Rose Byrne on telling Amanda Ogle’s true story in ‘Tow’

March 26, 2026 1

Rose Byrne on the poster for ‘Tow.’ (Vertical)

Rose Byrne may be fresh off her first Oscar nomination for her performance in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, but she already has another movie in theaters.

The actress stars in Tow, which follows the true story of Amanda Ogle, an unhoused woman living in her car on the streets of Seattle, Washington. After her Toyota Camry is stolen and impounded, she fights a relentless legal battle to reclaim her car and, in turn, her life.

Byrne told ABC Audio she got the chance to meet with the real-life Ogle while preparing for the role. They spent a few days together exploring neighborhoods in Seattle and seeing all of the locations that made her who she is.

“She’s extraordinary,” Byrne said of Ogle, noting “her stubbornness, her perseverance” and most of all her “self-respect and her value of wanting to fight this fight.”

“Which is really what it’s about. Less so the car, but about that drive,” Byrne said, pun not intended.

Byrne continued, “She was really struggling for the basic things and yet she was driven to make sure that she went up against this unbelievable monolith, this corporate monolith who couldn’t care less about this complaint.”

Her story “was very inspiring and unbelievable,” Byrne said. If she had to pick one thing about Ogle that speaks to her the most, Byrne said it was her unyielding dedication.

That stubbornness “was a thing I was fascinated with,” Byrne said, “her unwillingness to let it go.”

Tow is now playing in select theaters.