wingman wednesday

For David Lewis, being methodically-hunted down by a bloodthirsty doll while crawling his way through rocks and mud is worth every creeping inch when the knife-wielding plaything in question is the iconic Chucky, and, even more so, when said wielder of knife is given life by the even more iconic Mark Hamill.

“My head almost exploded seeing the Six Million Dollar Man fight Bigfoot, so watching a movie like ‘Star Wars’ was almost beyond comprehension and the thought of one day working with Mark Hamill would have seemed beyond any sort of plausibility for my tiny Canadian brain,” he said in an exclusive interview with TrunkSpace.

We recently sat down with Lewis to discuss expendable boyfriends, Grumpy grand slams, and why this is one of our favorite interviews of all time. (Okay, we didn’t discuss that, but it is, so you should read it all!)

TrunkSpace: First things first! What would 10-year-old David have to say about his future self starring in a project alongside Mark “Skywalker” Hamill?
Lewis: Holy Sh*t!! Honestly. My mother is Irish and my father was a bartender in a bar that catered to longshoremen. I grew up in a house with very colorful language. Ten-year-old David would never have thought this would ever be a possibility. My head almost exploded seeing the Six Million Dollar Man fight Bigfoot, so watching a movie like “Star Wars” was almost beyond comprehension and the thought of one day working with Mark Hamill would have seemed beyond any sort of plausibility for my tiny Canadian brain.

TrunkSpace: “Child’s Play” is a reboot of the 1988 movie of the same name. Was this a film made with the fans of the original in mind, for those generation of movie lovers that came after, or for a combination of the two?
Lewis: I think this a combination of the two. I understand as a fan of certain franchises myself that there are times when I want everything to stay the same or exactly the way I remembered it. But that’s not the way life works. Things are constantly growing and changing and that’s what happens in film as well. Although our film isn’t being made by the original creators we were all fans of the original franchise and I know this film was made with love and respect for this fantastic character. These filmmakers have put their guts into this film and think that it will show. I am honestly excited for old and new fans to see what this devious little ginger has in store for them. (And by ginger I mean Chucky. Not me.)

TrunkSpace: In the film you play Shane, boyfriend of Aubrey Plaza’s Karen Barclay. We know you can’t give anything away, but boyfriends very rarely make it out alive in a film like this! How scared should we be for Shane?
Lewis: Ha!! When did film boyfriends become so expendable?? I’m like a “Star Trek” redshirt! I think we should all be less scared for Shane and more scared of a two-foot-tall red-headed doll that has a penchant for kitchen knives and getting his way… so very scared.

TrunkSpace: Speaking of scares, horror seems to have a built-in fan base in that fans of the genre are always there to support new projects. That’s going to be magnified even more so in the case of “Child’s Play” because of the franchise familiarity. Is it fun working on a project knowing that eyeballs are going to be there front and center on opening night?
Lewis: Absolutely! As actors we don’t work in a vacuum. We want what we do to be seen by as many people as possible and I think fans are going to turn out for this project. I’ve worked on a few horror films over the years and have attended quite a few horror film festivals and I believe horror fans to be some of the most loyal filmgoers out there. There are so many genres within horror that these fans seem happy to vacillate between. Whether it’s slasher films or monster or whatever, horror fans seem to wear their horror badge with honor. It’s really quite impressive. I don’t really know of any other genre that can say that to that extent.

Of course, I drink a lot of gin so honestly what do I know?

TrunkSpace: For the viewer, the end product is the most memorable, but for the actors it must go much further than that. What’s the most memorable aspect of getting to work on “Child’s Play” that you’ll carry with you through the rest of your life and career?
Lewis: That’s a great question. And at the risk of tearing my rotator cuff patting myself on the back, I’ll pass along this story.

Near the end of my shooting schedule there was a huge sequence in the movie that takes place between my character Shane and Chucky. To set things up it was over two nights. In Vancouver. In November. And not giving anything away but I spent most of those two nights crawling through rocks and mud and dirt. Scene after scene. Shot after shot. We started shooting around 6 PM and ended at around 5 AM. Both nights. In my career two of my tougher days on set.

Again, I’m probably going to need a chiropractor from all the back patting I’m administering myself, but on the second night around 2 AM as I was lying in a patch of cold, wet mud waiting for them to call action, a crew member leaned down to me and whispered, “The crew thinks yer killing it and we really appreciate your hustle.”

That filled me with so much pride in that moment it was like someone had hit me with a shot adrenaline. I was taught to work hard and never think you were better than anyone else. And my job over those two nights was to bring a performance, but also to show up and just do the work. Yes the conditions were crappy but no one wanted to hear me whine. Just do the work so we can all get to bed before the sun comes up.

Seriously with the back patting, David!

TrunkSpace: From what we understand, you’re a big comic book fan. If you were suddenly granted the keys to the Marvel or DC kingdoms, what character – super powered or otherwise – would you cast yourself as and why?
Lewis: Wow. Right up my alley with the questions TrunkSpace! Are you single, because you get me?

Well, off the top of my head, I think I’d be a perfect, gently-aging Jimmy Olsen. Intrepid. Quirky. And secretly crushing on Lois. But if I was going to rock the superhero I think I’d go with Plastic Man. I always found him to be just crazy enough to be likeable and his abilities seemed to me to be almost unstoppable. I really found him to be an under-utilized character. And just so off the rails!

TrunkSpace: You appeared in one of our favorite series, “Supernatural.” As an actor based in Vancouver, how important has that series been to the film and television industry up there and was there a sense of sadness among the acting and crew communities when it was announced that it would be ending next season?
Lewis: I loved my time on “Supernatural.” I think I came on around Season 7 and those two gentlemen couldn’t have been nicer. There was definitely some sadness and maybe even some shock surrounding it ending. It kind of felt like it was a Vancouver mainstay but as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end and “Supernatural” was definitely a good thing for our city. I know it was a goal of so many actors in Vancouver to get onto that show. It was scary, funny and irreverent. Sometimes at the same time. A great show with great people. You can’t ask for much more than that.

TrunkSpace: What has been the highlight of your career thus far?
Lewis: Hmmm. For a while it was working on the cult classic “Lake Placid.” Mainly because I had to do some reshoots so they flew me down to LA then whisked me off to Universal Studios where I filmed my scenes in the pool THAT THEY SHOT “JAWS” IN! Yeah that’s right. “Jaws.”

But as crazy as this is going to sound, I think it was working on “Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever.” Not only was Grumpy Cat voiced by none other than my co-star, the ridiculously talented Aubrey Plaza, but my children at the time were quite young and could literally not care at all about my work… until they knew they could actually meet Grumpy Cat in person. They begged me for three days to skip school and come to set to meet this internet juggernaut, and once I cleared it with production and they had their pictures taken with Grumpy I was probably the fourth most popular parent on the planet. There was definitely some parenting fuel for a few months after that. And being huge “Parks and Recreation” fans, I thought they were going to have mini strokes knowing Aubrey was attached as well.

But also “JAWS!”

TrunkSpace: Time machine question. If you could jump ahead 10 years and get a glimpse of what your career looks like a decade from now, would you take that journey? If not, why?
Lewis: I don’t think I would. I’m not big on surprises in my life so I don’t think I’d want to know. I mean, then I’d probably end up building a special case for all the Academy Awards I’m probably going to win. And what kind of wood should I get for the case? Teak? Mahogany? A sturdy oak? Seems complicated. Now taking that time machine back to grade 7 grad and working up the courage to ask Sandra V. to slow dance to “Every Breath You Take”…

“Child’s Play” arrives on DVD and Blu-ray September 24 and will be available on Digital HD September 10.

Even with his successful run as Jonathan Morgenstern on the fan-favorite fantasy series “Shadowhunters,” Luke Baines continues to want to push himself artistically, working to strike a balance between large-scale commercial projects and the kind of smaller independent films that feature characters not typically seen in mainstream productions. His latest project is just that, the dramatic “A Dark Place,” which the English-born actor admits to having reservations about prior to accepting the role of Alex.

“I was really kind of scared because the material was so intense at times,” he said in an exclusive interview with TrunkSpace. “I just didn’t want to do it and not be able to pull it off.”

We recently sat down with Baines to discuss the indie leap of faith, growing comfortable in his own skin, and why he’s looking forward to laughing a little on-camera.

TrunkSpace: You’re enjoying success on “Shadowhunters,” but we’re curious how important it is for you as an artist to continue to pursue projects like “A Dark Place” to appease your own creative hunger?
Baines: It’s really interesting because going into this I was really scared to do this film because it’s such an ambitious project in terms of the writing, and how much time we had to actually shoot it…

TrunkSpace: Twelve days, right?
Baines: Yeah.

TrunkSpace: Crazy.
Baines: Yeah, it really was. So, there were days, just because of the way that filmmaking works, that I was jumping between suicide and the happiest moments of my life, and they were scenes that were scheduled back-to-back. So I’d be crying and then they’re like, “Okay. Great. We’re going to rush you over to the next set, and you’re on your first date with Jas.” I’m like, “Okay. Yeah. Uh-huh. Give me one second?” So, that was really difficult. But it’s obviously  a lot different when you’re doing an independent film like this, and all of the decision makers, essentially, are in the room and they’re on set with you. So, there’s so much more freedom to be creative, and to make different choices, and to throw out ideas and to collaborate. That’s not something you always get an opportunity to do, obviously, on a large scale Disney production. So, that was really nice.

And moving forward, it’s totally something that I would love, to be able to create a balance between doing the larger commercial projects that definitely are important, because a lot of people get to see them and you, and they’re good from that perspective, while also doing this kind of indie smaller budget creative stuff.

TrunkSpace: With that said, there must also be a bit of a leap of faith for you as a performer, because in those early stages of a project like this, you don’t really know what kind of distribution you’ll have when all is said and done?
Baines: Yeah. 100 percent. It is something that is really scary as an actor. These projects come up, you read them, and then you have to try and make a decision with your team whether or not this is going to be something that is good. With this, with Chris (Piñero), this is his first film, and the fear part of it is that it’s my face at the end of the day. So, if the film is crap then I’m the one that looks bad. I was really kind of scared because the material was so intense at times. I just didn’t want to do it and not be able to pull it off. But I met with him and we had a coffee, and I just remember he’s just so full of passion, and he’s so enthusiastic, and there was just something about it where I was like, “You know what? Yeah. I want to do this.” And then going into it I said to him, “Look, it’s not my job to decide whether or not what I’m doing is good. I’m putting all my faith and trust in you. I’m going to go all out, you tell me if it works, and you tell me if doesn’t, and I hope that whatever we get on camera is something interesting.”

TrunkSpace: Well, and there’s certainly plenty of examples of performers doing 100 million dollar movies that don’t work out, so in a way, as intense as those 12 days probably were, you can also justify a leap of faith like that by saying, “Well, it is 12 days and I’m going to take a gamble on the material and hope that it pays off?”
Baines: Yes. And that was kind of my thought process was, “It’s 12 days, and it may never come out…” But I’m proud of Chris and what he’s accomplished. He wrote, directed, edited and produced this film, and it’s good. I’m really proud of it.

TrunkSpace: You mentioned that the role and the writing in general were ambitious and that you wanted to make sure that you could do it right, but was part of the desire to embrace the character of Alex the fact that a role like this would not be available in terms of the types of projects that are being made in the mainstream?
Baines: Totally. And that was something that was 100 percent another draw to doing something like this. I also really loved the fact that it was so grounded in reality. A lot of the stuff that I’ve done in the past is in the sci-fi/horror space. So, to be able to play real human relationships – real human situations – obviously, they’re a little bit heightened because it is a film and not a documentary, but it was nice to actually not have to visualize the demon coming for my head, and just actually play an emotion that I understand.

TrunkSpace: For the audience the end product is always the most memorable, but we would imagine it goes a lot deeper for those involved in a project. For you, what is something from your time making “A Dark Place” that you’ll carry with you through the rest of your career?
Baines: Good question. I think the thing that I’m proudest of with this film was not self-moderating. A lot of the times, as an actor, you come up with the character, or the situation, and you have an understanding of what it is, and then you put out there what you want to put out there. With this it was the first project where I really said to myself, “Listen, the director’s job is to paint this picture, your job is just to bring some color, and he gets to decide what he wants to use.” And so, I really did put a lot of faith in Chris to be able to make sure that it did look good, and it was really, really scary. And so, for me, it was like a personal challenge that I overcame, and I’m happy about that.

TrunkSpace: In terms of your craft as a whole, do you enjoy acting as much today as when you first stepped foot onto a set?
Baines: Yeah, I really do. I actually think that I love it more, to be honest. Earlier in my career I was more focused on doing good work and pleasing people, I guess, and now I feel like I have a little bit more freedom where I can just go and live in the character’s moment, and explore that. And so, I feel like there’s more of a sense of freedom that comes with that, and I think it’s just from having done different projects, and knowing that sometimes they turn out great and sometimes they don’t turn out great. And a lot of that is out of my control. So, I’m better off just focusing on the character and enjoying it more, and I think that I’m doing that now.

TrunkSpace: Is part of that too, just as we age – as humans – we get more comfortable in our own skin?
Baines: Yes. 100 percent. It’s funny, I remember having an agent, God, like six years ago now, say to me that after every major life event you become a different actor. Whether you get in and out of a relationship, have a child, or buy a house, or whatever it is… and it’s so true. I think that, as actors, we can play all emotions, but the ones that come better to us are the ones that we’ve experienced ourselves. And so, the older I get, and the more that I grow, and the more life experience I have, and the more comfortable I am in my own skin, and the more confidence I have, the better I am as an actor.

TrunkSpace: If somebody came to you tomorrow and said, “Luke, here is a blank check. Go and green light any kind of project you want for yourself.” What would you throw into development?
Baines: It would be a comedy, because no one is going to cast me in that. Yeah. If someone’s giving me a blank check I’m going to do some kind of extremely elevated comedy so that I get a chance to actually have some fun and not cover myself in fake blood for one project.

“A Dark Place” is now available on iTunes, Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand.

As a former professional football player who spent years inside the NFL, “Family Reunion” star Anthony Alabi embraces the parallels between his old career as an athlete and his new career as an actor. Like a well-managed locker room, a set can take on a family-driven atmosphere where impenetrable bonds lead to memorable results on the field, or in this case, the screen.

“It’s beyond the words on the page,” he said in an exclusive interview with TrunkSpace. “There’s got to be that stuff in between that can really show the audience, ‘Oh, there’s a real relationship here.’”

We recently sat down with Alabi to discuss tackling impossible careers, going against type, and why, like football, acting goes beyond the Xs and Os.

TrunkSpace: Professional actor. Professional football player. Both are careers that very few people ever get to enjoy. Do you feel like you’ve captured lightning in a bottle twice in terms of the opportunities that you’ve had in your career?
Alabi: That’s so funny you say that, because that’s always the kind of thing that I say. I tell people, “Don’t ask me to do it twice because I don’t think it’ll happen.” I feel very fortunate to have done what I did with football – to reach that level and to be able to play there and to leave under my own choice – and then be able to come and do this. And once again, it sounds good. It sounds like, “Oh you just went and did it,” but there was a lot of pain and suffering and tears. A lot of psychological heartache in between that. But in the end it all seemed to pay off.

My dad… I remember when I told him when I was leaving the NFL to retire and that I wanted to be an actor, and he was like, “What is it with you and impossible careers?” (Laughter)

My best friend kind of put it the best. I’m just kind of annoyingly ambitious. I have this thing, and I think it should be with anybody, if you feel that you can do something and you feel that you have the ability to do it, then I don’t see why you wouldn’t go do it.

TrunkSpace: There are 32 professional football teams, which means there aren’t a lot of spots available for people inside the NFL. With so much content being produced these days due to all of the various streaming platforms and cable networks, do you think it is easier to break into acting than it is football?
Alabi: You would think that, but once again… there’s more volume of shows – more stuff – but there’s more actors. There’s more people to compete against.

I really wanted to set a couple of things in my head when I first started. The biggest thing was, 1.), don’t tell anybody you played football. And I think the big thing about that for me was making sure that people didn’t just immediately assume that, just because you were a professional athlete, that now you want to be an actor because you just miss the attention and you’re in it for the wrong reasons.

The second thing is I wanted to go against type. I knew that immediately when they saw me walk through the door, they were like, “Oh cool, you’re going to be the bouncer or the thug or the cop or the detective or just the big guy that doesn’t really say anything. You’ll kind of just always be intimidating and always just have a scowl on your face.” And that‘s not what I wanted to do.

TrunkSpace: Which is great because now you’re on a show with Richard Roundtree who has had to deal with that himself.
Alabi: Right, and we talked about that. It’s a big thing. They’re going to see how they see you until you change the perception, because we all know in this town it’s “perception is reality.”

I was fortunate enough to get with reps that really believed that and we were kind of parallel in the thought that we needed to go against type. We needed to put me somewhere different. And I think that did a lot.

TrunkSpace: As the performer, you also have to be willing to go that route and not just work to work, which is a difficult thing to maintain when you’re already pursuing a career where so much is out of your control.
Alabi: Right. And I think it’s a process. I think patience is something that’s underrated and I’m still learning. Immediately you want to come in and be like, “No, I just want to work. I want to get the work done.” That’s great, and you may start working a ton, and you’re a bouncer and your this and that, but then all of a sudden you’re capped as a costar or all you do are these small parts constantly where you’re always a mean guy in the prison. Or you’re the mean guy security guard or the mean guy corrections officer. You never kind of break out of that, that’s how they see you. It’s why I never shied away from the parts I get in like “Pee-wee’s Big Holiday” where I was a transgender hairstylist. I’m like, “I don’t care, I’ll play any of it,” because once they can see that, “Oh, he doesn’t care, he’s willing to kind of go there and do anything,” that’s when it frees you up to kind of be anything you want.

TrunkSpace: You’re playing against type in “Family Reunion” as well. Has the role of Moz helped to change perception?
Alabi: Yeah, it has, and I think more so than them seeing it, it was more of just having more screen time for them to see it. With a guest star, you don’t really get a chance to show all of it. It’s just kind of a snippet here or a snippet there. At most, if you get a top show, you may get a little more in the episode, but I think being able to have an entire series in a body of work with episode in and episode out, they can see it. “Oh wait, he can pull that off, or, “He is different.” And that’s what I loved about the show. It’s one of the things that I really, really hold onto with “Family Reunion,” is that Moz is not a traditional football player type.

When you look at Moz, and when you look at the way he interacts with his family – the way he interacts with his parents and in his relationship with Cocoa – it’s different. It’s different than the stereotype that we’ve all had where it’s like this big, black football player, kind of silent type, who doesn’t really interact much and where the kids are more of my wife’s problem and not mine. That’s just the stereotype, and like I said, perception is reality. But with all that being said, Moz is different. He’s funny and he’s strict when he has to be. He’s loyal and loving and caring about his parents and his wife and his family, and I think he’s whatever he needs to be in the moment. That’s what producers and casting can see is that there’s a dynamic there where it’s not just a single line throughout the series where Anthony/Moz is just funny. It’s not that. There’s dramatic moments. There are moments of anger, there are moments of comedy, there are moments of vulnerability. And I think all of those things, when they see that and they see that body of work, it suddenly now changes the perception and opens me up to do other things, which has happened.

TrunkSpace: So as a performer, when you’re spending a prolonged period of time with a character like you have with Moz, does it enhance your performance because you’re seeing so many sides to this person?
Alabi: It does. And I think, you have to understand too, day one, I can do all the research that I want… I can sit there and think of moments and background and really dive into the character of Moz, but I’m not going to know anything until the interactions really start. That’s the biggest thing. Once we started kind of getting into it… and then we got the 20 episode order, which is beautiful… but once that started happening, around Episode 5 or Episode 6 of filming, I started to realize, “Oh, I can speak this and I can speak that and this is my point of view of that and point of view of this.” When you start really getting to flesh out the corners, the deep corners of that character, things change. They’re characters, but in that world of “Family Reunion,” it’s a human being and just like any other human being, they have to evolve. And I think that’s the biggest thing. I think that over time, no matter what, you’ll see Moz evolve. Where it goes, I don’t know, because a lot of that has to do with writing, but a lot of it has to do with the interactions with the other characters on the show.

TrunkSpace: So then are there parallels to football in that regard where, say, your first day in a game you may have some nerves – same as being on set – but once you get beyond that and get more comfortable on the field, it becomes less about the experience and more about focusing on your job and what you’re there to do?
Alabi: There are a ton of parallels between football and acting and I would say one of them is that. I always learned, in football, when you’re prepared you move and when you move fast, you move competent. And with competence comes an ease. I think that’s the same thing in acting. I think if you show up on set, you’ve done the work, you broke down the episode or the scene and the moments that are in it – you’ve broken down what you’re going to do and you’ve made choices – I think when you prepare then you’re kind of quick on your feet. So if something happens in a scene, you don’t lose that moment because you weren’t prepared… you play off of it. And I think that’s where all the juicy bits and all the best stuff comes from, the stuff that just comes off of an interaction where you’re like, “I just think this is appropriate right here.” And for me, acting and football are very similar in that way, where there is an ease. I think once you’ve gotten that first line out, once you’ve gotten that first scene out, suddenly you’re comfortable and you get into a rhythm and you start to feel the music of it and you can just buy it. When you go on set you feel it and you know exactly how Moz would respond. You know how he would feel. You get the interaction. I think that is what helps as time goes on.

TrunkSpace: We’ve been in locker rooms. We’ve been on sets. When either is firing on all cylinders, there really is a family atmosphere present. That must be another welcome parallel between your two careers?
Alabi: Absolutely. I was telling my wife the other day because we were talking about it… it’s like I’m never not around family. And it’s great because I look at somebody like Loretta (Devine), and I feel like have a special relationship because she plays my mom on the show, but since day one, it’s always been this kind of loving, caring kind of relationship where I tease her and look after her and she is always there to give me some advice and always there to make sure that I’m okay. And she’s constantly just around and loving. If you look on set where Tia (Mowry-Hardrict) is, that’s where I am, and where I am, that’s where she is. We’re always together. I think those are the things that really build that relationship. That’s the stuff that people will see on screen where it’s like, “Oh, that’s not scripted. They just have that chemistry. They’re just close.”

And you’re right, it’s the same thing in football. There’s a reason why Peyton Manning and any good receiver he’s ever had were in sync. It’s because it’s beyond the Xs and Os. It’s beyond the words on the page. There’s got to be that stuff in between that can really show the audience, “Oh, there’s a real relationship here.” And that could be small things like a touch here on the shoulder or it could be a look when the camera’s not focused on you. It could be a little thing that you say under your breath that doesn’t have anything to do with the scene, but you say to each other. Those little interactions are what make people go, “Oh my God, I love them. They’re great.”

“Family Reunion” is available now on Netflix.

When Stephen King tweeted out props for the new zombie apocalypse series “Black Summer,” it didn’t only pique the interest of horror fans, it also sent a jolt of excitement throughout the cast. Series star Christine Lee, who plays Korean-speaking survivor Sun, reveled in the shout-out from the King of Horror, but more than anything, she enjoyed bringing a hero to the small screen that audiences are not used to seeing.

“There was so much satisfaction in playing an immigrant woman who turned everyone’s expectation upside down,” she said in an exclusive interview with TrunkSpace.

We recently sat down with Lee to discuss taking stylistic risks, her real-world zombie survival plan, and why she always ends up doing what her heart tells her to.

TrunkSpace: Starring in a Netflix series is an exciting journey in and of itself, but then Stephen King went ahead and gave it a thumbs up. What would 12-year-old you think about this chapter in your life if she had a glimpse of what was to come?
Lee: My 12-year-old self would have freaked out but told no one about it? I always wanted to be an actor but to imagine that I’d be in a show that Stephen King gave a shout out for, would have felt like a far-fetched dream to me.

TrunkSpace: “Black Summer” is a prequel to the hit Syfy series “Z Nation.” Is there a change in the on-set energy going into a job knowing that there will already be an audience waiting for you on the other side?
Lee: I think the creative team had a lot of confidence going into “Black Summer.” They’ve already made a show that ran for five seasons. They knew how to work together. Of course, we were taking a risk in stylistic choice. But John Hyams really trusted his team to bring their A game. And we did.

TrunkSpace: What were you most excited about exploring with your character Sun when you first read for her and what did you grow to love about her as time went on and more of her personality and journey were revealed to you?
Lee: All I knew about my character for certain was that she was only going to speak Korean – I was very excited for that. But what was even better was that Sun turned out to be a total badass. There was so much satisfaction in playing an immigrant woman who turned everyone’s expectation upside down.

TrunkSpace: We touched on it earlier in our conversation, but Stephen King – the KING of horror – gave “Black Summer” some serious love on social media. Do you think that opened up the series to horror fans even more so than it already was, and from your interactions thus far, how are lovers of the genre embracing what you’re bringing to the small screen?
Lee: Oh yeah, his tweet was totally unexpected and it attracted more attention from the audience. I think the viewers find our show refreshing. Some of them are shocked by the fact there’s no build up and we just push them into this crazy experience. But honestly, that’s the best way to keep people on the edge of their seat.

TrunkSpace: When you’re working on a show that involves zombies, there must be some surreal moments on set from time to time. Did you have any “pinch me” moments where you looked around – zombies at the crafty table – and said, “Whoa… I did not see this coming in my career?”
Lee: My favorite moments on set are the times when I hang out with actors in zombie make up, just sipping coffee and talking about random things in life – like paying bills, or finding a babysitter. We could have the most intense moment on camera and then just ask, “When’s lunch?” It’s honestly the best. We all gel together because we love creating that fantasy and illusion for the audience. And to see what goes on behind the scenes is just a cherry on top.

TrunkSpace: For the viewer, the end result of a film or series is always the most memorable, but for those involved in a project we’d imagine it is the experience. What will you take from your time on Season 1 of “Black Summer” that you’ll carry with you for the rest of your life and career?
Lee: I came out as a different actor after “Black Summer.” I’m so lucky to have worked with so many creative and talented artists from that show. Thanks to “Black Summer,” I’ll always be hungry to create an innovative show for the audience.

TrunkSpace: We’ve all been there. It’s late at night, we’re tossing and turning because we’re unable to sleep, and we start thinking, “How would I do in a world where a real zombie outbreak occurred?” Now that you have some hands-on zombie survival experience, how would you fare if the world went the way of the undead? What would be your approach to seeing tomorrow’s sunrise?
Lee: I’ve thought about this a lot – and I’ve decided that I’ll put my cat as a priority. I don’t care if that will get me killed. So I’ll pack water, knives, cat food, and my cat. And run to an isolated place. Maybe I’ll use my old boss as a bait for zombies to buy some time. Just kidding (..or am I?)

TrunkSpace: Outside of acting, you also sing in a cover band. What is your absolute, hands down favorite song to cover and why?
Lee: “Kiss” by Prince. I love the quiet sexual confidence in his delivery until things blow up in his guitar solo. It always gives me so much joy to belt out that last verse, too.

TrunkSpace: What has been the highlight of your career thus far?
Lee: “Black Summer.”

TrunkSpace: Time machine question. If you could jump ahead 10 years and get a glimpse of what your career looks like a decade from now, would you take that journey? If not, why?
Lee: Hmmm… I definitely know I want to direct and produce. If the glimpse of the future says I’ll be successful, awesome. If it shows me that I’ll fail, I’ll still go all out. I’m an all-or-nothing kind of person. And I end up doing what my heart tells me to do even when people say it’s a stupid decision.

Season 1 of “Black Summer” is available now on Netflix.

With “Wu Assassins” set to premiere August 8 on Netflix, series star Celia Au is prepared for the world to see her in a completely different light, though what the show’s possible success would mean for the future is not something any performer can ever truly prepare for.

“I mean beyond the work itself, I have no idea,” she says when asked about the impact of “Wu Assassins” in an exclusive interview with TrunkSpace. “I know that I’ll always be Celia Au and maybe I can pay off my mortgage earlier than expected. (Laughter)”

We recently sat down with Au to discuss unwrapping the excitement surrounding the series, having two shows on the air at the same time, and why she has Photoshopped herself into some of her favorite films.

TrunkSpace: From an outside perspective, “Wu Assassins” doesn’t only look like a ride as a viewer, but to be involved in a series like this – with such big set pieces and complicated choreography – it must have been a ride to be a part of as well. As you gear up to its premiere and the idea of people sinking their teeth into the first season as a whole, what kind of emotions are you juggling with?
Au: Wow! That’s a good question! I am still trying to figure out what my emotions are right now. I am definitely excited! Every time when I receive an email notification about the show, I am like a kid on Christmas morning. I am so proud of what we accomplished together as the Wu fam and I just can’t wait for you guys to check it out.

TrunkSpace: From what we’ve seen, this feels like the kind of show that could become a big hit for a platform like Netflix. That being said, is it important for you to try and not assign expectations to projects that you work on knowing that so much is out of your control? Does that help to not be let down when a project doesn’t find an audience?
Au: I definitely hope that people are going to enjoy and have fun watching it. I know for sure we had a lot of fun shooting the show. I do believe in sending good positive energy into the universe and not worry too much about things that are out of my control.

TrunkSpace: With Netflix rolling out all of the episodes at once on August 8, do you feel like you’ll have a pretty good idea right away if “Wu Assassins” will have an impact on your life beyond the work itself? If it’s a smash hit like “Stranger Things,” it could literally change things overnight.
Au: Oh my! It would be amazing if our show is a smash hit like “Stranger Things!” I mean beyond the work itself, I have no idea. I know that I’ll always be Celia Au and maybe I can pay off my mortgage earlier than expected. (Laughter)

TrunkSpace: Huge show. Huge platform in Netflix. Does it feel like, regardless of it becomes a smash hit with audiences, that “Wu Assassins” will be a career game changer for you that could open up other doors within the industry?
Au: Being on “Wu Assassins” has already been a game changer for me because I’ve met some awesome people just working on this show. I definitely hope that the show will open doors not just for me and our cast but for Asian Americans in the industry.

TrunkSpace: For the viewer, the end product is always the most memorable because that is what we see, but for those involved in the project we imagine it goes much deeper than that. What is something about your work on Season 1 of “Wu Assassins” that you’ll carry with you through the rest of your life and career?
Au: For sure the friends I’ve made on the show. I know that we are going to be friends for life. Career wise, my character Ying Ying is something completely different than any characters I’ve played before so the world can see a new side of Celia and what I can do.

TrunkSpace: Not only do you have “Wu Assassins” premiering on August 8, but you also have Season 2 of “Lodge 49” debuting on August 12. In this industry, does it feel like “when it rains it pours” in terms of the work not only coming in, but also with it finding its way into the world at the same time?
Au: Yes! I totally agree with that. It’s funny because I shot Season 2 of “Lodge 49” months after we wrapped “Wu Assassins” and now they are coming out four days apart. I feel like this happens a lot to people in our industry. We can be unemployed for a long time and suddenly when you book one job, there will be another job that wants you and they almost always have an overlapping schedule.

TrunkSpace: You grew up hanging out in your parent’s video store. As you look back at where you’ve come from to where you are now, would that little girl be surprised by the path you’re on or was this always in the back of her mind? What would excite young Celia most about where you are now?
Au: This was most definitely not on young Celia’s mind. I remember watching movies and being like, “Oh! That’s cool but how do these people make a living by playing pretend?” I think what will excite young Celia the most about present-day Celia is that she gets to see Asians on screen as heroes and kicking butt! When I was a kid, we used to be obsessed with the Power Rangers because that’s the only show where we could see Asian American superheroes.

TrunkSpace: You have a background in graphic design. If you could Photoshop yourself into any movie poster past or present – and in doing so be magically a part of that film as a performer – what would you choose and why?
Au: Of course, I did! I mean it is so much fun and I do the same to my friends’ faces as well. I’ve Photoshopped my face onto Hiro from “Big Hero 6,” Satsuki from “My Neighbor Totoro” and most recently, Peni Parker from “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse!” I’ve turned them all into either birthday invites or holiday cards.

TrunkSpace: What has been the highlight of your career thus far?
Au: I think the highlight of my career thus far has been the opportunity to meet/work with all the creative minds in the industry and getting to be on a show playing a character that young Celia would pretend to be.

TrunkSpace: Time machine question. If you could jump ahead 10 years and get a glimpse of what your career looks like a decade from now, would you take that journey? If not, why?
Au: Yes, I would 100 percent take that journey. YOLO!

“Wu Assassins” premieres August 8 on Netflix.

Season 2 of “Lodge 49” debuts August 12 on AMC.

Feeling as if he had been transported into a post-apocalyptic video game, Kelsey Flower relished in getting to step onto the “Black Summer” set after the designers had their way with it. Between the abandoned cars, shattered windows and gory blood smears, he was sent packing mentally into another world, making it easy for him to tap into his character Lance. Constantly on the move, Lance has an uncanny ability to land on his feet through the course of Season 1 (now available on Netflix), even in the worst of circumstances, leaving his real-world alter ego to deliver more emotion – fear, sadness, despair, etc. – than dialogue.

We recently sat down with Flower to discuss Stephen King’s stamp of approval, shooting in his hometown, and why being cast in “Black Summer” is a reminder to add more cardio to his daily routine.

TrunkSpace: Having a show on Netflix is exciting enough, but what was it like getting a plug from Stephen King – an icon in the world of horror?
Flower: It was definitely surreal. It was crazy. I had to double check and make sure it was actually him. (Laughter) It was just such a nice vote of confidence, particularly in a genre that’s been very saturated. There’s tons of zombie things, so it was very nice to have one of the masters of horror say that it stood out for him as something new and great.

TrunkSpace: It no doubt opened the door for some people who may not have thought to check out “Black Summer” to then sit back and give it a stream.
Flower: Exactly. I saw so many comments under that Tweet that were like, “Oh, I wasn’t really going to watch it, but maybe I’ll give it a shot.” That kind of thing. So yeah, for sure. It was great.

TrunkSpace: What we thought that was great about “Black Summer” was its nonlinear storytelling approach, especially with that first episode. It really hooks you.
Flower: Yeah, I think the creators did a really good job of making sure that we knew that this was something different right away. You’re like, “Oh wait, that just happened…” and so you’re kind of invested right off the bat.

TrunkSpace: You shot a portion of the series not far from where your parents live. Do you feel a sort of special connection to the series, not only because of the work, but because of how it ties into your own hometown?
Flower: Absolutely. It was such a special, special project, not only because it was the biggest project I’ve done thus far, but because I got to shoot it in my hometown in a bunch of locations that I’ve had memories from growing up. I shot at a school where I had one of my first dances. And just the fact that I got to bring my parents to set – and my brothers to set – and show them what I do and what I’m pursuing, it was very special and it was nice to share that with family, for sure.

TrunkSpace: Is it a little weird that actors spend so much time telling themselves that they have to go to other places – Los Angeles, New York, Vancouver, etc. – and then here you are filming this big show in your hometown?
Flower: (Laughter) Yeah. It always seems like that’s the way. They say if you want to work in Calgary, you’ve got to move to Toronto. If you want to work in Toronto, you’ve got to move to LA. That kind of thing. It was very funny, but it made it all the more special, and I’ll do it anytime. It’s a good excuse to see family.

TrunkSpace: You mentioned that this is the biggest show you’ve ever done. Do you view “Black Summer” as a game changer for your career, and if so, have you felt its impact already?
Flower: Yeah, absolutely. I found myself kind of graduate, like get a promotion, in this industry. I was able to get better representation here in Toronto because of it with one of the top agencies. I’ve been able to put myself on tape for LA projects, and just bigger projects and bigger roles, too. Usually I just go out for a small principal, or like a one-liner with 30 people auditioning to say, “Hey, he went that way.” Now I’m getting the chance to audition for meatier, larger roles, which is amazing.

TrunkSpace: Your character, Lance, doesn’t exactly have an easy apocalypse, which from an outside perspective, made it look like a very physical shoot. Was there ever a point where you were running, fleeing or leaping off the top of a bus where you felt like, maybe, you bit off a bit more than you could chew given the physicality of it?
Flower: I definitely remember thinking, “Ooh, I should have done some more cardio for this.” (Laughter)

It was very physical, obviously. I spent more time running than speaking, for sure. And as it is with film, every scene you see me running, I probably had to do that five to 10 times just for continuity and getting it all right. And because they wanted that look of the jean jacket and the hoodie, I had to have that in the middle of the summer. There was definitely not a lot of prop sweat on that shoot. (Laughter)

But I was a kid a candy store and I was having the greatest time, for sure. It was a positive experience the whole time, and just a good reminder to me to do some more jogging. (Laughter)

TrunkSpace: Yes, you did more running than speaking on the show, but you also had some very dramatic, moving moments, particularly in the bunker where you spoke up for Jaime King’s character. That was a scene where, less (dialogue) was absolutely more.
Flower: Yeah, that was actually a really, really great challenge, and it was very validating because up until this point, I had been cast as like the funny stoner – the Seth Rogan kind of character. The guy who’s the awkward best friend. So it was definitely great to have the directors come in like, “No, we cast you because we think you’re a great actor and we think you can tell things, because we know that we’ve written a script that has minimal dialogue, and we cast you because we think you can tell the story without words.” So, that was very validating… and very, very nerve wracking. But also, I was incredibly grateful to have directors that trusted me with what I could do and what I could bring to it. It was incredibly rewarding.

TrunkSpace: There wasn’t a lot of Lance’s backstory presented to the audience. Was that backstory presented to you, or did you have to kind of figure out who he was pre-apocalypse on your own?
Flower: We had a little bit of backstory. There’s a monologue that I auditioned with for the initial audition that gave me a little insight into who Lance was. But for the most part, they really let me leave it up to my imagination, and bring certain things and backstory that I had come up with. So, talking to John (Hyams) and Abram (Cox), we were able to collaborate a little bit on who Lance was, and he’s surprisingly close to me.

TrunkSpace: And that’s interesting because, here he is, a guy who can’t necessarily get out of his own way, and yet he’s one of the last few survivors of the apocalypse.
Flower: Yeah. The whole thing with Lance that was described to me was that he is the guy that should have died first, and for whatever reason, he didn’t. We all have that friend that for some reason, they just keep getting lucky and they just keep going, and they don’t even know why or how. They’re not even aware of it, but things just work out somehow. He (Lance) just has this crazy will to survive. And it’s kind of this idea of in this world, the heroes die quicker and the good people who stick their necks out, they die faster.

TrunkSpace: A series like this – where you’re surrounded by zombies and the apocalypse – it must present some pretty surreal moments on set, like standing at the crafty table with a member of the undead. What was the most surreal moment for you that you’ll carry with you through the rest of your life?
Flower: Oh, man. There was this awesome scene I got to do where it was just me. I get to walk out into the street where the great set decorators have made it this… there’s abandoned cars, and a car on fire, and windows smashed in, and all this stuff, and I just got to walk into this world. It was like I stepped out of the alley and there’s just this world of apocalyptic chaos. It was just this crazy moment that was so wild, and I get to play pretend like this. It was so much fun because they did such a good job in this tiny Alberta town. It’s quiet, and there’s chaos and bloodstains. It was just this crazy, surreal moment of like, “Oh, I just stepped into a video game and now I get to explore this new world.”

Season 1 of “Black Summer” is available now on Netflix.

Actress Parveen Dosanjh is thrilled to be working at a time when television storytelling has become so sophisticated and character-driven, but a career in front of the camera was not always in focus. While being drawn to performance and storytelling from an early age, it wasn’t until she attended a motivational seminar that she chose to step away from her career and pursue acting full time. The gamble paid off, and after landing guest spots on series like “Supergirl” and “Arrow,” she was cast as Dr. Nani Singh in Season 1 of the science fiction series “Another Life,” currently streaming now on Netflix.

We recently sat down with Dosanjh to discuss feeling an instant connection to her “Another Life” character, working on a platform like Netflix, and what helps her feel stable in a career known for its instability.

TrunkSpace: Your new project “Another Life” is the kind of series that would not have been considered 20 years ago, but because of how sophisticated television has gotten, these types of science fiction epics are now possible on the small screen. Do you feel like you’re working at a particularly rich time, not only due to the quality of the content being produced, but also due to how much focus is given to character development these days?
Dosanjh: Absolutely. Having this quality of content makes it more enjoyable for the viewers. There is much more creativity involved as sci-fi is evolving and it will only continue to grow, as the possibilities with the genre are endless. The focus given to character development is a blessing to all actors and viewers, because of the connections and relatability that can be formed.

TrunkSpace: Looking at your particular character – Nani – what was is about her that jumped off of the page at the outset and made you say, “Yes, this is the kind of part I can really sink my teeth into?”
Dosanjh: That is actually how I felt! I loved that she was extremely intelligent, and also strong. She can really hold her own and knows the value she brings to the research. Her relationship with Eric (Justin Chatwin) also interested me, as they tend to banter and compete but also have each other’s best interest at heart. Very relatable to many work partners in real life.

TrunkSpace: This is your longest time – seven episodes – spent with one character. What was that prolonged journey like with a character and did you know going in what her journey would look like throughout that first season or were you still discovering as you went along?
Dosanjh: Good question. I definitely had an idea about this character, but I discovered so much more as I went along through the season. Because it was Season 1, everyone discovers more as they go because there isn’t a set expectation of what the show should look like. It made it quite interesting and definitely more fun to add some more layers as the episodes progressed.

TrunkSpace: Because this is such a big project that has a home on a platform like Netflix, does it feel like it could be a career game changer for you in terms of opening up more doors in the industry?
Dosanjh: Yes, and I’m very grateful for that. Netflix is obviously one of the biggest platforms in the world right now, and I feel very blessed to be able to work for them. I’ve always been a huge fan of their original content and love the quality of it. Being part of this great quality show with the exposure and accessibility for viewers that Netflix provides will definitely open up more doors for me.

TrunkSpace: Science fiction, like horror, seems to have a bit of a built-in audience. Fans of the genre seem more willing to try out something new because they’re interested in the worlds that these types of projects play in. With that said, is it nice to know that a project you’ve worked on will have eyeballs on it when it eventually airs, because it seems like in this industry more than any other, so much of it is out of your control once your contribution is over?
Dosanjh: Yes, it’s great to know that people are drawn to this particular genre and there is a great fan base. So much is out of our control, and all we can contribute is solid work, but yes I think having the certainty that it will be viewed by this ‘built in audience’ really helps, and inspires me to work even harder and be more creative with my choices.

TrunkSpace: For the viewer, the end product is always the most memorable because that is what we see, but for those involved in the project we imagine it goes much deeper than that. What is something about your work on Season 1 of “Another Life” that you’ll carry with you through the rest of your life and career?
Dosanjh: Wow, there is so much that I learned and will carry forward, but I’ll touch on a bit. I think not being afraid to make bold choices is one of them. I learned that from Justin Chatwin, as he makes such interesting choices that add so much depth to his character. He was really not afraid to do that, and that inspired me and pushed me to think even more outside the box, as all of my scenes were with him. I also learned a lot from working with such experienced and present actors (Justin Chatwin, Selma Blair and Barbara Williams). I was soaking in so much throughout the season and learned more on that show than any other definitely.

TrunkSpace: From what we understand, acting wasn’t always part of your long-term plan. What drew you to this industry as a career, and at what point did you decide to take the leap and put 100 percent of yourself into it?
Dosanjh: Yes, it wasn’t a part of my long-term plan, but there was always something that drew me to it. I was an athlete through University, and I loved the performance aspect of it. I also loved storytelling and the study of human behavior (physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually). I eventually discovered that my passion was acting and performance, and I knew that it wasn’t going to be an easy road, but I believe that our instincts are always right, and we should follow them. I attended a motivational seminar, and within that four days, I decided I would give up my business, and focus on acting full time – and of course put all of my effort into it. We are truly born with a parachute on our backs, and we should always take the leap. Life is too short not to do what we love!

TrunkSpace: There’s a lot of uncertainty that comes along with a career in the arts. What have you found to be your rock in terms of staying focused and on your path throughout the course of your career?
Dosanjh: Yes, it is not a ‘normal’ life. Meditation, physical activity and surrendering are what help keep me balanced. Of course, we must train efficiently and stay prepared as actors as well, but the toughest moments mentally are when you’re auditioning and putting effective effort in and not booking. I think those are the moments that matter in our development and focusing on doing things that you love will really get you through. Daily meditation has helped me with focusing on my highest self. Working out (MMA especially) helps release/venting for me and helps me connect to myself physically. Having a great support group or friends that understand you and your life really helps as well.

TrunkSpace: What has been the highlight of your career thus far?
Dosanjh: “Another Life” is the highlight thus far! I also just shot a passion project that has been in the works for the past eight months, and is currently in editing, I am super excited about that one. It’s a short film that will display the power of the female and connecting to our inner warrior. I think it will be very impactful.

TrunkSpace: Time machine question. If you could jump ahead 10 years and get a glimpse of what your career looks like a decade from now, would you take that journey? If not, why?
Dosanjh: Ahh, what an interesting question! And a tough one. No, I don’t think I would jump ahead to see what it looks like. I think that would create feelings/expectations that are unnecessary at this time in my life and would cause me to not stay present. Staying curious, open and trusting that everything will work out how it is meant to be, and is what would serve me best!

Season 1 of “Another Life” is available now on Netflix.

With two shows currently airing – “Good Trouble” on Freeform and “Yellowstone” on Paramount Network – Denim Richards is living out his boyhood dream, but he’s quick to point out the importance of maintaining a balance between professional fulfillment and emotional security, something that is easy to lose sight of when you’re constantly working.

“I think for me, I appreciate this run, but at the same time, I’m also still very much thinking about myself and my emotional health and my mental health and making sure that I’m not getting wrapped up in that and just constantly working on it,” he said in an exclusive interview with TrunkSpace.

We recently sat down with Richards to discuss the changing Hollywood landscape, returning to a character after an extended break, and why actors should never believe their own press.

TrunkSpace: You grew up wanting to be in the industry, so what does it feel like to currently have two shows on the air?
Richards: Oh man, it’s pretty much the biggest blessing. I think it’s something that, when I was younger, I always imagined myself doing this type of work. Obviously, I’ve always wanted it to be as an actor, I just didn’t know how it was going to happen necessarily. I didn’t grow up in a family full of artists. They were all educators, so super logical, and then I came around, super not logical at all, and very emotionally driven. So, I went through many, many years of just going the theater route – doing musical theater and stuff like that – and just waiting and waiting. And I just feel very blessed to finally have broken through in the last couple of years and to be able to do what I’m doing now. And obviously being able to have two shows on back-to-back nights, it’s like a dream come true because there’s people that have worked their entire careers and haven’t been able to do that. So, I just feel so blessed and humbled having the opportunity to be in this position right now.

TrunkSpace: Do you feel like that kind of opportunity is something that is new to the current age of television? If we looked back 10 or 15 years ago, you didn’t see an actor working multiple television projects at the same time.
Richards: Yeah, I think Hollywood has shifted so much now with the medium as far as how entertainment is perceived. Like you were saying, 10 or 15 years ago, if there was a big-time type actor that was on a TV show, he was the number one on the TV show, and then after that, he was just doing films. But now, films aren’t as profitable as they used to be, just because of Netflix and Amazon, and so now I think that there’s been a shift back to where you can make the same type of money doing television as you can doing films, as well as also not having to necessarily go away for six, seven, eight months out of the year to go work on a project that won’t come out for two years.

And especially in this day and age, with my generation, if you have a project and you have to go away for eight months, it’s like you might as well not exist anymore. (Laughter) It’s a weird thing being able to balance, but it’s definitely shifted. And I think that, just as artists, now we have a great opportunity to be able to constantly exercise those muscles, instead of just doing one project and then waiting the entire year for that same project to come back around.

TrunkSpace: As a creative person, and if you have a storyteller’s brain, there’s got to be something really interesting about being able to see that through long-term. You recently got upped to series regular on “Yellowstone” for which a congratulations is due, but that must be exciting to be able to come back after a period of time and see where your character is going?
Richards: Oh man, yeah. One of the best things about this is that – because art imitates life and vice versa – you have the opportunity to take a break with the character and grow as yourself through life experiences, and then be able to come back and see your character as well as yourself in a different light, and add whatever personal experiences that you’ve had throughout your year. And then, being able to kind of infuse some of those experiences into your character, I think it is very enriching. As artists, you need to go out and have experiences in life that are outside of your art, otherwise your character’s never going to grow. So that’s kind of important, that we’re constantly challenging ourselves. There definitely is a lot of benefit of being able to have six to eight months off and then being able to come back to it.

Obviously the goal, 100 percent, is always to come back. (Laughter)

TrunkSpace: Have there been moments where you’ve been working in a scene and you’re trying to tap into the character, and you do find yourself thinking back to something that happened in your own life and relating in a way that you may not have been able to if you didn’t experience what you had?
Richards: Yeah. There’s definitely been some moments where you infuse certain experiences that you’ve had in your life with a character. You haven’t gone through everything, but I think emotionally you can relate to certain things and infuse those personal experiences with those characters. There’s a couple of times on one of the projects that I did a couple of years ago, “The Chickasaw Rancher,” where it was this back-against-the-wall type of thing, but isolated. And obviously for me, I had never grown up in the 1860s in Sulphur, Oklahoma, but I could remember going back and just having childhood memories of feeling isolated and feeling maybe that people didn’t really get me and didn’t really understand me. So, I was drawing on those experiences. Not using that as the forefront – that’s not your entire thing – but it’s definitely an ingredient that you lay down, because I think that you have to be very careful with trying to force an emotion.

When you’re younger… and when I say younger, I mean early 20s, you’re kind of… I won’t speak for every artist, but you’re so desperate to show people that you’re acting in a way, that you’re able to convey these emotions, and so you end up kind of forcing these emotions. So then when it comes out on screen, it doesn’t look organic. And so I think that a lot of it is just having all these different ingredients, and then allowing it to simmer, and then just letting it go and allowing whatever you’re feeling at the time… just trusting that and allow the camera to pick up everything else.

TrunkSpace: What would 10-year-old Denim think of the work that you’re doing now?
Richards: I don’t know. I think that he would probably be shocked. I think that when you’re younger you always imagine that you want to do something but you don’t necessarily know what doing it is going to actually be. You just think that you’ll just show up on screen and then that’s what you’re doing. But there’s so much other work that goes into it. But I definitely can say, from people that I’ve even grown up with that have known me for my entire life and have always known that I wanted to be an artist and I wanted to be an actor, a lot of them are fairly surprised of how all this has gone down. I wouldn’t necessarily say that I’m surprised. I think that I just feel very humbled by it and by the work and by the opportunity. And because of the creators of these shows – with “Good Trouble” and as well with “Yellowstone” – the creators of the shows really have allowed me to be able to just take hold of the characters and just do what I want with them and make them organic. And it’s very rare that you get to get on these types of projects where the characters are not already made for you. I feel very blessed to be a part of this where you really get to feel like an artist and just create however you’re feeling with the characters and that the creators trust you with that vision. I think that’s amazing.

TrunkSpace: With this run that you’re on, is it part of that old adage of work begets work? Did one project lead to the other and so on and so forth?
Richards: I would like to think that, but in the interim there’s a hundred auditions that I didn’t get. So, I would like to take the, “Yeah, I just did this, and then every other one that I get will be equally the same,” but I think a lot of it is just patience. I think that one thing that Hollywood will always do or entertainment will always do is they will keep you humble. You’ll get on these highs and then you’ll take a break and you’ll go on hiatus and maybe go out and audition for another project and then you won’t get it. And it’s like, “Damn!” So, it’s so much of a patience game. And I think that acting is about 10 percent of what we do and 90 percent is working on your mental and emotional and spiritual health and making sure that’s good. Because I think you have to be very careful about not allowing your artistry to define your existence. And I think that if you do this for a long enough time, if you’re doing multiple shows or doing a show and a movie and you’re working nine to 10 months out of the year and you string a couple of those years together, you start to feel like you’re defined by your work.

And so I think that if you’re not careful, you can get lost in that and then that can become very dangerous, especially if there’s a year or two where you’re just not doing anything. So I think for me, I appreciate this run, but at the same time, I’m also still very much thinking about myself and my emotional health and my mental health and making sure that I’m not getting wrapped up in that and just constantly working on it. I think that that is the old adage of not reading your own press, and I think that’s the part that keeps you humble… or should.

TrunkSpace: So how do you balance that with feeling successful in the industry then? How do you define the success and at what point can you let your guard down a little and just enjoy it?
Richards: Yeah, and I ask myself that crushing question daily. “When is there a moment where you just appreciate all of it?” And I think that I do. I definitely appreciate it now because three years ago I had –$66.00 in my bank account. So, I definitely appreciate not having -$66.00 in my bank account and an empty refrigerator – 100 percent. I’m a very firm believer that God will bless you with things, but then there’s a point where you’ve got to go beyond your blessing. And so it’s this moment where you appreciate where you are, but then you also keep going. It’s not the end, because as long as you have air, you know you have to keep going.

“Good Trouble” airs Tuesdays on Freeform.

“Yellowstone” airs Wednesdays on Paramount Network.

With the release of the new film “Desolate” now upon us, we’re taking an extended look at the post-apocalyptic drama by sitting down with those who gave it life. First up we’re chatting with star Will Brittain, who plays Billy Stone, to discuss playing cops and robbers as an adult, revisiting a project months after calling wrap, and what kind of story he’d like to tell if given the keys to the Hollywood investment castle.

TrunkSpace: When you’re starring in a post-apocalyptic action movie like “Desolate,” is there a fantasy fulfillment aspect to it that calls back to your younger self? What would 12-year-old Will think about his future self starring in a film like this?
Brittain: Absolutely. It’s Cops and Robbers on a much larger scale. He’d think it was awesome.

TrunkSpace: The great thing about independent film is that it seems like one of the last places to find a steady flow of original content. As an actor, is that part of the draw in working on a film like “Desolate” and independent cinema in general?
Brittain: Totally. It’s an opportunity to collaborate on some really amazing new stuff.

TrunkSpace: On the production side of things, getting an independent film made can be an adventure in and of itself. When you’re making a film like “Desolate” in this setting, can those schedule and budgetary restraints impact performance, and if so, how do you keep the stuff happening behind the scenes trickle into what you’re doing on-camera?
Brittain: It hasn’t really impacted performance, in my experience. It’s more just a group of people trying to build this puzzle together with limited resources – it makes the going a bit tougher but that’s part of the fun, I think.

TrunkSpace: For the viewer, the most memorable aspect of a project is the end result, but we’d imagine that for those involved it goes much deeper than that. What is something from your time working on “Desolate” that you’ll carry with you through the rest of your life and career?
Brittain: Just getting to film the movie with such a great group of people. We were brothers.

TrunkSpace: You’ve done a number of projects since calling wrap on “Desolate.” Is it odd going back and revisiting a character in a promotional aspect when the film is being released, and does it require having to plug back into the experience internally?
Brittain: Yeah, it’s pretty weird. It’s like looking at an old photo album. There’s some things that strike you with more fondness than you might have anticipated. It’s an emotional experience.

TrunkSpace: If someone came to you tomorrow and said, “Will, here is a blank check… go out and greenlight any project for yourself to star in,” what kind of project would you put into production and why?
Brittain: I’d aim to put one of the films I’ve written into production. I’d love to be able to tell some of the stories I’d like to tell. That’s the dream.

TrunkSpace: Creative people, particularly those who seek perfection from themselves, can be very hard on their own work. Where are you hardest on yourself?
Brittain: I’m pretty hard on myself physically. I like to push my limits.

TrunkSpace: What has been the highlight of your career thus far?
Brittain: Forming friendships that last a lifetime.

TrunkSpace: Time machine question. If you could jump ahead 10 years and get a glimpse of what your career looks like a decade from now, would you take that journey? If not, why?
Brittain: Sure. That would be fun.

“Desolate” arrives in select theaters and on VOD today.

Coming from the daily grind of network soap operas, McKenna Roberts learned what it takes to be a working actress at a very early age. Still only 11, she has since graduated from her “The Young and the Restless” roots to become Dwayne Johnson’s daughter in “Skyscraper” and the 10-year-old version of Zendaya’s character Rue from the new HBO series “Euphoria.” Those are both big roles to fill, and she has gone on to do so with a level of confidence that reaches well beyond her physical age.

We recently sat down with Roberts to discuss on-set lessons, the challenges of taking on characters, and the type of reality show she would one day like to appear on.

TrunkSpace: From Dwayne Johnson’s daughter in “Skyscraper” to the younger version of Zendaya’s Rue in the new HBO series “Euphoria,” you are certainly surrounding yourself with successful talent early in your career. Are you looking at each project you work on as just as much of an education as you are a job?
Roberts: Absolutely! It’s been a tremendous learning experience. Every job I’ve worked on, I’ve taken something from it and put it into other roles and auditions.

TrunkSpace: You spent a number of years working on “The Young and the Restless.” Soap operas are known for their breakneck production schedules, and in a way, that must be a great boot camp to learn from. What is a lesson that you took from your time on the series that you’ve carried with you through the rest of your career thus far?
Roberts: I learned that you need to be on your game – meaning, making sure you know your lines, paying attention to what camera is taping, and at the same time, you want your performance to be on point because they move very fast.

TrunkSpace: As mentioned, “Euphoria” will air on HBO, which is a network that actors of all ages are vying to do work with. When you step away and look at your career from an outside perspective, do you feel like each opportunity has led to the next opportunity, and if so, where do you hope to go from here?
Roberts: Yes, I do think that each opportunity in my career has and probably will continue to lead me to something even greater! I loved that I can add HBO to my resume.

TrunkSpace: In “Euphoria” you play a young Rue. Did you work with Zendaya to pick up the little details of the character – the physical stuff – so that when the audience sees her at 10-years-old, the who of Rue lines up with the where she came from?
Roberts: No we didn’t do that, and I think it was because the beginning experiences Young Rue went through were on a much different level than the Older Rue. And as she got older, her life went into a much darker place.

TrunkSpace: As a performer, is there more pressure involved bringing a character to life when, within the same series, someone else is also breathing life into the same character? Does it become a bit of a collaboration in that regard?
Roberts: I really didn’t feel any pressure because that’s what I’m used to doing with every character I have played in my career. It was just more of a challenge if anything, but I was happy with my work and I wanted to make sure the director was too.

TrunkSpace: What are you most proud of about your time spent on the series?
Roberts: I felt like my role was challenging and I thought I did a good job with my character, and I was just super happy I got to play a younger character that Zendaya was playing.

TrunkSpace: Aside from your acting work, you’re also a model. Do you view both as two separate careers, or extensions of the same career?
Roberts: I do see them both as separate careers for me. But a lot has changed since I started modeling and there are a lot of opportunities that can be tied into what’s going on in my acting career if the timing is right.

TrunkSpace: From what we understand, you like to bake/cook in your spare time. What is a food-related show that you wouldn’t mind being a contestant on and why?
Roberts: Well, the funny thing is that a few years back, I actually auditioned to be on a food-related show called “Master Chef Junior.” I auditioned for it twice and got really close one of the times. So, being on a show like that, or maybe a celebrity baking challenge show, would be really cool.

TrunkSpace: What has been the highlight of your career thus far?
Roberts: The highlight of my career has definitely been working on “Skyscraper” with some incredible people in the industry like director Rawson Marshall Thurber, Neve Campbell, Dwayne Johnson and many others.

TrunkSpace: Time machine question. If you could jump ahead 10 years and get a glimpse of what your career looks like a decade from now, would you take that journey? If not, why?
Roberts: Even though that sounds super cool, I wouldn’t want to time travel to see what my career looks like because I think it would ruin the fun and excitement of what’s to come for me – and I’m happy with how things are going for me now!

“Euphoria” airs Sundays on HBO.