Christopher Backus – Deliverance Creek

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

A) After finishing Deliverance Creek I had the awesome opportunity to be in the final season of “Sons of Anarchy.” I come in later in the season, but to be in that world for a little while was fantastic. I’m also in the new The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, which is the live action film from Paramount also starring Antonio Banderas. That comes out in February 2015. I get to play a pirate captain. So, the fact that I’m in a SpongeBob movie and I’m officially a pirate now has made me one of the cooler dads.

Q) Your portrayal of Jasper Gatlin is incredible in Deliverance Creek. How did you prepare for your role?

A) Jasper is one of those roles that you wish you get to play all the time. I did a lot of research. Our writer Melissa Carter had told me that Jasper was loosely based on Jesse James. So, I went back and read some of the great biographies about him just to sort of get the feel of what that world was like. We think of things as so black and white these days. Especially during the Civil War, it was a battle of race and economics that it is hard to wrap your mind around prejudices that we no longer live by. So, I wanted to go back and figure out what that life was like. Someone like Jesse was raised basically with slaves around him and there was no difference. I had a hard time wrapping my mind around that possibility. Going back and reading about Jesse in that time period, I think they didn’t think of it as much about race as they did economically. I did a lot of research on Jesse James and there was something about strapping on a gun belt, boots and the hat where you just sort of mold into that character. You kind of leave yourself behind when you walk out of the trailer. There are no power chords around. I didn’t bring my cell phone to set. It just became this sort of disappearance into 1863. It was an ideal time period to play. Hopping on a horse and going on a full gallop through this town with your buddies by your side just seemed to recreate this time of war. It was really nice to be a part of it.

Q) The cast chemistry between you and Lauren Ambrose (who plays your sister) and your fellow gang members was really palpable. Was there an instant connection or did you take some time to bond?

A) It was instant. We all just got along. I met Lauren way back at the screen test. We got along really well. A month later we were all in Texas. Riley Smith and Chris Baker (the members of The Gatlin Gang) went to cowboy training camp where we were trained by these amazing horse trainers and real authentic cowboys. We would wake up at six in the morning to go to cowboy camp for four hours. We just spent every moment together. That sort of bonded us in the character. We went to rehearsals together and Jon (Amiel) has this amazing rehearsal process. We never really opened the script, but he would just create situations going back to our childhood and every day we’d get a little older. We’d make up our history as to where we were going with the story. We bonded just through that and then let alone we’re all in Texas. There were no televisions in our rooms so we went out to dinner as a cast every night. We were together and certainly a unified group. We would like to say that we were the Jasper Gatlin Gang on screen as well as off screen.

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

A) The opening of the film takes place on a battlefield and that was the first day where we hopped on the horses and just went full out into battle. The sky was blue and there wasn’t a cloud in sight. It was just nice to be a part of that battlefield that brought us all together. Obviously, we’re shooting it in sections, but Jon has this unique way of letting us go further and further to kind of create the continuity as we were shooting it. That was pretty remarkable. There was a shaving scene that was memorable in a different way. I grew out a beard from the day I got cast until the last day. I had this gigantic beard, the longest one I’ve ever had. So, I had to shave for a scene and in Texas it was one hundred degree heat. We decided to move the scene from inside to outside. All of a sudden we woke up in the morning and it was twenty-five degrees in Texas! By the time that night came around we decided I would shave outside and that I would be in this Henley shirt. It just kept getting colder and colder. To shoot that scene was freezing to the point where when I got to the room I had to put the shower on full blast – not to sit in it, but just to absorb the heat from it. That was one of the scenes where you kind of fall into it because it’s just so cold. It must have been like that for the actual bushwhackers who went from town to town and very rarely found themselves in homes. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that day. I don’t think I’ve ever been colder in my life. I have this weird superstition about being cold or hot where I just ignore it. So, I wouldn’t put a jacket on in-between takes or use handwarmers in my pockets. Once you get warm, you just kind of get colder and colder. By the end of that, I was literally just freezing to no end. Chris Baker had to give me a jacket and then help me back to my trailer. For all the challenges of shooting the movie, it was definitely an authentic piece. You would walk on set and the house we shot in was really built in the 1850’s. It was just one room and then the art department built on extra rooms so it would be a little more cinematic while filming. You couldn’t tell the difference between the one room and the other built room. You would just walk out there and there weren’t any power chords. There were cows and a thousand pound pig in the backyard. It just felt like you were in a different world and it was exciting to be a part of it.

Q) The bank was one of my favorite settings from the film. Talk about the breaking in scene.

A) That scene was fantastic to shoot. They built that bank from the ground up. The only thing that we shot on a stage would be inside of the bank. That was just fantastic! Riley and I got to do some manual labor breaking into the bank. The art department built this wall and said, “Be really careful because it’s really delicate.” But they built a real wall and I think they were messing with us because we thought we would break right through it and it actually took a bit of effort. We were pretty proud of ourselves at the end because we did some blue collar manly work that we belonged in the Civil War at the end of it. I was the first one through so after the camera moved they put some foam bricks in there. I got to go through with the authentic real bricks. That morning when we were going off to set someone asked what I was going to do today and I said I was going to rob a bank. That was one of the last scenes we shot actually and we were there in Texas for about two months. Literally, I went and robbed a bank and it was pretty exciting.

Q) What was it like working with director Jon Amiel?

A) Jon is just an absolute pleasure to work with. He has this amazing grasp of what he is doing and has a fluidity to the way he directs that you feel empowered and part of all of it. You feel like you have a voice. He has just such a masterful way of controlling the set. It’s quiet and engaging for a group. You really feel like part of a team. I’ve had the pleasure of working with some great directors and he is one of them that you run to the wall for. He is just magical in the way that he approaches each scene with his openness and technically how he wants it done, but still giving you the freedom to move within the scene or change a line or express how you feel about the character. There were a couple of things we discussed together like I would say, “I don’t know if Jasper would do that.” And Jon would be like, “Well, tell me what Jasper would do.” We’d have a little conversation and he’d say, “Let’s do it!” I think with everyone not once did we think that Jon didn’t have our backs and when you are shooting something like this, a period piece and with such a tight schedule, it’s such a freeing experience to have someone like that – knowing that he is going to go to the mats for you. And that’s exciting. From Melissa Carter, Nicholas Sparks, Lifetime and Warner Brothers, they all had that feeling of push it further because they had our back and we were trying to make something special and memorable.

Q) What do you think it is about Deliverance Creek that makes it such a good fit for the Lifetime Network?

A) I think it’s a fantastic fit for Lifetime and also a surprising fit. With Nicholas Sparks and Lifetime, you couldn’t ask for a better match. No one does romance and love stories like Nicholas Sparks and Lifetime is pretty successful at it as well. At the same time, I think audiences will be surprised at how edgy, gritty and hard hitting it is and how authentic it is to the world. Lifetime is in that with A&E Network and The History Channel and it fits into that world. While it is a fictionalized telling of history, it is a true story. And that match just seems to be where Lifetime is headed with shows like “The Lottery” and the upcoming series Glen Mazzara series “Damien.” With Deliverance Creek, they are diverse and supportive and they are trying to push the envelope like all of these great cable networks. Lifetime is definitely on board to go further and further and find the perfect match. I think this has it all. It’s a Civil War piece told through a female perspective, but it has all those elements that makes it a true Western with rebels, outlaws, guns and horses. Those stories work so well. Deliverance Creek has those elements. I think it will be a perfect fit for Lifetime and it will hopefully grab women’s eyes, but also I think men are going to enjoy the show. I think couples can watch it and also a group of guys can watch and all buy in and go for it.

Q) You are a part of social media. Are you looking forward to the instant fan feedback you will receive when the movie airs?

A) I am part of social media. I’m excited! This is one of those projects that is really well done. It’s put together top to bottom in a great, authentic way. One of the great things I have found through social media that I have found through Deliverance Creek is that you have instant access to fans and you get to engage in a conversation with people you wouldn’t necessarily get to engage with and you get to hear their response of how excited they are and what they are looking forward to, what they want to see and where they wish it would go. That’s the most exciting thing. Obviously, if you put yourself out there through social media you are going to get instant feedback. I try to read the positive things and, so far, with Deliverance Creek they have all been positive things. I try to respond to those as much as I can. Obviously, I am there, but I have four kids so my life is relatively limited. But it is an engaging way to talk about the show and have interaction. I got a tweet from someone from France saying it was her son’s birthday the day before Deliverance Creek and she can’t wait to watch it with him. That’s fun! Someone in France is excited about Deliverance Creek. That’s pretty exciting stuff!

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

A) Thank you! Without the fans none of this stuff would be seen. Myself and all of us are just so appreciative of the love and support that keeps us pushing and wanting to do new things to make them happy. With a fanbase, the work becomes partially for them. They are the ones who want to watch it and enjoy it and there is an obligation to make them proud I think. I’m very appreciative and I wish I could support them all the way that they support me. I’ve got nothing, but love for all of them. Hopefully, over the course of my life, I’ll get to meet some of them and shake hands, give hugs and take pictures. I’m extremely appreciative of all of them.