Susan Walters – Murdered at 17

By starrymag | July 8, 2018

By: Taylor Gates

 

 

Q) How did you get involved with your latest film, Murdered at 17?

 

A) I had worked with executive producer Pierre David before on a Lifetime Movie called Framed for Murder. I didn’t even realize he was auditioning me! I went out to dinner with him and my husband, who has done several of Pierre’s movies. We talked about some of his projects and at the end of the night, Pierre asked how I was doing. I said, “I’m fine, but it’s kind of hard to get a job since I can’t really play the mom of a teenager anymore.” He goes, “Well, the woman in this film is the mom of a teenager…” I was immediately like, “No, I can play the mom of a teenager!” Then, I did the part and it’s been great.

 

Q) What else can you tell us about your role?

 

A) She’s a single mom and has a very good relationship with her daughter (Cristine Prosperi). They have a very adult relationship with each other. As you know with teenage daughters, though, you kind of have to watch what they’re doing and stay involved. I think the hard part was that her disabilities make her a candidate for committing this crime if you think about it. You don’t want to be a parent who’s in denial, but you don’t want to sell your kid down the river. It’s a hard decision to make. For me as a mother, I’ve never worried that my children might have murdered somebody. [Laughs] But it’s very real for her. As a parent, you do these kinds of things on a lesser scale all the time. I wanted to try to have that balance and that horror of, “Oh good lord, what if she did do it?”

 

Q) Your character’s daughter also has an IED, right?

 

A) Right and because of that you don’t know that she didn’t commit the crime and that’s what’s fun for the audience. There’s a very real possibility that she could’ve.

 

Q) Did you do any research on IEDs?

 

A) I didn’t do any extreme research, but I certainly read up on it to know what was going on.

 

Q) How would you describe this movie in three words?

 

A) I can’t do it in three words! It’s too big of a story.

 

Q) It’s a pretty intense movie. Was the tone on set just as serious? What was the environment like?

 

A) The environment that Pierre creates is very professional. You’re shooting so fast that there’s not a lot of messing around time, but they were a great group of people and I had a great experience. We had fun. I didn’t have to carry the weight of the movie—Cristine [Prosperi] did. The last thing I’m going to do to an actor in that position is to fart around on set and be goofy and create an environment where they can’t do their job.

 

Q) What was it like working with Cristine?

 

A) Cristine is a very fun girl. She’s a nice girl. She’s great, but she was there to do their work so that’s the tone I had. When we weren’t working, we were resting because Pierre shoots all his movies at night! When I wasn’t on set, I was laying down somewhere.

 

Q) How long was the shoot?

 

A) Around two weeks.

 

Q) What was the most challenging part of the role and the movie?

 

A) Of the role, the biggest challenge was portraying the mom realistically and struggling with the fact her daughter could have committed this crime. Should she go to the police? Is she really going to turn in her own daughter? Will the fact that she has an IED be good enough to not go to jail for murder? Probably not. The most challenging part of shooting was that Pierre shoots everything at night and I’m not a night person. I am someone who falls asleep in front of the TV at nine o’clock. Also, because I was playing a supporting part, I had some days off, so it was hard to get into a rhythm and routine. There are some days where you’re awake for twenty-four hours at a time.

 

Q) What was the most fun part?

 

A) The most fun thing for me was that I was able to ride my bike during the day. I rode my bike 555 miles in the two weeks that I was there. I went to all these parks and I took complete advantage of the bike lanes and bike paths took advantage of how friendly it was there.

 

Q) Where did you shoot?

 

A) We shot in Ottawa, Canada and the weather was amazing. A month later it rained the entire time, but I was there when it was awesome. It was like Indian summer.

 

Q) I’m a huge fan of “The Fosters.” How did you get involved in that?

 

A) I auditioned and was lucky enough to get the part. I had no idea that the part I got was going to get to go to Turks & Caicos. I did one episode at Warner Bros., which was really fun and then we went to Turks & Caicos for two weeks and I had a blast. The cast was amazing. The place was amazing. Once again, I rented a bike and went all over the island. I actually rode with the local bike group, The Turks & Caicos Cycling Federation. It was just fantastic. It’s such a great show—there’s so much heart in it. I’m a big fan, too.

 

Q) You were in the final few episodes. Did it have a different feel than shooting other things since they were wrapping up?

 

A) Yeah. We wanted to be respectful of the fact that this was a big part of that cast and crew’s lives. Usually when you wrap something it’s like, “Bye, I’m gonna miss you,” but they were really going through something. You wanted to give them their space. It was really something. They’re such beautiful people, I have to say. Joanna [Johnson], Peter [Paige] and Bradley [Bredeweg], the executive producers, you could just see the love they all had for each other.

 

Q) If you could guest star on any show, which one would you choose?

 

A) I want to say “Handmaid’s Tale,” but that wouldn’t be good for me. My favorite show is “Ray Donovan,” so I think I’d pick that. I’m too old for him so I’m trying to think of how I could fit in.

 

Q) Oh, whatever! It’s TV—you could make anything happen.

 

A) It’s TV, so I’m really too old for him! I could be his grandmother. [laughs]

 

Q) Are there any projects you have coming up that you can tease? Besides the Ray Donovan episode, we’re definitely going to get you on, of course.

 

A) I just did an episode of “NCIS.” I’m going to guest star on a new show called “Tell Me Your Secrets.” Amy Brenneman is one of the stars and it’s for TNT. I’m going to play the mom of Lily Rabe and it starts filming next week. I am so excited. I really, really connected with the material and I loved the writing. It’s really fun to go in and audition for something four times and have it hold up four times. I’m really excited about it. I also recently did another movie with one of my favorite people, Jake Helgren, who directed a movie I was in called Winter Wedding. I had a really good time on that movie playing an obnoxious, funny mother of the bride. I just did another movie for him that Nicky Whelan is the star of called Do Not Be Deceived. Jake could call me and ask me to play the lunch lady. He could call and ask me to do two lines and I would say, “Where?” I love him.

 

Q) Is there anything you would like to say to your fans?

 

A) I have to say, I really appreciate how much the fans of “The Vampire Diaries” and “Teen Wolf: pay attention to the parents! I think that’s so awesome. They like the parents, they have a point of view about the parents and it’s been really nice. Especially Linden [Ashby]’s character—they really connected to him. He’s made a real impact on their lives and that’s what I love! They really care about the older people, so thank you!