Interview: "The Imposters" Actresses Marie Everett, Chynna Walker, Amanda Michaud and Tegan Mordt

An all female ensemble, finally!

Have you waited too long for an all female cast film since 2008's The Women? Marie Everett (Maya), Chynna Walker (Hattie), Amanda Michaud (Rebecca) and Tegan Mordt (Anna) star in The Imposters, a thriller by British director Nicholas Winter. The film is now available on Amazon and other providers.

Last month, I had the privilege of interviewing the cast on the CinematNIC podcast. Listen to this episode and more on Spotify.

The following is an automatically generated transcript. It may or may not contain errors.

[Nicole]

My podcast has returned and it's a holiday edition, indirectly. Happy holidays to everybody, this is going to be released on December 23rd, 2024. It is rare having the pleasure of interviewing two female leads in a movie, and having four leading ladies is such a wonderful thing.

We have Marie, who plays Maya, Chyna, who plays Hattie, Amanda, who plays Rebecca, Teagan, who plays Anna. They all co-star in the new indie film The Imposters, a wild dive into an LGBTQ love. And all around it, I didn't watch this film because I didn't want to get my...

I have a tendency to have spoilers in my questions, so I said I don't want to do that. But to me, that's what it looks like, a mysterious thriller. It's directed by Nicholas Winter, and it just might be your next peak viewing experience.

So let's have the cast all tell us about who they are and all of that first.

[Tegan]

Hello, my name is Tegan Mordt and I am a South African actress living in London, and I play Anna in The Imposters.

[Chynna]

Hey, I'm Chynna Walker. I live in Austin, Texas. I'm originally from Flower Mound, Texas, which is north of Dallas area.

And I play Hattie in the film.

[Marie]

Hey, my name is Marie Everett. I play Maya in The Imposters, who is the person you meet who has just broken up with her girlfriend and is going through a very difficult time. We're not entirely sure why.

And we watch how things play out and life unfolds after meeting the very enigmatic character, Hattie.

[Amanda]

Hi, my name is Amanda Michaud and I play Rebecca in The Imposters.

[Nicole]

Okay, question number one. This film is set up so the character Hattie has dark secrets. How do you all act in a story so you don't give things away like me?

Because you have already read the script.

[Amanda]

My character is an integral part of the story, but she's sort of slowly revealed over the course of the film. So I always just describe my part to people as a supporting character who has a hand in setting events in motion.

[Marie]

My way of dealing with this was after the revelation, as soon as that happened, and my character begins to understand what's going on, I had a big line in the middle of my script. And up until any scene before that line, I was in a romance. And after that line, I was in a slightly different film.

But I just didn't even think about what I knew to be coming. And tried to play it much more innocently and remain focused on the connection between myself and the character Hattie.

[Chynna]

Yeah, I think with a character like Hattie, I think she's a good liar, or she should be. And so when playing someone like her, I actually just just try to play her genuinely, even when she's lying, just playing that as if she's not lying. Because I think she's a good liar.

And good liars kind of almost believe the things they're saying, and you don't want the audience to know. So to make it simple for my brain, I just go, well, this is who she is. This is genuinely who she is.

She really just is someone hitting on a girl, and she's kind of awkward. So yeah, that's kind of the simple route I take. And then if there's moments of little Easter eggs or foreshadowing with a look or a statement or whatever, I think that I would rely on the director, in this case, Nick, because he has, I think, a better understanding of the overall arc and kind of where we're going in a bigger sense.

[Tegan]

Well, for Anna's character, she really doesn't know anything that's going on. She doesn't know that Hattie has these dark secrets. She doesn't know who Hattie is, and she doesn't even know what Maya's darkest secrets are.

She doesn't know what Maya did. And so for me, it was just important to play it as honestly as I could. And Anna is very suspicious that obviously something's going on and that Maya's having an affair, but it's deeper than that.

And she doesn't know what Hattie's intentions are or who Hattie even is up until the end. But for me, it was to just play it as honestly and innocently as I possibly could, because she is really collateral damage in the whole situation.

[Nicole]

What did the director want when initially working with you so your best would be brought out in the performance?

[Chynna]

You know, it's been so long. I mean, it's been over two years since we filmed this that I have a hard time remembering specific direction. I do remember me and Nick having tons of conversations about Hattie, but it felt very collaborative.

I've said that word so many times about this project, but it was just really collaborative. Nick was very open and I tried to stay really open too. And we just had a ton of conversations about her and really molded her through those conversations and within the scenes.

And he just made me feel like I could ask him any question or nothing was silly or stupid. It was just, we were figuring it out. So it really felt more like that.

I can't remember a specific direction, but it just always was a really easy conversation with him and really crafted Hattie together.

[Marie]

I knew he wanted me to be me, which was nice. I found that out just before we started shooting in the sense of I was having a little wobble and was asking a few questions about the character. And I mean, we were just about to pretty much start.

It may have been the night before or it was the day of the first shoot. I was asking some questions about Maya and does he see her like this? And does he see her like that?

And he just was like, the character is you. You're the character now, kind of thing. And it just made me feel so calm and it kind of gave me the ownership of that character.

It felt like he kind of passed the baton over and it was like, this is yours now, just be, do you. And I also, I once asked him, Nicholas Winter, the director, how he saw my casting. And he kind of explained it to me as the thing that makes you unique, your kind of USP is not necessarily anything that's like really specific to you and the way you look or anything like that, but it's the way that you can impact other actors in scenes.

And the effect that you can have on them. And although he wasn't telling me, this is what I want you to do. It kind of made me think, well, this is what he wants me to do.

And I'd never thought of it that way. And I'd never seen that as like anything unique to what I did or anything, but having him say that opened my eyes to it and for sure whether it was conscious or not had an impact on how I played things in the film and how I went about stuff and choices that I made. Yeah.

[Tegan]

Having those initial conversations with Nick on the phone about who we both saw Anna as were very important in helping me build her character. And I think what we got to was the very core of Anna being, wanting to be loved by Maya. And that she wasn't getting that love.

And that was her core motivation. And that was very easy for me to connect with and dive into and give everything to. And the way she went about trying to get that love from Maya.

Nick did say to me, he wanted there to be contrasts between Maya and Anna, like Anna being physically taller, blonde, more extroverted and direct and says how she feels and trying to get a reaction from Maya to show Maya's state of mind as being very insular and keeping secrets and almost being numb to Anna. And so you saw a big collision in personalities. And I think that that was something that was important to show about where they were at in their relationship.

And that helped me a lot.

[Amanda]

I would say Nick was a very observational, neutral director. Almost felt documentarian in his approach. He was never super overbearing or aggressive.

He was very trusting of us and our vision for the character and for the performance. And if anything, he would guide us towards what he wanted very gently, usually with leading questions or just sort of curious statements, you know, like what would it be like if we tried this? What would it be like if we did something this way?

And, you know, it would just kind of coach what he wanted out of me, at least. That was my experience. And I think it was very helpful that he wasn't overbearing.

[Nicole]

What are some new improvements to your acting chops and range that happened because of The Imposters?

[Marie]

I mean, I've been acting for a while now, but this is one of the only jobs I've ever had where there was actually a long lead up process. You know, this happened over COVID and then I was pregnant. So there was a lot of delays that happened from kind of between the first draft to like we're shooting and actually like rolling the cameras.

And so it just gave me a lot of time to reflect and work on my process. I just had time, which is just not something you normally get as an actor. And by doing that, I got the opportunity to kind of with trial and error and stuff, see what kind of actually really worked for me and what resonated.

And, you know, kind of a decade out of drama school, I think I might have finally got my process and mainly because I didn't have to just pick one. I got to like just do it in a way that there was room to try things. So silver lining of delays after delays is that I think I was probably better because of it.

But also, yeah, selfishly, I think I now know what really works for me and feel confident about really knowing what my process is.

[Tegan]

I would say that some of the improvements to my acting was having to go to places that I'd never been before in terms of my emotional life. I'd never worked in such a high stakes situation. That last scene where we go into the desert and we know that we're going to have to have a life or death situation.

That was really something that pushed me to go to places I'd never been before and live in that world of I might die out here. And that was something I've not ever done on a set before. And I would say that watching the two leads at the very end, just working off each other, improving and just living in the moment in that life.

It was like two people. It was like they were just really living it. And that was a masterclass to watch for me.

[Chynna]

Yeah, a big thing that happened from this film actually that has really carried through other films is honestly that just what I just said about it being so collaborative. I think Nick's energy and openness really because he was that way really helped me speak my mind and trust my instincts. And since that film, I feel like I'm so much less afraid to really ask questions and figure things out in an unashamed way and really voice my opinion.

And he, that film was the film that really, this film was really the film that kind of solidified that. And since then, definitely just feel like a more confident performer, at least in terms of just voicing what I am feeling and what I'm thinking. And if it's not received, totally fine too.

I think it's just such a collaborative medium or I think it should be in a lot of ways. It isn't always and that's okay too. Sometimes there's very specific ideas a director has and I've definitely been shot down and you just move on and you make the most of it.

And that's good too. I think just trusting who's ever in charge, but yeah, this film really helped me kind of build that foundation of trust within myself. And that's a big part of that is to Nick.

[Amanda]

Well, this experience was a new challenge for me in every way, practically. It was my first time going abroad to shoot a film. It was my first feature entirely.

It was the first movie I did where I was shooting scenes of a more intimate nature. So I think it really tested my abilities in every way and showed me, like any project, kind of the areas that I could improve on and work on more. And just sort of the things that I will now take with me to my next project and work on.

[Nicole]

How do you relate to a character who may not be anything like you?

[Tegan]

I got very lucky with the impostors. I found Anna very easy for me to relate to. Being a struggling actress and having financial issues are very relatable.

I know all about it. And also being in a relationship where you're not feeling fulfilled or made a priority is very easy for me to relate to at least. But I think when it comes to characters where you don't immediately click and you don't immediately understand their motivations, I think it's important to just keep asking yourself those questions to find your way into them.

What would have to happen to me in order for me to behave in this way or for me to want those things or do those things? And it's just a process of going deeper and deeper into yourselves, into what could possibly happen in order to find yourself in them.

[Amanda]

You know, I think you find what common ground you can if it's something similar in your background, an experience maybe you've had in common with the character. And if you can't find much of anything like that, which I was lucky enough to have a couple of things that I think I could draw on for Rebecca, like just being an anxious teenager in general at a point in my life and a couple other, well, yeah, I mean, mostly that just remembering being an anxious teenager. But if you can't find anything that's sort of similar between you yourself and the character you're playing, you, I think at that point, just look for context clues in the script and then link them to other sources.

So, you know, people you know in your life that remind you of this character that behave a similar way to the character, other fictional characters and films and books and TV that you've seen before. So that's what I did. A lot of my research for Rebecca was actually just kind of collecting characters from other media that I felt were similar to her in some way and just building on that, like just building layers.

[Chynna]

I think with any character, even if they're, you know, outwardly very different, I feel like I can find some kind of through line, at least in terms of desire. And I think for Hattie, you know, this, I think she has a deep love for the people in her life that she's loyal to. And that in itself is something I understand.

And though in Hattie, it created a vengeance in a way, you know, kind of a violent reaction, though that wouldn't be for me. I can understand why it would happen. And so I think it's just finding that innate quality that or desire or want or feeling that I also, I can relate to and just kind of pulling that out and pushing into it maybe a little more aggressively than than I would myself.

[Marie]

Normally, you can find stuff that is like you, even in the most far, what feels like when you first read something, the most far off characters. There actually normally is some stuff, there's like a, you can normally, as you spend more and more time with the character, start to find that, oh, there is a part of me that's like that. And if I imagine this situation, or if I was, you know, if I'd actually grown up in this world, then maybe I would have been a bit different.

For me, if I don't relate to a character initially, it's all about doing lots and lots and lots of imagination work. So I will imagine and play out lots of scenarios in my head, almost like a very like kind of like a deep meditation, you know, I will literally like close my eyes, put the kind of inspirational music on that suits what it is I'm doing that might take me to that place. And I'll think about like, you know, the scenario that I'm struggling with, the aspect of their personality, and maybe the relationship with their parents that happened before, and then the big fight that they'd had with their parents that may have led to them being like this, and kind of fill my mind with experiences and reasons to help shape who they are.

And so then I kind of stop judging the character because I know that the reason they're doing this is because of this, this, this, this, and this that I've kind of lived and experienced in my mind already. And it takes away that judgment.

[Nicole]

I can't believe I am saying this because it is a good problem. But now the LGBTQ female thriller is getting to be an overcrowded genre. What makes this movie unique?

[Amanda]

I honestly don't know that I would say it's overcrowded. You know, I think I understand the question. I think it's definitely becoming something we're seeing more often.

But of course, you know, there's no shortage of traditionally, you know, heterosexual couples and movies or, you know, relationships between heterosexual characters or, you know, exploring that dynamic. And I think even, you know, I'm very happy that we've won so many awards that have to do with, you know, LGBTQ, best LGBTQ film. Like, that's fantastic.

That's super exciting to me. And I'm very grateful. But I think in the future, it may become an obsolete label in that these are just human stories, human relationships that we're exploring, like any other film.

And right now, of course, I understand that it's maybe necessary to have these labels because, you know, we want to find our audience and we want to... That's the word I'm looking for. We want to...

Oh my god. So sorry. I'm totally blanking.

Yeah, we want to find our audience and represent. We want to represent that portion of the population. So I think it's necessary right now to label it as such, but I don't necessarily think it always will be.

I hope that it won't be anyway, that the traditionally, quote unquote, niche character types and minorities in film won't be looked at as any different than what we've seen as the mold.

[Tegan]

I think that The Impostors is unique in the LGBTQ female thriller scene because the film doesn't make a big deal about asexuality. In fact, it doesn't even mention anything to do with their sexuality. It's just simply part of who they are.

It's about their lives, their stories, their secrets and everything that unfolds, but it doesn't dwell on labeling or defining them by their sexuality. And I think it normalizes the experience of queer women because it focuses rather on their humanity and their struggles and their relationships, rather than making it and reducing it to a single narrative about their sexual orientation.

[Chynna]

Well, I think a big thing that makes this movie really unique, at least as far as I've seen, is that it's a completely female cast. There's not a single man in this movie. And it's high quality for being really scrappy.

We were just actors, makeup artists, and Nick, and that was it. And we made this beautiful thing with truly nothing. And it really inspired me too.

I'm like, if Nick can do this and create this thing, then anyone can make a movie. You just got to have the drive, the ambition, the passion. And I think this also just has so much of that foundationally pulling it forward.

And that's something that though a lot of filmmakers, so many artists have, of course, and create films with that. I think it's not always there in the films we watch. Sometimes it's just a money-making machine, which is cool too.

But this one definitely has a lot of heart and passion. And yeah, I'm really proud of it.

[Marie]

Things that make it unique is definitely the, well, the all-female cast. I think there's only 27 films listed on IMDb that have ever had an all-female cast. So I don't think that aspect of it would be an overcrowded area.

That's pretty niche. It's certainly not something I've ever seen in all my years of auditioning so far. This is the first time I've ever seen an audition for an all-female feature film script.

The other thing I think that's interesting and makes it different is within those all-female relationships is that there's a lot of power dynamics at play. And as an actress, power dynamics is so often focused on between men and women in film or a lot of the films that I've seen. And there is a completely different twist on that when it's between women to women and how we view that as a society and whether we're more lenient on it or not.

And whether it is as, I don't want to give too much away about the film, but is it as bad? Is it not as bad? It makes you ask certain questions.

And I found that a very interesting aspect of this film.

[Nicole]

What are some tropes the film avoids from female-led scripts and LGBTQ cinema? A complaint I have as a viewer of some shows and films is they don't give LGBTQ characters full personalities enough of the time. Sticking someone into a plot is not enough because that person deserves a backstory.

[Marie]

Yeah, I agree. I've seen a lot of stuff coming out in particularly more recent years where it feels like we're trying to move forward and have those LGBTQ plus characters, but they've maybe just been shoehorned in or popped in there, not fleshed out, but they're just there to tick a box sometimes. And it was really refreshing to have a script that these are the main characters.

This is a small cast of well-developed, complex, interesting characters. There is no tokenism here. They are the story and that feels great.

And also from the perspective of just as a woman to read a script where you're like, wow, like it's just us, like we're enough. And that feels brilliant. So I think by keeping the numbers small and really focusing on these characters and lots of drafts of this script to get it to where it was, it had so many different shapes and forms and actually was probably a more action-packed film on first reading, but in the earlier drafts and by the end, it was a much more complex, emotionally driven kind of a piece, which was just really allows for that kind of more in-depth character work from all the actors and is a gift as an actor because it's not something that appears in a lot of scripts that we get to read.

[Chynna]

I definitely have the experience of, you know, it's difficult to really read a script and find a female character that actually has depth and complexity. And I think specifically I can speak for Hattie because I played her. She's so much of that.

I mean, I'm still figuring her out. You know, I watch the movie and I'm like, Hattie, who are you? And I think that is such a gift as an actor because especially a woman, because they're just, there aren't that many female roles that are really, really interesting like that and really genuinely female.

And I think Hattie is that girl. She is that girl.

[Tegan]

I would say one of the key tropes that The Impostors avoids is that none of the women are stereotypes. I think in a lot of LGBTQ films, many queer women are reduced to certain cliches or one dimensional roles. Whereas in The Impostors, none of the characters are defined by a stereotype or their sexual orientation.

I feel like each character is fully realized, three dimensional with their own personality, backstory and motivation. And them being queer is just a part of who they are. It's not the defining central aspect of their character.

[Amanda]

My character, Rebecca, I feel she has a pretty well-rounded backstory. You know, the things that she does make sense in her narrative, her behavior comes from a place of maybe some neglect, a lack of love in her life, a need for control. All these things come from past events, at least things that I, well, there are some that are explicitly stated in the script and then some things that I filled in myself just in my character development stage.

Yeah, I think it avoids that trope of sort of just thinly written LGBT characters just because it gives her motivation. In a way that feels very real.

[Nicole]

You largely come from the stage. How does it feel for each of you having the chance to do multiple takes versus a one shot, no chance to fail performance?

[Tegan]

I feel, you know, I don't think Nick likes to do that many takes. He's not a director that does hundreds and hundreds of takes. In my opinion, he, you know, he's not going to give you a thousand takes.

He likes to keep things fresh in my opinion. But I think knowing that you can do another take does give you some room to play with in terms of trying different things out. And maybe this take you want to try this out and the next take you want to try something different.

And also knowing that maybe your performance improves with each take, hopefully, and you get more settled into the character and you get more relaxed and more free into trying things. So that's what's exciting about working with film. Although obviously there's downsides where you can feel like you're becoming a bit robotic and falling into a line reading.

But yes, I guess that's where stage is exciting. Stage is very in the moment, fresh. There's a feeling that you're getting from the audience.

It's live, which film doesn't often have. But I think they have their beautiful things about them. But yes, I think having, you can still fail a performance, even if it's film.

But yeah, I think knowing that you have that second take, it's exciting to be able to play with different things and try things in each take.

[Chynna]

I love theater. I haven't done it a long time, actually. So film feels much more, I don't know, it's just much easier now than it used to be.

I definitely did more theater growing up and up until my early 20s. But yeah, I mean, the ways in which theater is hard, film is easy. And the ways in which film is hard, theater is easy.

And so I think it's a give and take. And there's such a thrill in a live audience. And that is definitely something that I miss with film.

But then in film, you can play so much. And there's so much intimacy in film that I really love, and so much realness in film acting that I really love. So I don't know, it's a give and take.

But yeah, I love them both. But I think I was always told I was too small when I did theater. So I probably do better in film.

And it does feel, you know, it's gotten to be much more comfortable to me.

[Marie]

Yeah, the great thing about when you're working on film and having those multiple takes is that you get to offer different things. And each, you know, you can, you can ride the wave of a scene. And it can be what it can appear quite similar, but the camera picks up everything.

It can be incredibly different, each scene, and you can try different things. And that's an amazing kind of freedom that you don't get in quite the same way on stage, you get to obviously do it night after night. But you are, I think, more committed to once decisions have broadly been made, you kind of have to stick with them.

Whereas with the film, the thing, you know, it's great to have that freedom. But the thing that's hard about it is that you're also handing over so much of the creative choice and freedom and the shape of that performance at the end of the day is decided in the edit. Obviously, it is what you give.

But if you know, if you've given five different versions of that scene, and they're pretty different, how the editor puts those together, which bits they choose when they're focusing on your face. I mean, so often they're using parts of the take that were not the reaction to that line, they're actually reacting to a different line, but they kind of, you know, they like how it looks there. So you have to be okay with letting it go.

And also understand that the what what is created at the end of it is also not necessarily what you even did. You probably never did a take that looked like that. It's an amalgamation of all the takes.

So it can be a weird one, because you don't know quite how good you are. Because it's a weird feedback, because you don't know how much you were helped by the editor and music and all of those kind of things. Whereas on stage, you are definitely you know, there's a bit more you're out there on your own.

And yeah, win or win or lose. And whether you're going to succeed is kind of in your hands a bit more. So there is definitely a bit maybe a bit more safety, or you can be helped along a bit in film, but equally at the same time, you better be working with good people, it's so important who you're working with, because they could shape the end product so much.

So it is so deeply, deeply collaborative. There has to be a lot of trust there.

[Amanda]

So I'm actually mainly a film actor. I've I worked in theatre or not worked in theatre, but I did theatre in my school years. But um, yeah, I think that's kind of one of the differences between American and English actors is that a lot of English actors really go through intense schooling and start out on the stage.

Whereas, you know, American actors kind of fly by the seat of their pants and kind of fail upwards into into these jobs. It's a very different system, starting out at least for a lot of people on different sides of the pond. It's so I've only really ever done I started out doing background work and short films and student films and music videos and that sort of thing.

So this wasn't different in that sense for me.

[Nicole]

What are some of the lessons people don't know about the ins and outs of acting when you're not filming? You're an actress trying to do your best with auditions, training, working and the rest of it.

[Chynna]

Yeah, I think you know, a big thing for me is it's it's really hard to find, you know, a day job when you're not making, you know, your full income from acting, which hopefully someday will happen. But for me, you have to find a day job if you're fully committed to acting, which I am. I don't want to work at a place that's not going to be flexible, you know, because you'll get an audition for something.

You'll find out you have an audition for something the night before you have it, or you'll find out you booked something the night before you you have to be on set or the week before you have to be on set or you're out for a month. And so it's hard. It's unpredictable.

And it's a lot of work. And I think that's why a lot of actors that I know, you know, work in in restaurant jobs or remotely now, I feel like that's more available now. But because it's just much more flexible.

Like right now, I'm working at a restaurant in Austin. And, you know, thankfully, I found this place that they are super supportive of my acting career, and they're very flexible. And you just got to find someone to cover your shift, and you're good to go.

And people are really kind and, you know, helpful with that. So, but it can be hard to find a place where they understand that because, of course, people are running a business and they don't want employees that are just going to leave it on a whim. But so that can be really difficult.

And, you know, 90% of this job is just auditioning too. And I think, especially for people who want to be actors, I think there's this idea that it's all just, you know, fun performance opportunities on big stages or in big films that it's like most of this is actually just taping in your bedroom or going into a live audition, which doesn't really happen anymore, at least for me. And so I think people get burnt out because they realize that's kind of the thing and you really have to like that.

And so far, I still like that. So that's why I'm still doing it because I actually really enjoy self taping. But yeah, it's just a lot of work.

It's a lot of unpredictable things.

[Amanda]

Oh, you know, it's not glamorous, maybe 95% of the time. It's hard work when you're first starting out, especially when you have no connections. It's hard work on its own, but you're not only doing the work of developing your craft and training and studying and auditioning and developing, but you're also like, you know, for a lot of people, working class actors anyway, you're working a full time job on the side to be able to make money to support yourself.

And I think one of the hardest parts about it is being your own motivator. A lot of the time, you know, when I first told everybody around me that I wanted to be an actor, I was at that point, a very shy teenager who never done that work, never even started a play in school because I was so shy. No one really thought that I could do anything with it or go anywhere with it.

And, you know, they were supportive, but it wasn't. I really had to motivate myself. And I think that can be hard when you're coming from what sort of a working class background and it's seen as a bit of a pipe dream or something that children dream of doing, but then you grow up and you get a real job.

You know, so I think that's it's really tough. It's very grueling mentally and emotionally. And honestly, like, you know, people think of it as, you know, it'll pay off and it'll be glamorous, but it's there's no guarantee that you're ever really going to get the glamorous side of it.

Right. That's the most successful people in the industry are the ones that you see on the red carpet. And I think it's also to just remembering that like actors in general, you have to be very OK with embarrassing yourself to do this job.

It's not something for the weak of heart. It's you can't be afraid to look ugly. And your performance, you can't be afraid to sort of pull embarrassing faces, make embarrassing sounds, just do things that you would never do normally and look weird in front of a lot of people.

And, you know, that's something that you really do have to like. That's where classes come in. We're just getting used to sort of being mildly embarrassing in front of people is is very helpful.

You can't be vain really doing this work, which is ironic because I think a lot of people view us that way or view actors or, you know, yeah, actors in general, celebrities, I guess, as vain people. But I don't think you can really successfully be an actor and be very vain.

[Marie]

The ins and outs of acting when you're not filming are pretty brutal, as you can expect. There's obviously long periods where stuff isn't happening and then it does happen. It warms up once and you have to try and juggle multiple jobs and childcare and everything.

And it's it's always been like that. And I think, you know, people always talk about you have to be able to deal with the rejection, you have to be able to deal with the time off. But a huge thing I've seen that is really prevalent in people that manage to stick it out and keep working is that they're also willing to keep backing themselves over and over again.

And like it's the the self-belief and the ability to keep picking yourself up again after these rejections, because the dampening of spirit is is hard and can be really tough. And you've got to be able to like repeatedly pull yourself out of lows and out of dips. And yeah, pull yourself up again, get yourself infused again, make sure that, you know, you're feeling good and happy and fit and looking after yourself, because otherwise it's so hard to walk into a room and and sell you to people otherwise, because people are buying into you.

And you are the even if, you know, obviously you're going to play a character, but it's it's you that's it's you that's doing that. And you need to be your biggest supporter and cheerleader and investor and friend. And I think so much of being an actor is like self work in order to be able to sustain a career and the lifestyle.

Like most people I know, in fact, I think every all the actors I know very well anyway, who have continued to act for long periods of time, are very introspective and think deeply about how to how to make how to make this all work. And they do a lot of self work, because you have to become very strong and very resilient. And often that is the harder part than the acting.

You know, people say you need to keep acting all the time and go to classes. And that is all great. But actually, I feel like acting is always there.

It always stays with you. Like I've taken big breaks at times from acting and then you go and do a job and it's like you never stopped. It just kind of is straight back.

But your mojo or and your motivation and your inner like spirit can be the harder thing to just call back upon. Like once that gets dampened, once things have gone a little bit badly for a while, once you've had a series of no's and knocks, the harder thing can be to to keep that up. And that's like the great skill kind of I think that that people need that gets them through through their career.

[Tegan]

I think what people don't realize about acting is there'll be big periods of time when you're not acting because it's so fickle, the industry. I mean, you might have a year of being able to book so many different jobs and then you might have, I don't know, 10 months of it being really quiet. And I think the biggest lesson that I've learned in this whole career path, I guess, is that it's important to have something else that you love, do something else that you love, that you can do in between when you're not acting.

It's important to have that base job that keeps you busy and that you love on the side of acting. Your side hustle needs to be something that you love doing because you're going to do it a lot. And constantly training is what's going to keep you feeling like your skills are growing and you're connecting with other actors and you're still doing your thing, like going to the gym.

It's important as an actor, you don't just stop acting when you're not on a job because you need to constantly be training for the next one. It's like going to the gym, like being an athlete. So that's the two main things that I've learned in this career is never stop acting, always go to class and find something else that you love to do in between because there can be really dry periods.

Let's say, for example, COVID or something that happens again, you need something else that gives you life. But just keep going to class and keep loving it and keep remembering why you're doing it. And if you're doing it for the love of it, then those in between periods will still be fulfilling for you.

[Nicole]

What have you learned about promoting an independent film when it is harder to make money and have a claim against proven franchises and brands like Barbie?

[Marie]

You don't have those famous names which are going to draw people to watch it, and you don't have that huge promotional budget. So suddenly that festival run is so important because you need something that says, hey, this is good guys. And that's how I pick films that I want to watch.

If I'm looking at independent cinema and it hasn't got anyone, it hasn't got people I know in it, maybe not a director I know, I'm looking for those lols. If it got into that festival, I've kind of heard of that, I know that's good. I'm way more likely to watch it because it's kind of already got a stamp of approval.

It feels like that was the approach of the imposters. And luckily, you know, it seems to have worked because it got into festivals and ended very well. So it seems like you just have to take a very, you have to take a different approach.

You have to work with what you do have and just encourage people to watch it. So yeah, get it in festivals, get people to say it's all right.

[Amanda]

Well, yeah, you know, bigger projects, obviously, are going to feel more glamorous, and maybe to some people more rewarding. You know, if you can say, oh, yeah, I was in Barbie. People know that that's a recognizable IP, like people have seen that movie, everybody who hasn't seen it has heard of it.

And it makes you, I guess, in certain ways seem more legitimate in what you're doing. But I think smaller indies like ours are able to push the boundary of filmmaking in a way that bigger studio movies cannot. In that, you know, they're thinking about their bottom line, first and foremost, they're investors, they want to make a buck on their film, which is why now we're seeing sort of this influx of sequels and prequels and origin stories and remakes and just all this stuff that is like, you know, it's really just about making back the money.

But, you know, you ask any creative in the industry, any actor, director, you know, most of them will tell you, if you ask them for their favorite films, they'll give you some titles that are generally somewhat obscure to general audiences. You know, it'll be things that are older or just a little more niche or maybe foreign, smaller, low budget stuff is sort of what it's driving everything forward, driving the creative side of the industry forward in exciting new ways. And I think it's very, very necessary to keeping it fresh.

[Tegan]

I think an important lesson that I've learned from being part of promoting The Imposters is that every little counts and that you should always celebrate the small wins and that they aren't small wins, that they're actually amazing. And that all of the film festivals it went to, it was maybe over 150 or something and came back with so many awards and wonderful reviews that we got. And it was, yeah, for that it's, that is success.

And I think it's about redefining what you think success is and knowing that this is not a blockbuster film. This is a very unique story with a small group of actors, a very small budget, one director, producer and crew. And to be proud of what we achieved and just staying true to what it is.

And I think what's amazing about indie films is that it reaches audiences in a more genuine, authentic way, in a more intimate way. And that's exciting. And yeah, so I think it's about celebrating the small wins and connecting with local communities, creating a more personal connection with viewers and listeners.

And yeah.

[Chynna]

You know, we just kind of started promoting it. So I think I'm learning the lesson actively in this moment. I'm not sure what it is exactly, but yeah, I've had, gosh, I don't know how to compare it to those bigger films because I've never been in one of those, you know, I don't know what those kind of, kind of experiences are in terms of promoting.

It seems like it's long days of talking to people live. And this is definitely, you know, it can be a little scary because I've never done this before. And so it's like, oh, you know, what if I say something stupid?

But I think there's some release you just kind of have to have. And maybe that's the lesson I'm learning is just to let go and let myself sound stupid, maybe, possibly. And you know, it's not the worst thing.

[Nicole]

Are any of you off to direct and or write your own material?

[Amanda]

I have my ideas. I will say not yet, but hopefully eventually.

[Tegan]

I've always wanted to direct and write my own material. I've sort of got ideas in my mind of what I want to do. But yeah, it's something that I feel like I'll do in the future when I have more money, one, and more experience.

But I definitely want to write and direct my own stuff. Absolutely. So let's say it's in the incubator for now, but absolutely would love to do something like that.

I do love dark comedies and that's probably the realm in which I would want to play with. So you never know. We'll see what happens.

Maybe 2026.

[Marie]

I've done a bit of writing in the past and that's been performed in theatre. I find writing so difficult that I think I will leave that up to other people. I do have a deep desire one day to direct.

But even saying that, I feel like I'm like, oh, God, can I? Can I? Will I ever?

Oh, I don't know. But yeah, we shall see. I've said it now, so I might have to go do it.

Good.

[Chynna]

I've been wanting to write my own feature for a while now, and I've learned a valuable lesson in the last few months that I have a very hard time doing things if I try to do them by myself, especially things like the daunting things like writing a feature. And so I asked a friend if they wanted to collaborate and we were reading Save the Cat together and working through writing a feature. And it's been really fun so far.

So yeah, that's kind of one thing I'm working on. And then, you know, just auditioning and everything as usual.

[Nicole]

And the last question, a cheesy question I end with frequently. Where do you all want to be with your careers in a decade?

[Chynna]

Oh, you know, in a decade, I would just love to be, you know, rich and famous. You know, just honestly, if nothing else, I would love to just be an actor and be making money as an actor, at least a creative and be able to support the life that I want, which is like, you know, having a house, having a family and also being an actor. And that's all I have to do.

That's the dream. And if I could be rich and famous, too, that would be, you know, that'd be fine. I'd be fine with that.

So yeah, I think 10 years. That's that's kind of that's kind of the goal for sure.

[Tegan]

Well, I've always absolutely loved and adored Saoirse Ronan. So I hope in 10 years time that my career looks just a little bit like hers. I want to be doing the type of projects and films that she does.

And I would love to have my own production company churning out some fantastic and amazing films. So that's my plan for the next 10 years. Hopefully Saoirse Ronan will be working with me.

[Marie]

My drama school audition, I remember saying, oh, I what's my you know, they were like, what's your goal? And I was like to be a working actor. If I can kind of if I can make my money, if I can live off being an actor, I will certainly think I've been successful.

But things change as time goes on. And, you know, you hit that goal. And then you're like, oh, actually, I want something else.

So I think it's like an always evolving question. And I think in 10 years time, my answer will be probably different to what it is now. But currently, what I would like in 10 years time is to a still be acting and be a happy actor, like still be enjoying it.

But be to be being like challenged and to have been progressing within my abilities. So I don't know how that would look exactly. But I would like to be being more challenged as an actor.

I'd like to be playing characters that interest me and getting the opportunity to do that regularly would be nice. Yeah, I think you realise you're like, like, just just living off acting definitely isn't isn't enough. You know, you want to be creatively fulfilled, you need that you need to cut to get to get kind of filled up with these creative jobs.

And, you know, doing something like The Impostors, getting to play kind of these meaty roles, it makes you it certainly made me realise I'm like, that is what I want. That's it. So more of that, please.

And yeah, to be to be content and hopefully somewhat fulfilled with my job would be would be delightful.

[Amanda]

I would love to still be working. That's that's sort of my aim. If I'm if I can still say I'm acting in 10 years, I'll be very happy and honestly, not even just acting.

I think just working in film in whatever capacity I decide to work in it would make me happy. There's lots of things I'd like to try out. I'd love to do costume work.

I'd love to do set design, cinematography. I'd love to try my hand at writing and directing and having more creative control over the final project and or the final product, I think would be great. And it's really exciting to me.

So we'll see. Fingers crossed. I hope I hope that I'm still kicking around in the industry in 10 years.

And thank you so much for this interview. It was great to think about some of these are great questions that made me it was exciting. So thank you very much.

[Nicole]

Thank you to everybody who appeared on this episode. And thank you to all of the listeners out there. Happy holidays.

May the Grinch bless you with a visit to your home. And I don't know exactly. I may have to rewatch that.

I don't remember what the Grinch does, but he's angry. So I hope you spend your holidays not angry and not grinchy. I love all of you listeners.

Thank you so much for supporting my show. And please support this movie, The Imposters. Support all the movies starring women and LGBTQ plotlines.

Have a great holiday. See you next year. I hope I hope I have a new podcast next year.