, because I have to prepare for the next day as a director. That was the big challenge.

How has your football background helped you successfully pivot to entertainment?

I feel like there’s something about football, and live sports in general, that builds a certain level of grit, strength and resilience. But the biggest thing is this idea of meeting the moment. With sports, you can’t rewind; you can’t do a play again; you can’t go backwards. You’re in this moment. It doesn’t matter if there’s one second left on the clock; you have to step up to the plate, so to speak, and perform.

That [lesson] served me very well. Because that was so much of my life, I naturally am someone who likes to meet the moment. It’s just ingrained at this point. So, when you tell me, with four months to shoot, “We need a director, and I want you to do it,” [I can reply,] “I’ve been in crazier situations than that. Let me take a stab at it.”

What did “meeting the moment” look like during this shoot?

I had to make a lot of shifts. I realized, by the end of it, something that I’m now going to live by: if you end up with the film that you always wanted to make, then you’ve done something wrong. There are so many different paths that the film takes you on, and if you’re not listening and adjusting, it’s all going to backfire. There’s a level of collaboration and going with the flow that you need as a filmmaker, and that suits me very well, because that’s how I live.

[For example], initially, Melissa Leo’s character was written as a male. It was a last-second decision, but I would write and, for some reason, Melissa’s face just kept popping up. One day, I made the decision: we’re gonna change this character to female, and I’m gonna reach out to Melissa and see if she wants to do it. And we got her.

What was it like to direct her?

I love that she is a collaborator. And at the level that she’s gotten to in this industry — having won Academy Awards — for her to want to collaborate with someone that has never done it before says a lot about her. And I’m talking about collaboration as in coming up to me and asking, “Was that OK? Are there other ways that I can do that?” Or “What do you think about this?” Me giving her a note, and her saying, “I’ll do whatever you tell me to do. I trust you.” That’s a big deal for someone of her stature. Casting Melissa was one of the greatest decisions that I made on this film.

This plot takes some unexpected turns, and the ending is quite unsettling. Was that the plan?

The story was always meant to be a conversation piece. So, when you say you’re still unsettled, that means it’s working. There’s a place for stories that have a concrete ending where everyone knows who’s good and who’s bad, or the guy gets the girl, and you leave with the satisfaction of that. But there’s also a place for these stories where you don’t know exactly what happened, and you’re left to figure out within yourself how you feel and where the story might go from here.

“Anatomy of a Fall” was a big influence for me. I remember watching it during post-production and being in love with the slow burn of it and the constant questioning, “Did that really happen? Whose fault was it?” This is what film is supposed to be about. That’s how a film has legs, if you’re still talking about it years later and trying to understand certain things. That had a huge influence on how I made the film and how it ended, just letting you sit with your thoughts a little bit.

What do you think? Did she push him?

[Laughs.] I’ve heard arguments where it was like, ‘It was clearly her.’ I don’t know. But that is the beauty of it, right?

After multi-tasking for this project, what was it like to shoot “Savant,” the upcoming Apple TV+ limited series, where you’re just focused on acting?

I’m crazy. I’ll do something where I’m producing and acting or directing and, while we’re in that shoot, I’ll say, “Man, I need to go do something where I’m just acting.” And then I’ll go do the thing where I’m just acting, and say, “Man, I need to go do something where I’m producing, so that I can be more hands-on.”

But “Savant” was great. It was like a breath of fresh air, because I was able to separate from wearing so many hats and just focus on the craft of acting, which is why I got into the business in the first place. Just focus on my character and Jessica [Chastain’s] character and dive in.

“Savant” is another thriller. What can you tease about the plot?

It’s a bunch of people that are trying to catch the bad guys — that’s on the surface — but there’s another element of his family that’s trying to stay intact amidst all of the chaos around them. There are different levels to the show: a romance level, the thriller aspect and then that familial layer. And there are great performances. Jessica is amazing as always.

One more question about “The Knife”: Were you nervous to say “Action” for the first time? Or did you let the first A.D. handle it?

I was excited! I was like, “Do I get to say ‘Action’? I would love to!” I had the AD say it most of the time, and then the rest of the time I would jump in. But I would talk to the actors and make sure their life didn’t start at “Action.” I wanted them to be moving in the space 15-20 seconds before, and then we would say “Action.”

Do you want to direct again?

I 1,000% want to, and I’m going to. I’m working on stuff right now. I fell in love with it. I didn’t know that I would, but I absolutely fell in love with it, and it just shot up for me as something I really want to focus on.