Priyanka Chopra-Richard Madden on teaming up for Citadel: ‘Not trying to point something bad…’
Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Richard Madden say they had each other’s back while working on Prime Video’s much-anticipated international series “Citadel”. The action-spy thriller show is produced by Amazon Studios and the Russo Brothers’ AGBO banner with David Weil attached as showrunner. The story follows elite agents Mason Kane (Madden) and Nadia Sinh (Chopra Jonas), who had their memories wiped as they narrowly escaped with their lives after independent global spy agency Citadel’s fall. Madden said working with Chopra Jonas was a delight.
“I loved working with Priyanka every day because she keeps me present. We both prepare properly before we engage in something. I can overthink things and Priyanka was always great at ringing me right back into the room and being so present and allowing us to really play together. That’s kind of in many ways like the characters in the show,” the Scottish star said on Monday at the Asia-Pacific press conference of “Citadel”.
“We balance each other out beautifully and bring out the best in each other and couldn’t ask for a better dancing partner,” he added.
The show sees Mason and Nadia building new lives under new identities, unaware of their pasts. Until one night, when Mason is tracked down by his former Citadel colleague, Bernard Orlick (Stanley Tucci), who desperately needs his help to prevent rival agency Manticore from establishing a new world order. Mason seeks out Nadia, his former partner, and the two spies embark on a mission that takes them around the world to stop Manticore, all while contending with a relationship built on secrets, lies, and a dangerous-yet-undying love, the official synopsis read.
For Chopra Jonas, working on a layered script like “Citadel” required her and Madden to support each other. ALSO READ: EXCLUSIVE | Priyanka Chopra reveals why she spoke about ‘being cornered’ in Bollywood now
“Because our script is extremely. It has many layers and there’s a lot going on. We protect each other and we have each other’s backs. We were not trying to trip each other up. We were not trying to point something bad out. We were truly there to support each other because we knew that the show is about the two of us together and the better we dance together, the better the show will work,” the Indian star added.
She said the series was offered to her almost five years ago and they started shooting amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which made the whole process even more taxing. “It’s physically demanding, emotionally demanding. We shot in COVID times. We invested a lot of ourselves in the show. And that’s why we are so excited to share it with the world. I think I left a part of my spirit in it, a part of my soul in it,” the National Award winner added.
The most fun part, Chopra Jonas said, was finishing the shoot that went on for almost a year and a half. “My most fun memory of the show is when we wrapped it,” she quipped.
Meanwhile, “Citadel” will premiere on Prime Video globally on April 28.
ALSO READ: Priyanka Chopra has THIS advice for Varun Dhawan & Samantha Ruth Prabhu for Citadel India
(With PTI inputs)