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Your new movie Vesper
- in a few words, what is it about, and what can you tell us about your
character in it?
Vesper is a relationship-drama that follows Ava and Carter navigating
their now failing relationship. Over the span of a night, they both comb
through dreams and memories to ultimately find each other and themselves.
I see Ava as driven and ambitious, a perfectionist and extremely loyal.
She’s career-driven and a romantic, who truly believes in love. Her
style is almost like she was born in the wrong era with her love for old
movies, music and fashion - she clearly romanticizes her personal life. She
loves Carter and chooses to fight for their relationship in the end.
Even though Carter acknowledges and initiates that they need change, I
believe Ava would do the same for him.
What did you draw upon to bring your
character to life, and how much Samantha Jean can we find in Ava?
You can find a whole lot of me in Ava. I too believe that love is worth
fighting for. I see Ava and Carter as a team - and even though she has
her dream career and he is still figuring out his path, it’s the balance
that connects and grounds them together. Both support each other
whole-heartedly. When creating Ava, I came across this phrase which I
probably butchered and not sure I remember verbatim: "Even though the
house may feel like it’s crumbling around you, if the foundation is
strong, you don’t abandon the house, you work on strengthening the
inside (or something about changing a lightbulb).” I
think this also reminds me a little of what my mum used to say - "Remember why you loved that person to begin with." Love is a choice,
and I used that to drive Ava. Now
how did the project come into being in the first place, what drew you to
it? I actually went to the director/writer and good friend Chadwick Hopson with
a tiny idea of a relationship story back in 2020. Chad was onboard but the
plot changed significantly. Originally I suggested exploring the idea of a
couple who didn’t know how to deal with the news of becoming parents.
But we steered clear of the pregnancy premise and chose to dissect the
root of the relationship instead. Chad took charge and wrote Vesper
beautifully.
You have come up with the story for Vesper
together with director Chadwick Hopson - so what were your sources of
inspiration, and is any of it based on personal experiences? We
wanted to make a pandemic-esque short that in the words of Chad
“just makes you feel fucking good and doesn’t remind you of the
four-wall-limitations we all had to endure while creating on microbudgets
recently.” The
past few years, many couples have been tested by uninvited proximity due
to the pandemic. We spoke about how it forced many of us to live inside
our heads, and sometimes wild thoughts manifested into things that
weren’t true or said. Which brings us to fear - especially fear of the
inability to anticipate or control the most important thing to all of us -
love. Not only is this film is a reminder of what the good times felt like
(flashback scenes), it is also a gentle reminder to say how you feel to the
people you love. Again in the words of our director “we all feel the
truth anyway, and more often than not, you’ll be greeted with love in
return.” What were the challenges of bringing Vesper
to life from a producer's point of view? Budget
and pandemic restrictions haha. We started filming August 2020 which was
the height of lockdown and the unknown. A small group of our friends were
eager and willing to safely make this happen. We stuck to safety protocols
and kept the numbers small, which of course helped the tiny budget we were
working with. We did actually go back for reshoots which is a crazy idea
for a short but it was worth it. We are so lucky to have had people
dedicate amazing amounts of time and energy to finish this project - a lot
donating their extra time for free because they believed in the story. We
actually didn’t get Vesper
completed until September 2022 - so 2 years
of tweaking this was definitely a labor of love for a short film. I am
forever grateful to everyone who made this happen. Do talk about
your director Chadwick Hopson, and what was your collaboration like?
He’s an absolute dream to work with. He’s truly the brains and driving force
behind this entire short. He is a fabulous creative and his network of
collaborators is incomparable. I think because he is first and foremost
an actor, it makes him an actor's director which is a dream to work with.
He understands character and can converse with us as actors to bring out
the best in us. Not to mention his writing skills - the story and characters literally jump off the page,
it’s so exciting to read. He
gave us so much room to play and explore and was so delicate in handling
the more intimate and difficult moments (monologues especially!).
You
of course also have to talk about working with your co-star Skyler Bible,
and as producer, did you have a say in his casting? Skyler is wonderful! I remember during the casting process we brought in 5 actors
for callbacks. I read with all of them, and we knew Skyler was Carter. He
has an ease about him that makes him so open and authentic. He really
wanted to work with us as well, so there was an excitement he brought
during the auditions. I had a lot of fun on set with him and hope to
collaborate with him again. A
few words about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere? Although stressful due to pandemic concerns, mostly making sure everyone’s health
was a top priority (a big thank you to our Covid supervisor Levi Ashlyn)
it was such a great set to be on. We got to work with our closest friends
who are amazing artists. I think everyone was in high spirits because we
finally got to do something creative after a long time in lockdown. The
$64-question of course, where can Vesper
be seen? Vesper
is currently doing the rounds of the festival circuit but you can also
view it on The Knights Young
Vimeo page. Anything you can tell us about audience and
critical reception of Vesper?
Vesper has been incredibly well received. A number of people have told us how
it’s affected their personal relationships for the better. It’s so fun
to know that all the Easter eggs (the most overused film term) were seen
and all the mini details like the changing of channels before Skyler’s
monologue didn’t go unnoticed. Many people have commented how they loved
the callback at the end of the film to tie in the opening scene. But
mostly I think it’s amazing to hear that people can relate to both
characters in some way, shape or form. It’s nice to know we created
relatable humans who struggle with communication and we go on the journey
with them while they figure out the ups and downs of their relationship. Any
future projects you'd like to share?
Can’t share too much yet since it’s the very beginning stages, but we are in
the process of creating a new short. This time in the horror/thriller
genre. For me personally, I’ll be acting in 2 new features with other teams and I
know The Knights Young
have many incredibly projects in the pipeline.
What got you into
acting in the first place, and did you receive any formal training on the
subject? I started out on the stage. I grew up doing local musical theater shows
which lead me to a Bachelor in Musical Theater at LaSalle College of the
Arts Singapore. But ultimately I feel the most joy acting in film &
television. I wouldn’t trade my theater training for anything, I really
believe it gave me a solid foundation as a performer and a
well-roundedness to this craft. I love storytelling and the power it has
in reaching so many people on so many levels. Storytelling can be
entertaining and educational and of course we as an audience love to
laugh, cry, hate, love and root for people in all walks of life. Before I
did my acting degree, I was in a psychology degree so I see so many
similarities. I guess I just love telling human stories.
What can you tell us about your filmwork prior
to Vesper? Since
officially moving to LA in 2016 I’ve had some amazing opportunities. I
was so lucky to be cast in Beyond Skyline back in 2015 which changed
my life. It was my first professional film set where I was flown to
Indonesia to work with incredible talent like Frank Grillo. This film
really put into perspective what I wanted to do so I’m grateful they
gave me the experience. I finally produced my first short alongside The Knights Young
called Other in 2021, so this opened the door to
creating Vesper the following year. It was time to start creating my
own content and exploring more avenues of the filmmaking process. How
would you describe yourself as an actress, and some of your techniques to
bring your characters to life?
I am a bit of a perfectionist which is something I try not to pressure
myself with when being creative. I think my strength is listening and
taking direction. I love the collaborating process and discovering my
character with fellow co-stars and the director - this definitely comes
from theater training. Obviously I do the work at home and come
prepared, but I’m more than open to direction and trying things out.
I’m not a method actor so you won’t see me in character all day.
There’s that insane, amazing outer body experience when they call action
and then cut happens and I’m back to being me. Acting is fun, so I
don’t like it when they tell you the only great artists are tortured souls.
Actresses (and indeed
actors) who inspire you?
Where to begin! Currently I’m inspired by Margot Robbie and Reese
Witherspoon because they truly are top producers and actors who wear both
hats successfully. I love that they have their own production companies,
are part of the development process and see projects all the way to the
end. As an actor I’m forever inspired by Cate Blanchett, Jennifer Lawrence,
Florence Pugh, Robbin Williams, and Bryan Cranston just to name a few.
Your favourite movies? Top Gun, no questions asked! Other top favs include
Notting Hill, The Matrix,
The Italian Job, The Lion King and a Christmas fav, The
Holiday. If I can sneak 2 more in, Hunger Games and Chicago are movies I never get sick of
watching. ...
and of course, films you really deplore?
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Hmmm, this might be controversial but I really didn’t enjoy Manchester By The
Sea. I’m too scared to list any more, haha. Your/your
movie's website, social media, whatever else?
Vesper Instagram: @vespershortfilm
Vesper Vimeo link:
https://vimeo.com/748837532
Anything
else you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask? Check
out Leo James Conroy - he wrote the song featured in Vesper,
Colors
Anew. His talent is undeniable and he should be a superstar. Also
check out The Knights Young - their body of work is incredibly exciting!
Thanks
for the interview!
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