QQ) What are the current projects that you are working on?
A) I just finished The Last Confederate, which is in theaters now, and it is coming out on DVD June 26, 2007. I am brand new and that was the first film that I have done. I, actually, have done a couple of films out since then. One of them is doing the festival circuit right now and is called The Big Flick. I play a comic book heroine who is sort of a villain. It's a total opposite of what I played in The Last Confederate. Other than that, I am up for a couple of roles that I can't discuss because they are not signed on yet, but hopefully soon!
Q) Please tell us about your film The Last Confederate and about your character Eveline McCord.
A) The film takes place in the late 1800's and is a love story that takes place in the background of The Civil War. It sort of deals with the last journey of this man during the final days of the Civil War. It shows the conflict for this love for a woman from the North and he's a Captain from the South. There is a conflict between his love and his desire to finish a war that he's basically already lost. It's kind of a small story because it has the budget of an independent film, but it has the war between the states going on in the background. The interesting thing about the story is that it is actually being funding and told 100% by the descendants of the couple (it's a true story). The descendants of the family are making this film about their great great grandmother and grandfather. When I was originally cast as this character, she was just a small supporting role. When all of the actors were cast and we started rehearsing, things started to change a bit. There was this chemistry that sort of lifted off the page and took on a life of it's own. As that happened, the story started to change and they redid it a little bit. The budget changed and as that happened they made the love story the biggest driver of the story. My character, Eveline, became one of the leads. It's a true story, she was a real woman who was uncommon for her time. She was well read, strong, independent and extremely talented for a woman of her time. She was really exceptional! This story doesn't completely go into the details of her life and what she did with it. She was really interesting to play and there was a lot of opportunity to find out a lot about this woman and do a good job of telling it.
Q) What made you want to be a part of the film?
A) I had only acted on stage before and was involved in a musical production in North Carolina. The producers saw that production and asked me to audition for their film. I got into my car and drove down. I had never auditioned for film in my entire life and when I got there I auditioned with Julian Adams (who was the lead). There was just this instant chemistry that, right there in the room, just lifted up and it just really fueled me in the audition and (hopefully) later in the performance. So, I didn't know anything about the project. They literally came to me, I auditioned and simply by fortune I was very much right for the role. After that, it was just a whirlwind of learning about what the story was about and about the Civil War (more than what you learn about in history books).
Q) What about your role was challenging?
A) I think to play someone like Eveline, someone who is that extraordinary, is a great honor and terrifying. It's a little scary to fill someone with those kind of shoes. It's kind of like the opportunity, if only for a second, to be a true heroine...because she was. To live up to that is a little scary. I think that was probably the biggest challenge. Also, there was the challenge of working on film for the first time. I had never been on camera before, ever. I secretly went and got a coach and worked with him for three days a week for eight months, just to learn the ropes of film acting so I could seamlessly fit right in without anyone knowing how I was. Actually, the whole thing was challenging for me and a learning experience. I think just the pressures of an indie budget were a challenge, too, since we were working to tell a story that took place during the Civil War and they actually did some reenacting of the battles. That alone is a huge challenge! It was really interesting to see everyone pull together when you are working with the pressures of an indie budget. Everyone wore a lot of different hats and pulled together as a team. That was really cool to see!
Q) Where did you draw on for your portrayal?
A) At my finger tips, I had a wealth of knowledge about her. She was very well documented, luckily. The family has told this story for so long that it was literally a playground for an actress. Not only did I have the descendants of her family to talk to and interview who had been telling these stories down their line, but I also had love letters that she had written in her handwriting. She was a musician so I had even some of her music that she had written. I visited her grave and read her epitaph, which was, "To know her was to love her." I had pictures and homes that I could visit that were in the family. It was just a wealth of information to research as an actress. I was completely immersed that I began to feel like I lived there and in that time. I knew a little more about these stories that I did before. At one point, I was dreaming dreams that took place in the 1800's. I was immersed!
Q) What was your most memorable moment from filming?
A) I would say the weather, I guess, because I was so new that the whole element of weather and trying to film a movie was new to me. We filmed one scene in parts and the first portion was filmed in the dead of winter. It was literally seventeen degrees, the camera froze and I had a sheer dress on. It was horrible! We had to film the rest of the scene later in the middle of summer in Columbia, South Carolina when it was ninety degrees. They had to match the scene, too. I think the most common direction I got on the film was, "Don't sweat" or "Don't shiver."
Q) How did you feel when the LA Times said about your performance that you "showed sparks?"
A) I was really glad! That's what I had hoped for. I consider myself to be a very subtle actress, which can be interpreted in different ways. I love nonverbal acting and now that I have done film, I feel that I am more suited for film than I was the stage because that's part of my style. I was hoping for a comment like that. I just have a great deal of respect for the craft of film acting because it is so different than theatrical acting. I was really glad it was noticed, especially my first role.
Q) Why should people take the time to check out the film?
A) I think because simply it was a family that went to this length to tell their family story is a reason to see this film. This is sort of a maiden voyage for the production company, the first film out of the gate for them (and maybe the last). It was a family that made this film so I don't know if they'll make more or not. I was a first time actress. I think seeing people do things for the first time is kind of interesting. Of course, everyone made mistakes, but I think all in all it is just a story that I am really proud of. I am glad it got told and I am glad I was a part of telling it, especially playing someone Eveline. I, literally, have her picture on my mantle because she is the reason I'm acting in film now.
Q) What do you do in your spare time?
A) I don't have a lot of it at the moment, but I work heavy on acting because I am so new to the film acting business. I am studying like a mad woman with everyone in town who will take the time. Between projects and studying, I am new to LA so I am loving getting to spend some time at the beach. It is different for me since I grew up in southern Illinois. I love to go hiking, horseback riding and going to the beach. I have all of that here so in my spare time I am getting to know LA.
Q) What would you say is your latest obsession? A film? A sport? A band? An activity?
A) I would say singing karaoke. Don't look for it because I won't do it where there is more than four or five people. I am looking into investing in my own karaoke machine until I can practice and know the lines of the songs I am singing.
