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Your new movie The Device -
in a few words, what is it about, and what can you tell us about your
character in it? And what did you draw upon to bring your character to
life?
The Device tells the story of two
estranged sisters, Abby and Rebecca, reuniting to honor their recently
deceased mother. The sisters, with Abby’s fiancé, Calvin, travel to
the family cabin where they find an strange object near a some kind of
crash site. As the sisters attempt to repair their relationship, the
object begins to reveal its true and nefarious intent. Secrets are
revealed, tensions mount, and no one is left the same.
I played the role of Calvin in the
film, and could easily identify with what the character goes through,
and when I did not have real life experience to draw from, I used my
imagination to get aligned with the character’s POV.
In what way did the
fact that Angela DiMarco [Angela
DiMarco interview - click here], your wife in the movie is also your wife in real
life influence your performance? Angela
is not only my wife of 10 years, but she is an incredibly talented and
generous actor. She influenced my performance by being her usual amazing
self, and giving me a ton to work with. How did
you get hooked up with the project in the first place? I
auditioned for The Device. However, I had met
The October People the
previous fall when we collaborated on a short film I produced (with
Angela) for the Seattle 48 Hour Horror Project. The film was a success
(taking audience favorite), and I highly enjoyed working with Jeremy Berg and John
Portanova [Jeremy Berg
and John Portanova interview - click here]. The film is called Trauma:
http://youtu.be/eymVOAthGvo Since
the film's also about alien abductions - your personal thoughts about the
subject?
My personal
thought on abductions... I am very glad that I seem to possess nothing of
interest to alien life forms.
What can you tell us about your director Jeremy
Berg [Jeremy Berg
and John Portanova interview - click here], and what was your collaboration like? Jeremy
Berg is a wonderful director who welcomes actor input and encourages
collaboration. He also knows what he wants in a shot and scene, and has an
actor-friendly way of getting what he needs. He is a cool customer on the
set, and someone I look forward to working with again. What
can you tell us about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere? The
shoot was well planned and ran very smoothly. We split time between the
city and the country, filming the cabin scenes in Kitsap County. On set
energy was good, too, as the team hired a competent and friendly crew. Any
future projects you'd like to share? This
fall, I will appear in Z Nation - Resurrection Blues
(episode 6). Z Nation is an amazing new episodic television show filming
in Washington - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3878722/.
In 2015, I am slated to shoot The
Rectory in Los Angeles - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2657658/.
What got you into
acting in the first place, and what can you tell us about your education
on the subject?
I got into acting late into
my college life. The first play I every did was Brecht’s The
Three Penny Opera. I did not get
a degree in the field, but when I graduated, I began auditioning for plays
in Seattle. I worked fairly steadily as a stage actor, often with
Shakespeare, from 2000-2010. I am a big believer in actor training, and I
have studied with many great teachers who have been schooled by the
heavyweights (Lee Strasberg, Stella Adler, Leonid Anisimov, etc).
What can you tell us about your filmwork prior to The Device?
I started my film acting career in
earnest in 2011. I signed with a local agent, TCM, and starting going out
on auditions. My first major film role was Allen in Shadowed,
a feature film shot here in the Seattle area. Shortly after, I landed a
role in Thunderballs,
a pilot shot for the Spike TV network that, sadly, never saw the light of
day. Since then, I have been fortunate to work on local short films,
feature films, webseries, NBC’s
Grimm,
and, as mentioned, Z Nation.
As far as I know, besides movies, you've also done quite a bit of
stagework - so how does performing on stage compare to acting in front of
a camera, and which do you prefer, actually?
Working on stage is quite different,
though approaching a character is identical. On stage you can’t have the
same kind of intimacy, I find, and in filmmaking, you are always shooting
out of sequence, which presents its own challenges. I like both for
different reasons, but at this point I am pursing work almost exclusively
in front of the camera because it is a newer habit I have acquired, and
since I am never completely satisfied with my work and constantly looking
to get better, I am always looking for my next fix.
You also teach acting, right? Would you care to elaborate?
Angela and I teaching acting for the
camera courses under the Mighty Tripod Productions banner, where we
also produce films. We also host actor business workshops, and workshops
with casting directors. It’s our mission to educate and inspire to
actors of the northwest so we stay competitive as a regional filmmaking
hub.
How would you describe yourself as an actor, and some of your
techniques to bring your characters to life?
I’ve been described as a
“character actor with leading man looks”, and I will take the
compliment. I employ a variety of techniques to bring life to a character,
from Bogart to Meisner, and beyond. I work from the inside out, and from
the outside in. I experiment, play, collaborate, breathe, and try not too
take it too seriously. Yes, there is a lot of process and I have done a
lot of training, but I have also learned that sometimes I just have to let
it go and trust the moment and my preparation.
Actors (and indeed actresses) who inspire you?
Holy moly. Prepare for a long list.
I LOVE actors (meaning men and women). I watch a lot of movies and TV
shows, and am often introduced to talented people who I have not seen
before. The standbys include Sean Penn, Meryl Streep, Robert De Niro,
Daniel Day-Lewis, Cate Blanchett, Mark Ruffalo, Paul Rudd... (but I could
go on and on). Lately, I have been throughly enjoying Claire Danes in Homeland, Tatiana Maslany in
Orphan Black, Hugh Dancy and Mads Mikkelsen
in Hannibal.. .And, it’s hard to leave out heavyweights like Joaquin
Phoenix and Matthew McConaughey.
Your favourite movies?
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Favorite movies include You Can
Count On Me, In The Bedroom, Tropic Thunder, Mystic
River, Full Metal Jacket, Her, Anchorman, Taxi
Driver, and Good Will Hunting. And I love the
gritty stuff, too! The Departed, The Town, Gone Baby,
Gone... I am certain
that I am forgetting some gems, but that is where I will start.
... and of course, films you really deplore?
Films I deplore I don’t waste time
remembering. I have no trouble changing the channel, turning off the DVD,
or walking out of the cinema (or theatre). Life is too short to endure bad
art.
Your website, Facebook, whatever else?
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SeattleActorDSH
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SeattleActorDSH
Website: http://davidshogan.com/
Thanks for the interview!
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find David S. Hogan at adultvideouniverse.com
