Kerry Washington Slid into ‘Shadow Force’ Co-Star Omar Sy’s DMs — with Her Husband's Permission! (Exclusive)

Kerry Washington and Omar Sy are playing an estranged couple who must go on the run with their son when a former employer sets out to kill them in “Shadow Force.”

“Extra’s” Terri Seymour spoke with Kerry and Omar about how they joined forces on the action-thriller.

Washington personally hunted Sy down for the role, sliding into his DMs on Instagram!

Sy confirmed, “It’s true. That really happened!”

Omar was initially doubtful that the real Kerry Washington was contacting him, saying, “You never know with those phones, you can be surprised."

He noted, “I had to make sure it was her. It was difficult to believe, actually.”

Sy explained the way he got the role made it even more special, saying, “The way Kerry found me on Instagram… I loved it because we were, like, so direct and frank. So I had the script. The script is amazing… I was so happy and glad to have that opportunity to work with her.”

Kerry called it “a gift” that Omar said yes. She recalled, "I used to go on these hikes with Nnamdi [Asomugha], with my husband, and we'd be naming actors — 'no' — naming actors — 'no, no no' — and then one day, I don't remember whether it was Nnamdi's idea or my idea, but one of us said Omar and we were both like, 'That's it!' And so it was with Nnamdi's permission that I slid into Omar's DMs."

She said of Omar's involvement, "It just leveled the film up, like, suddenly the film became a global story about an international family. I know that Omar could do the action work. I knew he could bring all that heart to the role. It just became what it was supposed to be in Omar's hands."

Washington saw the movie as a “challenge” that she wanted to tackle! She said, “I knew that I liked doing this kind of work ’cause I had the opportunity to, like, dip my toe in when I did ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’ many, many, many years ago, but I had been looking for a project where I could do more of this kind of work and challenge myself in this way, and when I came across this script, I just thought it was so special because it is this big action-drama adventure, but at its heart, it is about family and about love and about two parents that love each other so much and love their child so much that they're willing to do anything to protect their family. And I just thought that grounds all the action in something so real and fun and that people can relate to.”

The breakout star of the film is Jahleel Kamara, who plays their son!

Washington gushed, “We both were like, ‘Oh, my gosh, he's stealing the entire movie from us,’ and let him. Like, let him, because he's spectacular.”

The movie comes out on Mother’s Day, and Kerry said she might head out to the theater with her husband.

Washington shared, “I probably will. I was thinking about putting a screening in L.A. with a bunch of my bad-ass mom friends and saying also bring you partner, ’cause I feel like it's a really fun film to celebrate parenting… to celebrate moms, but also to celebrate, like, the dads whose presence allows us to be even better."

Kerry also gushed, "I am really, really lucky. My kids, my husband, they are so great. I had two years in a row — not this past Mother's Day but the one before that and one before that — I had COVID both Mother's Days, and that was such a nightmare. Nnamdi kept saying like, 'I think maybe this is so that you actually get some rest, like, you can actually be in bed by yourself. But I prefer when I can be with them, so knock on everything that I can be with them."