Rocketman was one of Summer 2019’s most delightful films, although for all the high energy that the jukebox musical brought, you’d be hard-pressed to describe it as “feel good”. Director Dexter Fletcher didn’t hold back in exploring the darker experiences of Elton John’s life, including his strained relationship with his mother, Sheila Dwight, played in the movie by Bryce Dallas Howard.

With Rocketman now available on Digital and releasing August 27th on Blu-ray, 4K Ultra HD, and DVD Screen Rant recently caught up with Howard to discuss her experience on Rocketman, as well as look forward to her directing work on upcoming Star Wars TV show The Mandalorian.

I want to talk about the reception to this character because, obviously, it’s such a tough role and based on a sort of tough person in real life. How have you found the reception to that character?

You talk about the heightened reality, and I think that’s really important in the film, because a lot of the scenes that you have early on have this British kitchen sink dynamic. With Tom Bennett as Fred, it has the chance to be very comedic and quite humorous, but that’s not the full thing you want to get. How did Dexter go about directing you guys to make it sort of funny but not disruptive to the emotion of the story?

I think that, overall, there’s clarity around the conceit of the movie. [Because of] the fact that it’s a musical fantasy and the fact that everything is heightened, I don’t feel that necessarily characters have been evaluated in the way that they would in a more straightforward biography.

Because it’s very clearly through the eyes of Elton John and his experience, because he’s here with us. So, I haven’t necessarily honed in on or heard any specifics, other than just the experience of Elton and specifically the revelation – because this was a revelation for me, as well – that he was a child prodigy and little Reggie Dwight. And, you know, going through his own personal journey of coming to terms with his identity, his sexual identity and his relationship to his past and whatnot.

I think those are things that, when I talked to people, they weren’t aware of. I think, also, that I’m speaking for a lot of Americans. Because Elton John is a part of our everyday life, but we didn’t have the same relationship to him and his history that, say, the Brits did. I think that’s been really eye-opening for a lot of people. They love him so much and he’s so beloved, [it’s nice] to be able to reveal aspects of his story that can help people feel real empathy for others in the same situation as him. I think that has resonated.

I know you did a lot of research into the true story of Sheila. Was there anything that you discovered while you were doing it that didn’t make it into the film?

That’s a very good point. I think it’s because of the genre, you know, simply put. Because it’s a musical, there’s an inherent kind of rhythm and energy and bounce that propels you through the narrative. There’s not an “OK, we’re gonna get in this verité moment and just be a fly on the wall.” There’s a propulsion that suggests a point of view. And I think that leaning into the genre of musical comedy and tragedy, honestly. It was two extremes. And I think that it was very apparent, because of the theatrical nature of the staging, when it was a scene that was leaning into comedy, and when it was a scene that was leading into tragedy. Those are both heightened states; it’s kind of like punching up reality about 15 to 25%.

While it wasn’t necessarily articulated in that way, that was sort of the vibe and the feeling. And that’s what I love so much about theater as well, because while you’re actually experiencing it, you experience the light change and you experience the music, the score underneath and the tone. You just become a part of the tone, and so your performance ideally is very aligned and has that polish. I would like to think that – because of the rehearsal, because there was live music played on set in order to create that tone, because there were apparent lighting changes instead of just naturalistic [ones] – it kind of lends itself to that theatrical environment and precision hopefully.

Taron is obviously at the center of this film with his incredible performance as Elton John. At the Oscars this year, Rami Malek won Best Actor for Bohemian Rhapsody. How do you feel about the buzz that Taron’s been getting about his performance in relation to awards?

Oh, gosh. My goodness. I mean, not as much that didn’t make it into the film; I can’t think of stuff that hit the cutting room floor necessarily. But the details, the subtext and whatnot that goes into certain decisions, that was really personally fascinating.

The fact that Elton was born out of wedlock, and his mother was likely a teenager at the time. There’s a lot of mystery surrounding, actually. It was years later that that she finally married his father, but it was a very contentious relationship. Just thinking about post-World War II Britain and what that would have been like for her, it sets the stage for some of the ingredients of her life. It sets the stage for an unhappy perspective, and she was someone who was deeply unhappy, and it was fascinating to learn more about that. Not to justify anything, but to learn about the hardships that people go through and the reality of it.

That’s fair. I want to talk about some of your other upcoming stuff, because you’ve got such an exciting repertoire. I specifically wanted to ask about The Mandalorian, which is obviously such an exciting project. Star Wars TV series, Disney+. Because Star Wars is such a defined universe, and there’s already so much there, what sort of freedoms did you have in terms of putting your own stamp on that show?

I think it’s great. It’s a celebration! But awards, nominations, the way I perceive it is that it’s just one big party. It’s fun, and if folks get included in the conversation, what an honor and a privilege. Have fun. But the performance is what really matters. And I think it’s so special that Elton is alive and well, the fact that Taron and his relationship and that collaboration was able to come to fruition is acknowledgement enough. Anything else is a bonus.

You mentioned your dad was surprised that the amount of freedom you got. Did he give you any advice for taking on Star Wars, considering that he had such a big experience with Solo?

Jon Favreau is an exceptionally collaborative individual. He had a very clear vision for Mandalorian, as did and does Dave Filoni, and they worked together in partnership creating this series.

But I really thought that I was going to just basically be like a soldier. And the reality was that both Jon and Dave wanted each of the filmmakers to very much put our stamp on everything. I was shocked, honestly. I kept telling my dad, and he was like, “Really?!”

I won’t go into details because I don’t know what I should be revealing or what might suggest the plotline, God forbid, but it was amazing. It was absolutely amazing; it was so much fun. It felt like being a part of a summer stock company or something. All the filmmakers, we all were hanging out together and sharing an office and working in tandem with one another, and it was just wildly fun. I couldn’t believe how included I felt. I really was ready to just put my head down and be a soldier.

Next: Rocketman: Why Elton John’s Manager Was So Different In Bohemian Rhapsody

Because I had shadowed him on Solo, I was there for a lot of the shoots. There are a lot of individuals who had worked on Solo that are working on Mandalorian. It was almost like he didn’t have to say anything specifically, because the thing that he kept saying during Solo was the thing that I was most excited about. He was just like, “You will not believe how much fun it is to play in this sandbox.”

It is a blast, and everyone is so deeply passionate and excited and inspired by Star Wars and George and what he created. Now everything that everyone is up to, specifically with Mandalorian, it’s Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau and such a talented group of people who are ego-less. The thing that’s most important is Star Wars, always, and that’s holy.

It’s wonderful to work in an environment like that, because everyone is there to serve the legacy of Star Wars rather than to serve themselves, and it’s just wildly apparent. My dad didn’t necessarily articulate all those things, but it was something that I saw and observed happening on Solo, and then something that I observed happening with Mandalorian as well.

Rocketman is now available on Digital and will be available on Blu-ray/4K Ultra HD/DVD on August 27th.