Deep Cover (2025 film)

Deep Cover
Promotional release poster
Directed by	Tom Kingsley
Written by	Colin Trevorrow Derek Connolly Ben Ashenden Alexander Owen
Produced by	Walter Parkes Laurie MacDonald Colin Trevorrow
Starring	Bryce Dallas Howard Orlando Bloom Nick Mohammed Paddy Considine Ian McShane Sean Bean
Cinematography	Will Hanke
Edited by	Mark Williams
Music by	Daniel Pemberton
Production companies	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metronome Film Company Parkes+MacDonald ImageNation
Distributed by	Amazon MGM Studios (via Prime Video)
Release date	12 June 2025 (2025-06-12)
Running time	100 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Deep Cover is a 2025 British action comedy film starring Bryce Dallas Howard, Orlando Bloom and Nick Mohammed as improv actors recruited by the police for undercover operations in the London criminal underworld, where they must use their skills to infiltrate a gang. Paddy Considine, Ian McShane and Sean Bean appear in supporting roles. The film was directed by Tom Kingsley and written by Colin Trevorrow, Derek Connolly, Ben Ashenden and Alexander Owen.

Deep Cover was released worldwide on Amazon Prime Video on 12 June 2025.

Plot

American struggling stand-up comedian Kat Bryant teaches improv in London. One day, recruited by Detective Sergeant Graham Billings of the Metropolitan Police tasked to find actors for low-level sting operations, she approaches two of her newest students—Marlon Swift, an aspiring actor, and Hugh, a socially awkward IT worker—to form a trio.

They are all frustrated professionally. Kat teaches the improv group after losing hope of being discovered. Marlon has only gotten an occasional random commercial, so is dropped by his manager. The introverted, insecure Hugh lacks self-confidence and is lonely.

Kat, whose visa is expiring and still relationship-free, goes to her friend's wedding shower. There, everyone else is successful professionally and personally. They pity Kate, so offer to loan her money.

The trio, 'Bonnie', 'Roach' and 'The Squire', is sent to investigate a shop selling counterfeit cigarettes. Improvising, they inadvertantly get led to mid-level criminal dealer Fly. When he offers them stolen cocaine, Kat cons the rival Albanian gang into buying back their own drugs, as Fly's associate Shosh had inadvertently nicked them. Impressed, Fly recruits them, so Billings insists they continue undercover.

Using aliases, they intimidate Sagar, who owes Fly money, then subsequently dies while fleeing. Detective Inspector Dawes leads the official investigation into the death. He mistakes them for professional criminals, as they appear in several surveilance photos.

The trio gains credibility, as Sagar was a former hitman. Fly takes them out drinking for his birthday, where Kat's school friends on a hen night run into them. Kat improvises until Shosh and Fly scare them off.

Fly's boss Metcalfe asks to meet the trio. Unhappy, as the Albanians, who realised they had been tricked, are refusing to supply him with cocaine. Kat demands Billings pull them, as Metcalfe killed someone while they watched, but he insists they continue.

However, when the trio later try to negotiate with dealer K-Lash, who is selling individual nitrous oxide vials rather than cocaine, unfortunately 'Roach' speaks for them. He talks in threatening gibberish, then throws a real-looking, toy grenade, so the deal collapses and they flee.

They discover Billings is corrupt and using them for personal gain. After his blackmailing monologue, Shosh kills him. Metcalfe attempts to identify Billings' associates by checking his last calls, but initially is unsuccessful.

The trio is tasked with chopping up Billings. Kat insists they go along to not be outed, but ultimately it is method-actor Marlon who grabs the chainsaw. Dividing the parts among three trash bags, Hugh uses his company credit card to rent them bikes. DI Dawes and DS Beverley track them down, but the trio loses them by splitting off.

Reuniting, Kat and Marlon go to her friend's dinner party to borrow her car keys. Actually an intervention, Kat plays along, while guiding Malcolm to the keys. Meanwhile, Hugh fends off a neighbourhood dog from the bags of body parts.

Armed with the keys, the trio hurries off with the body, feigning she is heading to rehab. Burying the body parts with Shosh, afterwards she drops off Kat and Marlon in town, taking Hugh home.

As Shosh mentions Metcalfe is having Billings' phone hacked downtown, Kate and Marlon race to intercept it. However, it is a trap, and Metcalfe orders their execution. Fly takes the trio to a remote area, making them believe Shosh is digging their graves. Each apologises to the others, but he sets them free, as Metcalfe went too far.

Shortly after, before they can flee England, the group is captured by Dawes and faces charges, as they lack proof of Billings' corruption. As he believes the three are undercover cops, Kat convinces Fly to wear a wire during a meeting with the Albanians for immunity for all four of them.

During the deal, the trio, now 'undercover officers', intervenes to save Fly and record Metcalfe admitting to the drugs, so the real police storm in to arrest the criminals. Metcalfe is killed by Shosh, who escapes. Fly, learning the three are actually improv actors, rewards them with cash.

Afterwards, Marlon's acting career takes off, Hugh pursues his real passion by opening a wine shop, and Kat's improv group becomes enormously popular, amid rumours of their undercover work.

Cast

• Bryce Dallas Howard as Kat
• Orlando Bloom as Marlon
• Nick Mohammed as Hugh
• Paddy Considine as Fly
• Sonoya Mizuno as Shosh
• Ian McShane as Metcalfe
• Sean Bean as DS Billings
• Ben Ashenden as DI Dawes
• Alexander Owen as DS Beverley
• Omid Djalili as Sagar
• Nneka Okoye as K-Lash
• Freya Parker as Harriet
• Sophie Duker as Ellen
• Susannah Fielding as Ruth
• Katy Wix as Lotta

Production

The film was announced in February 2024, with Tom Kingsley set to direct. It was based on an original story by Derek Connolly and Colin Trevorrow, and written by British comedy duo Ben Ashenden and Alexander Owen. The project was produced by Trevorrow through Metronome Film Co., alongside Walter F. Parkes and Laurie MacDonald, with Annys Hamilton serving as co-producer.

The main cast—Bryce Dallas Howard, Orlando Bloom, Sean Bean, Nick Mohammed, Ian McShane, Paddy Considine, Sonoya Mizuno and Ben Rufus Green—was announced on 1 February 2024.

Principal photography began on 5 February 2024 in London.

Release

Deep Cover was released globally on Amazon Prime Video on 12 June 2025.

The film premiered exclusively on the streaming platform as part of Prime Video's 2025 summer slate of original British productions.

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 91% of 38 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Like any good improv comedy skit, Deep Cover treats an amusing setup with a freewheeling sense of fun while giving each of its performers their time to shine." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 68 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

External links

• Deep Cover at IMDb