Father/Daughter/Mother Actors Keith Kupferer, Katherine Mallen Kupferer & Tara Mallen talk to The Inside Reel about tone, instinct, anticipation and history in regards to their new film: "Ghostlight" from IFC Films.
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00:00Good luck, honey.
00:17You don't say good luck.
00:19It's break a leg.
00:23Break a leg.
00:28It's interesting to see the levels and the sort of modulations every single one of your
00:33characters does.
00:37Actually Keith, we could start with you because looking at the sort of progression of Dan,
00:42who Dan wants to be, who he wants to be for his family, what his family wants to be for
00:48him.
00:49Could you talk about that?
00:50Because it's a amalgamation.
00:52We're simple creatures, but we have a very complex nature.
00:56Could you talk about that from both the psychological point of view and an acting point of view?
01:01Yeah.
01:02I think that Dan is kind of stuck in his own grief right now, unable to do his job, unable
01:13to be a proper husband and father to his surviving child.
01:20And that's adding to the problem, obviously.
01:27It's making it worse.
01:28It's making him angry, and he is really kind of in a stasis.
01:35The thing that pulls him out of it is, of course, the theater that he ends up joining.
01:43I think as an actor, it was fairly easy for me to tap into somebody like that.
01:49I've worked with a lot of guys like that over my lifetime at odd jobs and whatnot.
02:01My dad was a little bit like that.
02:04His generation of men were closed off to their emotions because it was, quote unquote, unmanly.
02:15It's also fun to play someone that repressed and have the moments where the emotion explodes
02:23out of him, or he's overtaken by his sadness, his sorrow.
02:36Those are fun to play as an actor, immediate, you know?
02:41Yeah.
02:42Daisy has had plenty of chances already.
02:45Get out of the street!
02:47Are you kidding?
02:48This is her last one.
02:52Did you reach out to the therapist I recommended?
02:55Am I supposed to go in there or something?
02:59Some parents choose to.
03:01It's really up to you.
03:02I'll be back in an hour.
03:05Oh, my love.
03:09How long have you been doing skits?
03:1110 years.
03:12See you later.
03:13Where are you going?
03:14I'm meeting Mikey for a beer.
03:17Again?
03:18Is it Cat or Kathy?
03:21Where do you go by?
03:22Katharine.
03:23Katharine.
03:24Could you talk about, you know, that's the interesting thing, that's the irony, because,
03:28you know, obviously that was your grandfather he was talking about, but it was, but your
03:32dad, your dad has this interesting, he's an actor, and you're an actor.
03:37So are you able to communicate in that shorthand?
03:40And how did that translate into the screen?
03:43Because it sounds like you could anticipate, at least that's what Kelly was telling me,
03:47that you guys can anticipate each other, and add these little moments to something
03:51that was inherently very scripted.
03:54So my dad and I, well, we've been making movies since we were little, since we were both little.
04:02Together.
04:03Yeah.
04:04They've been making movies at home together.
04:06You know, on iMovie, we do that.
04:11And so we, my dad and I really like get along very well.
04:17We're pretty close.
04:18So when we were doing certain, certain scenes, I feel like there was definitely this kind
04:25of shorthand, and we were able to kind of know what the other person was going to do
04:33and really how to, and how we could, I don't know, bounce off of it or whatever.
04:42Katharine would do something in between takes.
04:45I like to make him laugh.
04:47For one example, in the truck, I, in the scene, I put on his hat and his glasses, his construction
04:54outfit, and I had actually done that when the cameras were cut, just, you know, looking
04:59at things.
05:00And my dad was like, no, you should do that when they start filming.
05:04So I did.
05:05And Alex really, really liked it.
05:07And so.
05:08It was just to follow the instincts and not think about things or, or prescribe things
05:14to yourself.
05:15And I saw that and I'm aware of it because if you watch, when you watch children, they're
05:23just themselves and we'll do something that's so easy.
05:26And then as we get some adults and certainly as actors, we try to go back to that.
05:32And it's very difficult because you're trying to be spontaneous, but you're aware of yourself
05:36trying to be spontaneous and it's best to just follow your instincts if they like them,
05:42if they like them, if they don't, they don't.
05:44You know, my friend, her whole family goes to family therapy and they all talk about
05:49their feelings together because she's not the only problem.
05:57Hey, asshole!
05:58Daisy!
05:59Say hi to mom, cheater!
06:01Excuse me.
06:02Oh God.
06:03Is this a threesome?
06:05It's for a play.
06:06What play?
06:08But the thing about going over to you, Tara, is the, the aspect of the pendulum, because
06:12you're sort of the equalizer within the whole thing, which is why those scenes like, like
06:16with Keith and you in the bed and him just saying those lines say so much because sometimes
06:22the sound silences can say as much as just the brute energy.
06:26Like sometimes the Catherine was doing where, you know, it's, it's about the spectrum of
06:33a family.
06:34Can you talk about that?
06:35And then obviously I'll ask Catherine about that again.
06:38Well, you know, I will tell you that the script fits on us in a lot of ways, like a glove.
06:49When I read it, I thought, oh, we really slid in there in a lot of ways, in a very naturalistic
06:56way.
06:57It isn't a huge departure from how we interact in a lot of ways.
07:02I mean, of course, these are characters and we're inhabiting them and I am different from
07:08Sharon in a lot of ways, but there are aspects to the character and to her function within
07:17the family that are very similar to how I function within my family.
07:22I always say I'm the CEO of my family and Sharon is definitely the CEO of her family.
07:30These guys have a way that they function together that is very playful and I'm definitely the
07:40one who's trying to always bring us back down and get us ready to go to school and do this
07:48and do that.
07:49I'm the one who ruins all the fun and make sure that we have what we need to get us through
07:56the day and that kind of stuff.
07:59At least you're telling me.
08:01Yeah, well, it's something, but it's also, this is very heavy material.
08:04It's obviously, you have to heighten it, I mean, so, but you also have to find the humor
08:09and that modulation, it can be tricky.
08:16So Mrs. Coffield says that-
08:19Alleges.
08:20Daisy.
08:21What?
08:22It's her word against mine.
08:23Give it a rest.
08:24Honestly, I don't think we should be trusting a woman who uses the word irregardless in
08:28a school setting.
08:29A professional educator.
08:31Okay.
08:32She alleges that Daisy pushed her.
08:34Ow.
08:35That didn't hurt.
08:36You can't tell me what hurts.
08:37Pushed.
08:38As in?
08:39Physically.
08:40Two hands.
08:41In front of the class.
08:42Is that true?
08:43No.
08:44I tried to go to the bathroom, which is my human right, and she used her disgusting body
08:49to block my way.
08:50It can be tricky on stage versus screen because you're playing to certain aspects of camera,
08:57but you don't want the camera to know that, if that makes sense.
08:59Could you guys talk about that?
09:01It's almost like technique versus instinct, which you were talking about, Keith.
09:05Yeah.
09:06Can you talk about finding that, finding the right energy to bring to a scene, whether
09:10it be like in the pub, the pub per se, versus that ending scene?
09:16Or when you, Tara, when you're outside and you're accusing him of something, you know,
09:23it has to sort of, you know, move back and forth.
09:27I think Kelly and Alex deserve a lot of that credit.
09:32The script is beautifully written.
09:35It's beautifully written, and she is incredibly skillful at interjecting the humor in some
09:43very serious moments.
09:47Is it because she's an actor?
09:49Yes.
09:50Okay.
09:51It's an incredible gift for understanding rhythm and nuance.
09:58A lot of what we did, you know, I am really struck every time we watch the film by these,
10:08you know, when you're a theater actor, you're always like, oh, I didn't get my laugh here.
10:11I did, I got the good laugh.
10:13And you're always like, I'm going to get the laugh here.
10:16When you read a script, particularly a script that can be heavy, and you know you need to
10:23get those certain laughs so that the play doesn't become leaden and is palatable, right?
10:30Ask anyone in that class, ask Bailey.
10:33They'll all tell you that I asked nicely three times.
10:37She actually said I couldn't go.
10:39I mean, like, what?
10:41You just want me to pee right here in this seat?
10:43Are you going to clean it up?
10:45And I didn't shove.
10:47Shoving is this.
10:49Bitch, move!
10:50Hey!
10:51I did this.
10:53Will you move your gross body?
10:56Please?
11:02Fuck this.
11:04I think in this film, they do an exquisite job of finding that levity that makes it very human
11:16because we all are able to laugh through our tears as humans.
11:21And they do such an exquisite job of finding that.
11:25And some of that really is squarely on Kelly's shoulders in the script where she really wrote
11:31in those moments of humor, right, Keith?
11:35And then I keep saying to Keith every time I watch it, there's a couple moments that I give
11:42credit to Alex and Mike, our editor, where they edited it so beautifully.
11:48And I get these laughs in very serious moments consistently.
11:54It's a consistent laugh.
11:56Every audience, I've seen it.
11:58And I'm like, I don't know that I could have landed it that beautifully and perfectly every night.
12:04But they get it every performance.
12:06And that's the editor, right, that really found that rhythm and nuance and got the exact right
12:12take and put it in the exact right moment.
12:15You know, and it's really beautiful, that kind of rhythm.
12:19Did you want to add anything to that, Keith or Catherine?
12:23No, I think that's the same.
12:25There you go.
12:27There you go. I love it.
12:28There you go.
12:29What?
12:30You're happy.
12:31Okay, weirdo.
12:32Many of us live our lives repressing our emotions because out there they can be a liability.
12:38But in here, we can put those into good use.