Lindsey Hartley – Dying to Be Loved

By: Lisa Steinberg

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

A) I am starting next week on a new project called Death House. The creator and writer of this particular project has taken the iconic actors from the 80’s like the guy who Jason in the movies and Danny Trejo from Hellraiser. He has taken all of the actors and they will star in this awesome horror movie. There are these characters throughout hell and my character is on the 9^th So, you don’t want to mess with her! I get to play a bad person and I’m so excited because I’ve never played a true evil person before.

Q) What made you want to be a part of the film Dying to Be Loved?

A) I did completely love the character of Jill Yates in Dying to Be Loved because she was what you wish every mom would do. If your kid was kidnapped or killed [God forbid] you would want a mother with the balls to go after their killer. This is the kind of woman that Jill is and I had a good time playing that. Obviously, she is upset a lot and has some terribly sad moments, but at the end of the day she gets up and fights to at least try to make it right. She will never be able to get her child back, but if she can at least bring the person to justice and make things rights…She wants to make it known what really happened. She wants to make what happened known and prevent it from happening to any other family. You always want your mom to be the ass kicker. It’s our job as mothers to protect our children and let them know we’re their rock. I got to be a character who went to the extreme of that.

Q) What do you think it is that Emily sees in this guy that really attaches her to him?

A) I think that what Jill thinks is this is the first guy that really paid attention to Emily and allowed herself to be seen. She’s a clinically depressed person who almost died because she didn’t take her pills properly. So, Jill is an overprotective mother and rightfully so. Emily (Paloma Kwiatkowski) is at the age where she is attracted to boys and wants to have that relationship. She wants to become an individual and wants to move forward with life like we do. We’re here to have an experience and she is ready to do that. So, she finds this guy who isn’t right for her, but she doesn’t quite understand. Sometimes we date the wrong people because we don’t know what we want. So, I think this is her first time experiencing that and she happens to choose a guy who is just awful!

Q) What was it like working with the cast?

A) Jedidiah Goodacre who plays Gary had us in stitches in one scene. He is hysterical and we were all cracking up. He’s so funny and so good at being a jerk. [laughs] He’s so not like that though because he’s so sweet, but he has got it down. I was such a fan! And with Dan Payne and Paloma, it’s funny sometimes when we don’t know who we are working with that long. When we get a little bit with them, we become fans of them. It was fun and they were a good group of people.

Q) Was there instant chemistry when you and Paloma began working together?

A) Actually, I met her the morning of and when we filmed it we shot the last scene of the movie first. It is the resolution scene and we all had to act as though we had been together forever. I remember someone was laughing and we were worried we had to be funny. We met the crew and everyone like thirty minutes before we started filming. But that’s the kind of stuff that is so cool to see when you are watching it. You worry if it is going to look right because you think, “Oh my goodness! Should we have shot that at the end?” You worry about that stuff. But, no, we went right into hair and makeup and started working.

Q) What were your most memorable moments from filming?

A) I think it would be Jedidiah cracking us up. Also, working with a girl who is an adult that is playing my child. How do I maneuver as an actor? How do I protect this child as an actor when they are that age because I’ve never had a kid that age on screen. Also, I had to incorporate the fact that my character was overprotective. So, that was kind of fun to mess with. Then, Dan Payne is such a great actor and the funniest man alive. Hysterical! And the crew was great. It was just fun. And it was beautiful in Canada when we were filming it so I kind of feel like I hit the jackpot.

Q) What do you think it is about the movie that will make viewers want to tune in?

A) I hope they do! That’s my hope that they do like it and go on Jill’s journey. I hope they do like how her character is portrayed. I think it’s also a mother’s love. I think we all can connect to having a mother and even if ours isn’t what we want, it’s the idea of what if we did have that. I hope that people can connect to her journey through this movie.

Q) Will you be live tweeting during the film?

A) I did send some pictures through LH.net, which is run by a lovely girl named Abby. She has been amazing and created this fan site so I do give her pictures that she sends out. I will be tweeting, absolutely. If people write me, I’m going to write. I think social media is amazing and I think it’s amazing that people care to take the time to write you and support you. You have to write back! And it’s easy! It’s right there on your phone! There is no excuse. They reach out to you and you reach back out to them.

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

A) Thank you so much! I am blessed that you guys are still there. I appreciate it. I hope I haven’t let you guys down in any way. I hope you continue to enjoy the work I do. I have fun doing it. And it means a lot to me that you guys take the time out of your day to care and support me.