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An Interview with Owen Conway, Star and Co-Writer of Eminence Hill

by Mike Haberfelner

November 2019

Owen Conway on (re)Search my Trash

 

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Your new movie Eminence Hill - in a few words, what is it about?

 

I think it’s about morality and the grey areas between good and evil.

 

With your movie being a western - is that a genre at all dear to you, and some of your genre favourites and inspirations?

 

Westerns are mythic. I think myths are powerful. Genre gives you the benefit of the audience expecting certain things from a piece. If you’re a smart writer, you’ll be able to use that framework as an opportunity to surprise them instead of something that boxes you in.

 

Other sources of inspiration when writing Eminence Hill?

 

The Coens are at the top of my list for sure. And westerns with a more realistic, nuanced approach to violence like Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven. I loved the way that film’s characters managed the violence they witnessed or committed.

 

You've written Eminence Hill together with your brother Robert  [Robert Conway interview - click here] - so what was your collaboration like, both during writing and also on set?

 

Robert had a very clear story laid out from the start so it wasn’t the usual process of bouncing ideas around or maybe even coming in to write the ending like I’d done in the past. It was more like dialogue revisions, certain structural things. The scene that has most of my fingerprints on it is one of the last scenes in the film and it’s actually our favorite. It’s a very simple scene with Carlie Motley and Augie Duke. Carson, Charlie’s character is just sort of wrapping his head around all the stuff he’s seen and this strange journey he’s been on. And there’s just this very human existential fear and yearning for some kind of connection. I’m not really sure where that scene came from, a lot of the heavy ideas that keep me up at night I guess, haha.

 

You also play one of the leads in Eminence Hill - so what can you tell us about your character, and have you written Quincy with yourself in mind from the get-go?

 

Quincy was very much Robert’s baby. Other than some minor dialogue revisions, Quincy was entirely written by Robert and he had a very specific idea of what he wanted for the character and it was not me, lol. It took a lot of convincing. We did a series of screen tests and a lot of back and forth, I knew I’d convince him eventually, but I think it may have been tough for him to see me as this menacing figure because it’s very much not who I am in real life. It was actually him seeing my performance in Irin Daniel’s The System that sorta swayed him. But I also think he saw I was willing to collaborate and take adjustments and find the Quincy he was looking for, and that was a real boon for me as an actor because that’s not something you generally have the time for on an indie film. To have those sorts of discussions with the director.

 

What did you draw upon to bring your character to life, and how much Owen Conway can we actually find in Quincy?

 

Very little I hope! Lol. I drew on some real life figures. There was an man by the name of Luke Short, he’s commonly remembered as “the Dandy Gunfighter”. And guys like Wes Hardin or these other sort of famous old west death dealers. I plugged into Dick Cheney of all people for the sort of cold, calculator and the intelligence. Then there were just great performances I loved. Giancarlo Esposito in Breaking Bad was a guy I looked at, Day Lewis in There Will be Blood. I tend to leave my personal stuff at the door as an actor unless it’s really going to serve me. Quincy and I are very different people, so hopefully there’s not a whole hell of a lot of me in there. Maybe his fashion sense, lol.

 

Do talk about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere?

 

My new favorite thing to say is that big films are made by committees, little films are made by communities. This movie was always impossible to make and somehow we did it. It was a coming together of people from all different walks of life, all different places on the political spectrum, to make a cool movie and have fun. It was far from easy but the enthusiasm and the work ethic was always there. Just a great group of people.

 

Any future projects you'd like to share?

 

A lot of time in the lab writing as of now. Working with Robert on a new script. Polishing off a few of my own pieces. I’ve written a few plays I’d like to see about staging one maybe next year.

 

What got you into acting in the first place, and did you receive any formal training on the subject?

 

It was always what I was gonna do even if I didn’t know it. I did theater camp and certain school stuff, but it wasn’t until actually Robert’s first film Redemption, in which I played a small role, that I really started taking it seriously. After that, I went to an audition and really botched it. The casting guy told me I had talent but I needed training. He recommended Stella Adler in Hollywood. Then my life changed. I found my place. Very grateful to Stella Adler Hollywood. I learned to act there and they’re still so supportive. It’s really like an extended family over there - in fact, Louie who plays Cyrus is also a Stella alum.

 

What can you tell us about your filmwork prior to Eminence Hill?

 

It was a lot of colorful supporting stuff. Usually the “sketchy guy” but rarely any real leads. It was Irin Daniel’s putting me in The System that really started opening up the sort of roles I’ve alway wanted to play. Very grateful to Irin for that. Since then, the last four or five roles I’ve played have been these sort of dark, powerful but broken men, which I find very compelling as an actor.

 

Only in recent years you have also branched out into writing - now what prompted that step, and how do you see yourself as a writer?

 

I’ve written since I can remember, but the hardest part has always been sharing that writing with anyone. I’m very self conscious about it. It feels so much more personal and like the emotional stakes are so much higher than with acting. I’ve been lucky as I usually don’t get bad reviews as an actor. When my first play I had written went up a couple years ago, I experienced my first really bad review and boy oh boy. It stuck with me. Nevermind all the people who told me they loved the play, it was this one reviewer hating it that stuck. It’s that old thing of the comedian focusing on the one guy in the room who isn’t laughing. So it’s tough for me, that aspect and probably why I haven’t done more. But I think I’m getting over it the more I do it. It’s like exposure therapy.

 

How would you describe yourself as an actor, and some of your techniques to bring your characters to life?

 

Every character is different. For this one, it was a lot of trial and error and just letting the story wash over me. I tend not to break things down in a methodical way, as you can get bogged down in logic circles and you can get stuck on a choice that maybe isn’t right or maybe you’ll be asked to lose. So I try to stay flexible. Above all it’s being true to the character and recognizing that you’re a part of this bigger story and serving your function in that.

 

Actors (and indeed actresses) who inspire you?

 

De Niro’s still the man. Harrison Ford is very big for me. Tom Hanks. I think Meryl Streep’s probably the best living actor. But there are so many greats. I’ve been watching the new Watchmen show and I think Regina King and Jean Smart are freaking AMAZING. There are so many incredible actors out there right now.

 

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Your favourite movies?

 

Goodfellas, The Empire Strikes Back, Birdman.

 

... and of course, films you really deplore?

 

Gone With the Wind. Hate that movie.

 

Your website, Facebook, whatever else?

 

I’m on Facebook, on Twitter @owenconway and Instagram @owentconway

 

Anything else you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?

 

I think we covered it!

 

Thanks for the interview!

 

© by Mike Haberfelner


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Thanks for watching !!!



 

 

In times of uncertainty of a possible zombie outbreak, a woman has to decide between two men - only one of them's one of the undead.

 

There's No Such Thing as Zombies
starring
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special appearances by
Debra Lamb and Lynn Lowry

 

directed by
Eddie Bammeke

written by
Michael Haberfelner

produced by
Michael Haberfelner, Luana Ribeira and Eddie Bammeke

 

now streaming at

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Amazon UK

Vimeo

 

 

 

Robots and rats,
demons and potholes,
cuddly toys and
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love and death and everything in between,
Tales to Chill
Your Bones to

is all of that.

 

Tales to Chill
Your Bones to
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a collection of short stories and mini-plays
ranging from the horrific to the darkly humourous,
from the post-apocalyptic
to the weirdly romantic,
tales that will give you a chill and maybe a chuckle, all thought up by
the twisted mind of
screenwriter and film reviewer
Michael Haberfelner.

 

Tales to Chill
Your Bones to

the new anthology by
Michael Haberfelner

 

Out now from
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