In ‘How to Blow Up a Pipeline,’ Marcus Scribner Breaks Bad

As an actor, Scribner loves to collaborate—so when Goldhaber asked Scribner what he would want to do with the character, that was enough for him to sign on. For research, he started with the basics: reading the book, of course, and watching the Oceans’ movies for heist inspiration. Filming actually left him with a bunch of real survivalist skills, like how to use a ratchet strap, which he uses in a pivotal, white-knuckle scene where he’s strapping the bomb onto the pipeline.

But until seeing the final edit, Scribner never realized that Shawn would be the lynchpin of the film. “I knew Shawn was a leader and he was gathering the others,” he says. “Then to see it all come together and to see Shawn taking action and sprinkled throughout as a connective tissue, you look at the bigger picture: He’s basically the grim reaper for everyone.”

That’s not to say Scribner’s comedy skills didn’t get used—in a tense film, he gives some much-needed levity, especially in a scene where the group gets drunk the night before their mission. His experience as an improviser is part of why Goldhaber wanted to cast him. “Shawn is the most grounded character in the movie, the everyman,” Goldhaber tells me. “And since he is the connective tissue of the ensemble, we knew that the actor playing him needed to be instantly relatable. Marcus brings such a natural charisma, warmth, and vulnerability to his roles, and in real life is the kind of guy who can instantly befriend anyone. He probably could unite a merry band of thieves if he set his mind to it.”

When the director reached out to Scribner about the film, they immediately connected over their own anxieties about climate change and what they could do about it. Scribner says that energy made it on-screen: “I think what’s so exciting about Pipeline to me is there’s a powerful message behind it. We’ve got to take back our planet.” he says. “But at the end of the day, it’s just an amazing ’80s, stylized heist thriller with this fun ensemble cast.” He continues, “Black-ish was the same thing. We’re talking about all these hot button race issues and dynamics of the Black family, but at the same time, we’re making people laugh. I think making things as entertaining and as well as possible is the first step to helping the medicine go down.”