We've met before, haven't we?
Yes, yes.
Literally a month ago.
Yes, how are you doing?
I'm good. How are you? Good. Thank you.
Good, good.
Congratulations, guys, on such a gripping thriller.
I was hooked from the beginning.
Open question to everyone.
What drew you to the project?
I think
working with with director Drew Mylrea again.
I worked with him previously before and I knew that there was just so much,
so much talent and so much, you know,
artistic vulnerability,
laying dormant under the surface that I knew, you know, for me that
this story and Jake particularly was in was in really safe and comfortable hands.
So I had to be a part of it because I wanted to see,
you know, his vision kind of unfold in its entirety and,
you know, just exploring.
Jake, I think, is a really fascinating character.
Someone who's
living in such a such a creative utopia that he has no no say in, I thought
was fascinating, especially everything going on in the world around us, you know,
with COVID - the pandemic and everybody kind of retreating into their own
security, into their own bubble. So
I think I think there is a lot that
that for me
to kind of unpack from Jake and from from an entire story.
So that's kind of what drew me into it from the beginning.
I'll jump in.
I was letting you go first.
But I think I think that
all three of us were really taken
by this idea of these three characters who were kind of in this
in this moment in their lives that are sort of stuck in some way.
So my character has, you know, Jake's
mum has has has died in our world
and and the and this apocalyptic event that that came around
that time has made us sort of secure this
this utopian vision for ourselves.
And so for me, what I loved about it was this relationship with this young man
and sort of shaping this young man into into somebody who would be able
to cope with the outside world and all the horrors of the outside world.
And it's what we do, isn't it, as parents.
And so and I thought it was really wonderfully written that relationship,
you know, unfortunately, I didn't get as much to do with
with Alicia becuase her side of the story is very much with Drew.
But but I
really liked how all the characters were drawn and
and we've been talking of the three of us about Julian Estrada's
incredible cinematography and and that being sort of
like a fourth character, it's absolutely beautiful world and create some
and kind of feels like something that you'd want to be part of yourself.
But obviously there are
other aspects going on in the world which are equally terrifying.
Yeah.
I just loved the script
for all the reasons these men have said, and I
loved Henrietta, I wanted to play her.
She seemed so interesting and different
and very Grown-Up and complicated.
And you know, she's starting her life over.
She's trying to find herself again, and she's retreated to a life
that's more simple and, you know, without all the bullshit she is.
And that's why I think she's so connected to
Jake, because he is this.
He's so grounded and
and there's a gentleman next to him that's so pure.
He he brings her, what are they?
What was the things that you brought there like muscles or something?
And he brings them, and he's so proud of this gift
that he's done and that he's worked so hard to get.
But it's normal for him. He's just so
he knows how to do everything the way his eyes.
When we would work together, you know, I would just luckily, Drew
had had embodied this character so beautifully with such depth.
So I was, you know, as my scene partner.
It was so wonderful to just look in his eyes, and he was
so present, so layered with what's going on,
the complications of where he comes from and what he knows and understands
with what he's experiencing right now, which is this, you know, he's so taken.
And so his
I think everything that he represents is helping Henrietta to heal
and discover that everything she's after could exist,
that there is beauty in the world because he's talking about things
so beautifully and recognizing the beauty in the world.
And and he's got this nature living down pat.
He knows what he's doing, and it's so inspiring to her.
Absolutely.
What I love about this film is that it's kind of about
the fragility of relationships and the kind of hope that we put
on our parental figures and these new figures, particularly with you, Drew.
How did you develop that with Stephen and Alicia?
Yeah, I think each each, you know, very differently.
You know, coming from from from my perspective in
how I dealt with them, not only as actors, but for the character of Stephen and I,
we we had such a very little time to to develop a bond.
You know, these are two people who have were
basically only seen each other for for a great many of years.
So we wanted to kind of pick in and prod and see what were some
things that we could do to
get familiar?
And what would it be?
What I mean, what is that?
What does that mean to to be in a very, very close
environment with one person for that many years?
And so we wanted to kind of just rub shoulders and be near each other
and just develop this, this chemistry of spatial awareness.
And because I think, you know,
your consciousness begins to blend in in a in a way, I think that you just
you have this sort of 6th sense of where this person is at all times and
and almost what they need or what they're going to say and how they react.
And so that's kind of interesting, too, to really think about and,
you know, unpack because,
you know, Steve and we wanted that, we wanted to kind of develop that and
make sure that was something that was present.
And there's little nuances that I think
him and I are very proud of in the film that we've kind of developed.
And in
closing in on that, that that spatial awareness that these two have
and what it would mean to to be together for that for that long at the time
finishing each other's sandwiches?
Yeah, exactly.
And with Alicia, you know, I didn't I didn't want to be,
you know, too familiar with her.
And I think her and I met and
it was just inevitable.
She's just so humble and so open and so generous that
she made it very easy for me to kind of engage with her.
We had
some intimate scenes, you know, so so that always makes it easier, at least for me.
It made it.
It made it a lot easier to look into her eyes and know that
she was very present.
It makes me present in that she was very vulnerable and open.
And, you know, it's just one of those things
where where you just kind of go with it and you ride with it.
And she made it very easy.
She made it very easy because, you know, Jake is someone who's supposed to be taken
by this, by this woman and in more ways than one.
And she kind of embodied everything that Jake was was going through.
She is a very, very, very important character in his world and in his reality.
So with her, it was like, just this, this
awestruck
moment of who is this beautiful, beautiful creature
that I've just come across and I just just was studying her in every aspect.
So that's kind of how I approached it with each of them.
If I'm rambling, I don't know.
No, that's a beautiful answer.
And that's what I have time for.
But it's a fantastic, fantastic performances and thank you for your time.
No, no. Honestly, a great answer.
Thank you for talking to me today.
I hope you guys have a lovely day.
Thank you.