Sara Rue – All For Love

By: Lisa Steinberg

Q) We last talk when you were promoting the new season of “Impastor.” We were sad to see it go!

A) We, as a cast, were really close. I loved the show. I thought it was really funny and dark, weird and cool. It’s always a bummer when a series you enjoy shooting gets cancelled, but this one was rough because we had bonded so much as human beings. I love them and I’ll see them in LA all the time, but it was so fun working with these people. I genuinely love them. I think TV Land is doing a lot of cool stuff, but I think we just didn’t fit into the rest of their programming. They have “Younger” and some of the other shows they have developed that are going to be put on the air are just different. They all seem to be in one category and “Impastor” just seemed to be in its own weird bubble. I understand probably why they didn’t move forward, but we were definitely bummed.

Q) We ended “Impastor” and then we ended “Bones.” It’s kind of unfair in a sense.

A) It was a hard December. I was like, “Oh god! How many people do I have to say goodbye to this year?!” [laughs] I just felt really honored to be on “Bones.” I was on the last episode and it implies that my character and Aubrey (John Boyd) ended up together or we’d end up possibly together in the future. I thought that was a lot of fun. I am just happy I got to work with both David [Boreanaz] and Emily [Deschanel], not only as actors but both of them as directors. That was really special. They are really great actors, but they both lit up as directors. It was really fun to be in their episodes. So, I feel really grateful to be a part of something that is like television history. “Bones” ran for a really long time and it’s such a dedicated fan base that it was really special to be a part of it.

Q) You play these wonderful roles where the women don’t fit into one box. It’s always a funny, unique quirky female that is relatable. They resemble so many of us that we don’t get to see on TV much.

A) Thank you! That’s the nicest thing anyone has said to me today.

Q) We’ll be seeing you in the Hallmark Channel movie All For Love. We see your character is a relationship/romance novelist. Where did you connect with her and what kind of character will we see from you this time?

A) Rom-coms are my favorite genre in terms of movies to watch. I grew up on When Harry Met Sally and Working Girl and even Romancing the Stone. They were movies I loved as a kid. There was something about the script that reminded me a little bit of those films. I was really excited to sort of be in something like that. I play Jo who is a romance novelist who is so focused on her own work and characters that she hasn’t had time for romance for herself. She’s working on a new novel that has a military theme (specifically the Navy Seals) and kind of realizes she knows nothing about The Navy Seals, even though she has Googled them. Her publisher encourages her to do this Navy Seal training boot camp type thing. She goes through that and meets somebody (Steve Bacic). Romance may or may not ensue. But it was a lot of fun to shoot. We had a female director, camera operator and focus puller. One of the two producers was a fabulous woman. It was a very girl power heavy set and that was also really cool to be a part of.

Q) Wow! It’s not often that you get such a female-centric film.

A) It was nice to have so many women behind the camera working on the movie and giving their perspective. It was a woman’s vision, ultimately, because she was our director. I thought it was great! It made a lot of sense and how it should be more and more.

Q) How do you relate to your character, Jo?

A) As women, we have to fight for the careers we want to have a lot of us. Sometimes that means putting our personal life on the backburner and not making them as important as we should be. But I’ve been lucky enough to have that balance. The only reason that I have such good balance is because I have a husband who is willing to take a lot of time off of his work and be with me when I’m on location so the kids can come up and we can all be together. Al lot people don’t have that luxury. I realize how special it is and I feel really grateful for that. I think in this day and age most women are making a lot of sacrifices so they can have the career they want or the family they want. It’s hard to have both be symbiotic with one another. I feel lucky to have gotten to do that. But I relate to the character struggling with that balance as well.

Q) In the film Jo immerses herself in the Navy Seal world to be better prepared to write her characters. What was that like for you?

A) I thought that would be kind of fun for me, the boot camp days when were out scaling walls and climbing through mud. It turns out…Um…I don’t like it! [laughs] It’s not my thing. I prefer staying in a nice office building I guess. I was definitely the only actor from the states in the movie. We shot in Vancouver and everyone else was from Vancouver. It was still pretty cold and rainy when we shot. It turns out I’m a bit of a wimp when it comes to cold, wet muddy days. I was definitely like, “This is a lot more challenging than I thought it would be.” And not physically challenging because the stunts were hard. It was pretty basic stuff like running an obstacle course because we would take it at half speed so we could get the dialogue and stuff. They had to actually shoot us doing the things we were actually to be doing. But, I was like, “I’m so cold! How is no one else so cold?!” It turns out maybe I am not cut out for Canadian weather. It wasn’t even Winter! It was probably technically Spring, but it was very cold and rainy – in my defense.

Q) You work with Steve Bacic who plays the Navy Seal in the film. Was there instant chemistry?

A) You have to just throw yourself in and go for it. He’s a nice guy and a dad. His oldest daughter came and babysat for my two kids one day. It was very easy to work with him. He loves to run lines, which is great when you have so much to shoot in the course of one day. It is helpful to have someone run lines with you and be prepared and ready to shoot. The same with Teryl Rothery who plays my editor in the film. She’s such a pro and easy to work with and a mom. It was a very easy set in terms of the actors and the experience. The workload was heavy, but everything else was easy and pleasant, except for the cold rain.

Q) Lee Friedlander directed the film. What did you take away working with her or guidance received while working?

A) She’s great! She’s really willing to go with the flow. She’ll give you a take where you get to do what you want to do. If she has ideas, she’ll tell them to you and you’ll give her yours. We’ll do one take like this and one take like that and then you have your shot. She had a hard job of getting what we needed to shoot every day in such a short amount of time. She was great to work with. I would totally work with her again. She is a really good energy. She’s really good energy. She is definitely willing to play ball in terms of ideas I had or if I had things that I thought didn’t make sense or didn’t think were right for the character. She really listened. Sometimes when directors have also written the script (which I understand) are glued to their words and ideas for the characters because they have been living with them so long. She was very kind and really open to any thoughts I had. She was very flexible and she worked really hard. I know she wanted to make the best movie she could. That came across every day. She had such a great attitude and was ready to work and had such a great attitude. I loved working with her.

Q) What do you hope viewers take away from watching All For Love?

A) I think, quite honestly, that you pour yourself a glass of wine, pop yourself some popcorn and then get under a cozy blanket. Have some nice comfort food. It’s sweet, simple and easy to watch. I think it’s very comforting. I think that’s what the Hallmark Channel seems to do – they make a lot of films that are slice of life little movies that people can relate to. When they turn off the TV at the end of the night they feel good and happy. They’re able to go to bed peacefully and there is something to be said for those kinds of movies. I don’t necessarily watch a lot of shows like that. The stuff I watch tends to be a little heavier handed. As brilliant as I think “The Handmaid’s Tale” is…I’m in love with that show. The acting and writing on the show is out of this world, but I have a hard time falling asleep afterwards. I get really freaked out and feel a lot of anxiety. It invokes a lot of emotion. This is the kind of thing you can watch that will warm your heart and you can have a neat little intimate cozy evening. That’s what the movie wants to be. I think it’s nice comfort food for the soul.

Q) Shows like “The Handmaid’s Tale” keep your wheels turning, especially in today’s political climate. What can actors or artists in entertainment be doing to push boundaries and promote more representation and resistance?

A) I think it’s just really important to use your voice. I think it is important to get out and march for the things you believe in. I signed up for the 5 Calls organization. Once a week they send you an email and tell you what important issues are happening right now. If you feel passionate about them, they encourage you to call your representatives and senators and make your voice heard. I think that’s what we need to do as the American public and the people who are maybe worried about the direction we see our country going in or has gone towards. Just continue to speak up. I think that’s everybody’s job right now for whatever you believe in. I also think that as someone who I guess is in the public eye I have felt a lot of pushback of the political aisle that don’t feel that don’t necessarily believe in the same things that I believe in. They seem to be offended that I marched in the Women’s March after the inauguration and posted about it on social media. It was in Los Angeles. I wasn’t able to go to DC because I have two small children, but I posted about it and it was interesting how there were people who thought it was great and then there were people who were really angry. They thought it was inappropriate and didn’t like that I had made a statement. There was one person who said, “I still like Sara Rue, even though we don’t agree politically.” I was like, “That’s awesome!” I try to respect everybody and see everybody’s side of the story. As actors, that’s our job to understand where people are coming from and what is their motivation. That’s the primary job when you’re an actor playing a character. You have to figure out why your character is doing XYZ and where that motivation is coming from. So, in terms of humanity I’m constantly thinking that way. It’s just how I think. I wish people would be a little more respectful of other people’s beliefs. But as a liberal and as a mom and someone who worries about our environment and the future of our planet and our democracy in general I think it is important to speak up, use our voices and get more involved. We need to become more active. I think if we can take anything positive away from the election and what is going on in the states is that people are becoming more involved. People are becoming more active, making more calls and more and more people are running for office who maybe had just sat at home because they didn’t think they were qualified. They are using their voice in a really positive way so I hope that people will continue to do that. I will continue to do that and I hope people will teach small children that for the next generation if you want to see change you have to make that change happen for yourself. I hope things get better. I’m hopeful! I think with what has been going on the past few weeks, I have hope! We’ll see!