Quentin Plair & Marshall Cook Talk About Not Without Hope, Honoring Legacy, Football, and ‘Chad Powers’

Earlier this year at Austin Film Festival 2025, I sat down with actors Quentin Plair (QP) and Marshall Cook (MC) to speak to them about their upcoming film, Not Without Hope. Read the full interview below. There is also an audio version here.

In the film, four friends face disaster when their boat capsizes in the Gulf of Mexico. Battling massive waves, sharks, dehydration and hypothermia, they cling to hope as Capt. Timothy Close and his Coast Guard crew launch a daring rescue through a raging storm to save them.

 What drew you guys into the story of Not Without Hope, were you familiar with it at all? 

MC: I heard about it. And I was familiar, you know, kind of in passing.

I didn’t do a deep dive on it, but I definitely knew about the story. And then, when I got the script, and I read the script a few months prior to the audition, and then I, you know, got the memoir and I probably listened to it three times. And, so I got really dialed in. You know, over prep.

QP:  Yeah, no, I actually didn’t know the story. I just had the audition come through, you know, kind of like you usually do from your agency and they had the script attached. And so then I read the script, really loved it. Initially, they actually were asking me to audition for another role and I was like, “nah, let me go out for Marquis.”

And that was a bit of a struggle ’cause at first I think they had somebody they were interested in. But I was like, “nah, lemme go ahead and do it”, sent it in. Joe really loved it. And yeah, you know, I think I just really immersed myself into the story and Marquis himself, and you know, what happened. 

And I think Marshall would definitely tell you, we just wanted to honor these people’s lives. And that happened early on, whether with the book or the research I did on the side with just the story, so. 

MC:  And what Quentin, I think knows by now is we’re never, no one’s ever anybody’s first choice. So I wasn’t and he wasn’t, yeah. 

 I know I was reading up, I was researching the film, it was a long process. Like it was like six or seven years to get this made. Dwayne Johnson was attached. 

MC:  Yeah, so this isn’t always the same producers. 

Rick French (Nick Schuyler’s agent and producer for Not Without Hope): 16 years. 

MC: 16 years? Ok, yeah, 16 years. But yeah, there were different leads attached and different producers giving it a shot. So, I don’t know, how long was it with this particular set of [producers], not you, ’cause you’ve been attached for a long time? I’m talking to Rick French right now, by the way, Nick’s agent and one of the producers. 

Rick French: This particular [attempt] would be…6 years.

MC: Because Miles Tellor was 2020, right? 

Rick French:  Yeah, he was 2020 when we were getting ready to go right before COVID. Okay. And then COVID hit. 

MC:  Yeah. So then, three years after that we shot. 

Joe Carnahan directed this and he’s, as an action movie junkie, he’s kind of a legend in that genre, and he makes really maximalist action stuff.

He’s also kind of a niche action guy. What was it like working with him for this story? It’s kind of not really his forte, but what was that experience like? 

QP:  I think, well, you know, as far as it being his forte, I feel like there’s some similarities between this and The Grey. But yeah. 

When I got this, I had just finished doing Tiny Beautiful Things with Hello Sunshine, and just a very, very different, you know, onset presence. And I remember the first, um, zoom that me and Joe had, you know, he was like already kind of foaming at the mouth, just so excited about how we’re gonna do this thing.

And he looked at me, he was like, “now we’re gonna push you, like, you know, we gotta be ready to go. ” And I was like, “Look, you, you don’t have to worry about that with me.” ‘Cause for me, I’ve always been the type of person that, like, when I wanted to become an actor, my thought about it was like going off somewhere overseas potentially, and being really in the shit.

You know what I mean? Like, I didn’t want to be on a set that’s built in some studio back lot, you know. In this movie, we’re really in that water, we’re getting hit by waves, we’re getting rained on, we’re getting the wind, all the things and we’re really experiencing, as close as you can, something similar like the men who really went through it. So, it’s a whole another level, but to just be going through that and have so many things going against you and working with you, it was just an incredible experience and I really feel like Joe enhanced that experience for me.

MC:  Yeah, Joe, Joe has such an infectious, excitement for his movies. And we also call him DJ Carnahan. He’ll play music in between setups and stuff. He really does make it a good time for everybody. And he really just beat the crap out of us and he’d also play mind games with us, which I’m surprised, like I didn’t catch it at the time.

But, you know, we go out into the water and this is ocean water, so Quentin and I, we’re not wearing any wetsuits. So we’re getting cold. And it’s all day and then it’s all night. And we get out there and we’re wet and cold and shivering and then he’d be like, “oh, we gotta do a lens change.”

And, you know, that’s 15 minutes. ’cause it’s like underwater housing and stuff. So we were just looking at the AD like eating a sandwich, and we’re just like, “what’s going on here?” But it’s like, but for some reason we weren’t thinking. Like, these are professionals. Like, they know what they’re doing, you know?

But yeah, he definitely pushed us. And I think he was careful going in to make sure he had the right guys that he could do that to. 

 I researched that you played football in college. And [Quentin], you’re in Chad Powers. So, are you guys big football guys? Did that go into choosing this story at all?

MC:  I think that was a happy coincidence that we played. I don’t think they cast us because we played football. But there is something about being comfortable, being uncomfortable. There’s something about team sport, and just that kind of foundation that makes you kind of the right candidate for this type of shoot.

QP:  Yeah, and you know, for me, I actually thought it was interesting because up to this point, ’cause like you said, we filmed this in 2023, I had done nothing that had anything to do with football and I also played football in college. And I just thought that was interesting. ‘Cause when you live that life and then you play in college, that means you played all the way up and you do it, you know, at almost the highest level. Obviously, the NFL’s the highest level. I think there’s a language that you speak. You know, both me and Marshall, we know what a locker room looks like. We know what that banner looks like. We know what it feels like to be on the field and go through those things. So when we’re portraying people that have done the same things, there’s kind of [something unspoken]. Like this thing that we just lived. We’ve lived in that. We just know a bit of who these men are. 

I don’t know if you’ve seen the movie Sing Sing? The acting in that is just so real and it’s because primarily most of them had experience in that film, outside of [Colman Domingo]. And I forget his name, but the second lead guy [Clarence Maclin], he just blew me away because it was just so real and authentic. And I think, when you’ve lived it, it’s just something that you can easily bring to life. 

MC:  Yeah, and I’ll just say one more thing on that, to the football aspect of it. Like Quentin and I were pushing each other a bit. Neither one of us were gonna tap out. ‘Cause we were definitely at the coldest too, in terms of like our wardrobe.

And, I think that really helped to shoot because we got some really long takes, over and over again. Nobody’s taking a break. And, also [Quentin] , by the way, he’s, he’s squatting in this thing and he’s lifting real weights. So he’s a very method, real animal. But I do think that all comes from football . 

QP:  And I think one thing also, me and Marshall, we live really close to each other. So I run into him while I’m still in the audition process, kind of find out I’m gonna get it, just in the gym. And he walks up, he’s like, “Hey, I’m in this.”

I’m like, “wait, what?” And so we also pushed each other beforehand, like with the working out, with the swimming, with the preparation, to do this movie. So it was just like a really cool thing. And, I know I’m answering more questions that you even asked, but me, Marshall and Terrence [Terrell], I feel got so close on this shoot.

We still have a very active group chat now , and me and Marshall specifically, I feel like it was just so great to go through this with him and with them, ’cause I knew he wasn’t tapping out. He knew I wasn’t tapping out and. It just enhances it so much. This is just one of those projects where it’s just like- 

MC: It’s called trauma bonding. 

QP:  It’s one of those projects where, I’m just so passionate about this one, you know? 

I was gonna ask that as well. You guys did become good friends. Filmmaking’s also a team sport. How did you guys build up that camaraderie, that brotherhood? I played football in high school, so as a team, you’re very close and, and as costars you all must be very close. So like how did you guys capture that dynamic? 

MC:  I have a very vivid memory of the first time we were on the boat in the in the tank. And again, this is ocean water. There’s water cannons, there’s dunk tanks, and Quentin and I are in the water. It’s nighttime. And, so they’re doing a test and it’s the four of us on a boat and right before they call action. Oh, with the rain coming down on us too, right? When they call action Quentin says something about “I wasn’t their first choice, and I know you weren’t either”, you know, but it’s basically us saying like, “we’re not the first choice.”

Quentin’s like, “I’m gonna, show him why they didn’t make a mistake.” Oh man. It’s such a vivid memory, but I don’t know exactly what he said.

QP:  I don’t know exactly what I said, but I always try to use fuel to get me things. And I was just like, you know, they didn’t want me here, so I need to prove them that they were wrong.

You know what I mean? And I knew Marshall had a very similar experience of, like you said, not being the first choice. And like you said, you’re not, you’re usually not the first choice, but something like this where being out there in the water, very cold, long shoots, night shoots, and just coming back to it over and over again, it really reminded me of kind of like two-a-days, in camp where you’re like, you had to practice early more.

The last thing you want to do is go out, put the pads on again, and go get in there again. And so every night when we would get there beforehand, I’d be walking up from hair and makeup to the tank, and the sun would be going down and the lights would be coming on. And I’d be thinking like, yeah, you better put those lights on, like, we’re about to do something special.

And then I would just sit out of the tank, like right next to it, looking at it, either visualize what we were gonna do and then also just like getting myself mentally ready to go in there.  

MC: What kind of music were you listening to? 

All kinds of stuff. All kinds of stuff. Mostly rap, but I also have like gospel stuff in there. ‘Cause it’ll like just emotionally get me going. 

MC: I was always trying to cure his playlist. I would walk by and say, what is this guy listening to? 

QP: Yeah. But I think when we were out there together, it was just, it was such a trust and it almost felt kind of like, in a very weird way, a very short play. ‘Cause it wasn’t, it wasn’t in the sense of like, oh, cut, go again. Like you’re out in it and we’re just going and we’d have to knock out a big part of the script straight through. And so we just had trust in each other and doing that together. You just form that bond and it stays there.

MC: Yeah, it’s kind of concisely, I would just say it’s a very unique experience, not a lot of people or actors ever get to do, and that made it very special.  

I like how you put it, like the trauma bonding. ’cause filmmaking’s also a very gritty thing. 

MC: Yeah. It’s absolutely traumatizing.

What was it like working with Nick [Schuyler]? You know, did you feel some kind of like responsibility to do it right for him because it’s his trauma that you’re reliving for him?  

MC: I mean, absolutely. We had a pretty gnarly shoot. It was a night shoot and he came to set and I was like, “man, of all the days to come to set”, this is a pretty heavy scene  we were doing. And, I could just see it and he was just looking out at the boat, like that kind of thousand yard stare.  And when he and I first met, he just looked at me like I was already his best friend. And I’m playing his best friend, so there was so much unsaid, that I just knew he loved Will, you know? So yeah, huge responsibility.

QP: And I’ll piggyback on that and say, not only Nick and in my personal stance, like more so Marquis. Obviously I never got the honor to meet him. But when you’re playing something that is a true story and you’re playing real human beings, I always take that so seriously.

It’s something that you can’t do lightly. And especially in an event like this that is completely, truly traumatic, you know? So I think all of us did not take that lightly. We put so much specificity on the things that we did. So much thought on the choices we made. And one thing, like I’ve said, this is just this move for me, this project for me was just, it’s the one that I hold most dear to my heart and I just had such an incredible time filming it.

But I also always have to remember this also was someone’s worst days, right? So you have to do everything you can to honor it. You can’t take it lightly. You know, there’s as many people as I could talk to try to get insight. And yeah, just, yeah, just take it very seriously. And I think we all did. 

You do have to catch yourself in those moments sometimes though, ’cause we’re doing what we love, but like you said, it’s somebody’s worst days, and you just have to keep that present all the time.

In watching the movie, it’s not just the time on the boat, the film goes into a lot of what’s happening outside that with Marquis’s family and, and Nick’s family. Did you guys ever meet, their families and was there a responsibility in that, to do it right by them? 

QP: No. No, we weren’t able to meet. Well, I mean, we did meet Nick’s family, obviously, and met Nick, but, no, Marquis’ family, no, was not able to meet them. I thought there was so much responsibility in me personally to just- the one thing that was most important to me in making this, was to not make this any worse for his family. That was very, very important to me.  And to at least do everything I could to try not to. And everybody’s gonna have their own personal reactions, and I can’t even imagine what it would be like to be part of his family and have your son, your brother, your husband, father, have this happen to him.

I’m a pretty spiritual person, and before we started the movie, I just said, and I prayed and I was like, talking to Marquis, “if there’s anything he wanted to say through me, uh, I wanted to allow it.”

And I don’t know whether that happened. I didn’t necessarily feel anything, but I know that I just really wanted to be aware of that. We had a real responsibility with this movie to honor the men who went through this. And that was something that was always on my mind and it’s still on my mind in this, doing this press with you.

I’m like, “Hey, you gotta make sure that you’re still honoring these men.” And I know for a fact that was one of Joe’s biggest things he wanted to do with this movie. And I believe all of us feel that same way.

I wanna round this out with something lighter. I wanted to ask Quentin about your time on Chad Powers. Your experience on that, what was that like? 

QP: Yeah, no, I mean, Chad Powers was cool. I think the thing about Chad that really stood out for me was that it was pretty authentic to the sport through NCAA football.

We used real logos. We used the real SEC logo, real brands in it. And that was cool, just being somebody who’s, who played college football, who’d been around it, it was a really fun thing to be a part of. And similarly in this, we were playing people who have truly been in the NFL and in having that camaraderie and while it wasn’t necessarily, while it was happening, it still mimicked a lot of the relationships that I had, through college football, the relationships that we had through the cast.

And so through both of these, it’s really just great to get to revisit something that’s part of your past and that you don’t really get to revisit all that often outside of just watching college football or watching NFL. It was nice to just kind of, no pun intended, but dip my toe back in that water.

Not Without Hope is directed by Joe Carnahan and stars Zachary Levi, Quentin Plair, Marshall Cook, and Terrence Terrell. This interview was made possible through the Austin Film Festival. 

Thank you for reading this interview for Not Without Hope. For more like it, stay tuned here at Feature First.