Amanda Clayton – Mommy’s Little Angel

By: Jamie Steinberg

Q) What are the recent projects that you are working on?

A) Well, I’m currently in production of my show “If Loving You Is Wrong” on the OWN network and it’s a Tyler Perry series. That will be coming back on in the Fall. Then, I also just shot a pilot for Showtime called “City on a Hill.” In the next few weeks we’ll find out if that goes to series.

Q) Please tell us the premise for your film Mommy’s Little Angel.

A) It’s basically focused on a young girl who is coming from a really disturbed family and due to really awful incidence in her life comes to live with me and my family. I am her second cousin so we sort of refer to me as her aunt, as it is easier to explain that way. She decides that is what she would like that for herself and has some twisted ways of insuring she stays with me instead of going back to her demented family.

Q) What did you find challenging about filming?

A) I’m no stranger to the heightened drama since I’ve been doing that for the last four or five years. So, that was pretty easy. I also did another Lifetime film last year that was surrounded by me going insane and my baby being swapped at birth. So, that was a crazy dramatic situation. This is the first time I’ve worked with a younger actor in those kind of intense situations. That was not a challenge at all because Morgan [Neundorf] was actually really wonderfully, very talented and such a sweet and amazing little girl. We actually just made sure we had fun in our down time to counterbalance the craziness that was going on. It was a little bit of a challenge to be screaming, yelling and going through some crazy situations for a few days. [laughs]

Q) Were you familiar with any of your costars before working with them on the movie?

A) I wasn’t! Most of them are Canadian actors who do Canadian films and series so that’s something we don’t really have access to in the states. So, I hadn’t seen many of them and their work. But they’re working really regularly up in Canada. It was really interesting to get the dynamic of working up in Canada versus the industry in New York and Hollywood. They are really, really great people and super talented actors. It was a lot of fun getting to know everyone and work with them. It was a really wonderful cast and crew, which made everything else much more fun. Even though it was a crazy script and crazy scenarios, we had a lot of fun in our downtime. [laughs]

Q) Was there instant chemistry then when you and Morgan began shooting together?

A) We had to jump right in! There wasn’t a lot of time at all. That’s kind of the way they work, just cranking straight through these films and it’s really amazing what Lifetime and these different productions that do these movies can get done in a small amount of time. We shot for three weeks, I want to say. It was pretty much that I arrived in Canada and within the next few days I believe we were filming. So, there wasn’t much time at all. I kind of met everyone on set for the most part, but it was great. They were very smart about easing into different scenes that were a little gentler and then saving the more intense stuff for later on in the shoot when everyone was more comfortable. But it was really easy and everyone was awesome! Everybody clicked really well.

Q) Was there any advice you received from director Curtis Crawford that you took to heart while in production?

A) We talked a lot about (and the producer Pierre [David] as well) making sure that Nikki didn’t come across as oblivious. That the real nature behind her motivations and what she is doing for this little girl is out of actual real love and care for her and seeing through the obvious twistedness of his little kid. The relationship with Katie and Nikki needed to be a special one and needed to be where Nikki isn’t oblivious or ditzy with there are these things happening with this little girl. It was more that they have a different connection with each other and she really doesn’t act a certain way around Nikki. Nikki is much more emotionally connected to this little girl. The nature of their relationship is why these things go a little too long and why they go unnoticed for so long. It was really important to Curtis and Pierre to really make Nikki and Katie’s relationship a really special one and seemed realistic and not flighty and ignorant of what is going on with this kid.

Q) What were some of your most memorable moments from filming?

A) For Morgan, this was her first really intense film. She’s done a couple children’s films, but never anything this intense and adult natured. So, for her she jumped right in and was so talented and so awesome. She was really emotionally available to play the role. There are a couple of moments that get pretty tense and pretty physical between her and I and I had some stunt training some years back and knew a bit about physical hand to hand things – nothing that was crazy at all. It was helping to guide her through how to put her hands on me or what she needed to do and how to trust each other with doing more of this physical stuff. It was really awesome to get to work with her that way. To connect that way and have that trust with each other and they allowed us to work on it together and not have too much input from other people that would have clouded it. It was really, really cool to have those moments with her and gain her trust a little bit and see her flourish within it.

Q) You are a part of social media. Are you excited for the instant fan feedback you’ll receive to Mommy’s Little Angel?

A) I am! We live tweet with “If Loving You Is Wrong” so it’s fun to get peoples’ reactions and people putting up funny memes and stuff. This I think will be a little bit different because people won’t fully know what to expect. I love being able to interact with fans and the capabilities of stuff like that with Twitter and then poke at it and see what people get into is fun.

Q) How do you plan to celebrate the film’s release?

A) I’m going to be with my family watching it. My family gets super excited when this stuff comes out. [laughs] they can’t wait. A couple of us are going to get together – my sisters and my brother in law and my husband and some of his family are going to watch it. So, hopefully some of the Canadian actors will be there to tweet along with everybody.

Q) What do you think it is about this movie that will make a fast Lifetime favorite?

A) Well, Christine Conradt is our writer and she’s already done a couple of these themed films. She’s done Mommy’s Little Girl and Mommy’s Little Boy. My favorite thing about Christine is her writing as everything is sort of themed, but is different. They have a different twist to it and a different thing going on. I really loved that about this script and it’s super heightened drama, but there is still a reality base to it. It’s super heightened drama, but there is still a reality base to it and still a real connection between people. There are real motivations for these things happening and I think that people are really going to enjoy Morgan’s performance. I think she’s super fun to watch and get super creepy at times. [laughs] Since she’s this gorgeous little girl with big brown eyes that sort of creep you out, it is one of those classic twisted kid movies and for some reason everyone latches on it as they love watching it and getting creeped out by it.