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Your new movie When
a Stranger Knocks - in a few words, what's it about, and what can
you tell us about your character in it?
When
a Stranger Knocks is about struggle, conflict, letting go and finding strength
to overcome. Sky has many regrets and wants to fix trauma of her past to
mend relationship with her brother. She is strong but has a hard
time letting go in order to heal the relationship she wants to mend. What did you
draw upon to bring your character to life, and how much Dawn Hamil can we find in Sky?
I drew upon reality. Life is far from perfect, finding those moments
and reliving them was my core motivation for portraying Sky and what
she was going through.
Besides the real emotions I tapped into, and being a fighter, not too much
of Dawn Hamil is found in Sky. It was difficult going to “dark”
places and staying there. I am by nature an EXTREMELY happy and
positive person. Finding conflict when I wanted to be sweet and
caring was not me at all.
How did you get involved with the project
in the first place? And how did you end up on the producing side of things
as well? Doing the project was my idea. 2020 happened! As an actor working your way
through the gauntlet, Covid shut down was detrimental to our
careers. ESPECIALLY not being in large cities and states booming
with the industry. In this industry they say “if it’s not
happening, make some happen" ... and so
I did. Director Javan Garza [Javan
Garza interview - click here] had another script I was ecstatic about, and actually thought that
might have been
the project. When I spoke with him telling him I want to make a
feature, I asked how much do we need? He immediately spitballed
this idea about a woman camping, finding her way thru woods,
and having to face adversity fighting for her life. At that time the
feature was named “Savage”. The script went thru a few edits, I
found investors, we cast it, found locations, set dates and here we are.
To what degree could you identify with When
a Stranger Knocks' approach to horror? Well… this is the 1st “horror” I’ve actually watched so I can’t actually comment on this.
What were the challenges of bringing When
a Stranger Knocks to life from a producer's point of view? First
and foremost’s biggest challenge for me was being confident enough
in my ability to make this happen. Second thing I thought would be a
big challenge was finding the money. I am so blessed with the people
around me, who believe so much in me, and what I do, the majority of
the investors heard my heart, and the desire to make this
project happen. They offered all on their own. After that, the demand
that was placed on everyone with such a small budget was hard for me
to watch and bear knowing I could not compensate them more than what
we offered. As producer delegating to others when everyone wore 10 hats was very hard for me.
But we are a team and I couldn’t do it on my own. Javan couldn’t
do it on his own so we all banded together, joined arms, and bore the
burden on our shoulders as a cohesive unit. That being said, the
challenges that we faced we were able to conquer because we have such
a great team. Do talk about When a
Stranger Knocks' director Javan Garza, and what was your
collaboration like? Javan and I balance each other out so well. He’s my little brother. I get
to boss him around and he does what I say. It’s perfect ... just
kidding. We are able to have 100% open line of communication regarding
everything. No emotion just straight fact. That enables our friendship
and working relationship to thrive during the highs and the lows of
filmmaking and life. He is such a talented individual with such a
beautiful mind of creativity, articulating and storytelling. That is
not a talent that I have. I am a go-getter and “get things done”-type of person, so I get the privilege of helping him tell his
stories, and I absolutely enjoy every single second of it.
When
a Stranger Knocks wasn't the first time you've worked with Javan
Garza - so what can you tell us about previous collaborations, and how did
the two of you first meet even? Javan
and I met 10 years ago. He put out a casting for a short film that
required an actress with physical strength and able to endure some
hard tasks, and I answered. That short film is now called Bite of the Adder.
It’s on YouTube so go watch it. After he got over his first
impression of me, the filming of that short, it went great, and he
continued to ask me to be in his films. He is definitely an actor's director.
He's very generous in letting us as artists work and bring our
creativity to the roles and the story as a whole. Melany Rose was the
first feature I was involved a little bit in production, and was
the lead in that film as well. Each collaboration we do, I believe we
both grow leaps and bounds. Back to When
a Stranger Knocks: What can you tell us about the shoot as such,
and the on-set atmosphere? When
a Stranger Knocks, being my first full fledged producer role as well
as lead role on top of key hair and makeup, key wardrobe, crafty, and
everything else that wasn’t involving the equipment or directing, I
feel the atmosphere on set was as good as it could be. One thing I
love about smaller productions is the relationships and the closeness
that we build with everyone on set. Yes, there were stressful times on
set. that first couple days getting into the groove and trying not to
work people 24 hours to stay on schedule really opened all of
our eyes to the necessity of really being a team. So the atmosphere
continued to morph and grow and really became family. Just like any
family, there are highs and lows but at the end of the day we all love
each other, and we got it done.
Anything you can tell us
about audience and critical reception of When
a Stranger Knocks?
Putting anything of yourself out there you kind of have to be prepared and
expect for negativity incoming from anywhere. One take on it that I
always have is everyone has a different perspective. There is not one
project out there no matter how big the budget, no matter how amazing
the director, or the actors, or the storytelling etc. is, there
isn’t a perfect film. And honestly with our project When
a Stranger Knocks I haven’t received much critical reception. I
appreciate that the viewers can see what it is, see past the flaws and
love the storytelling and the beautiful shots of the film. We know
there will be negative critiques and that’s fine. All I have to say
is, WE DID IT! And we are proud of it. You have to start
somewhere and if this is our starting point, I am so excited to see
where we go. Any future projects you'd
like to share? I am hoping that the screenplay I mentioned earlier that Javan had
written years ago is going to be a reality soon. I know Javan has
other projects, but this one is my focus. What got you into acting in the first
place, and did you receive any formal training on the subject? I
started acting in church. Plays that we would do for outreaches and
holiday seasons. In high school, I took drama and fell in love with
the making of any scene and dialogue your reality, then sharing it with
everyone watching. My formal training started in high school drama class, I have taken
workshops with AnnMarie Crouch and Darla Birganti Kain, Lance Nichols,
CD Ryan Glorioso and I have my current coach and acting mentor Gary Grubbs.
Of late, you've also picked up producing, as with When
a Stranger Knocks - so what prompted that move behind the camera? I
think I kind of answered this in a few of the previous questions.
However, I’ll say it real quick… I’m not talented in writing, creating a story and telling a story in that aspect.
I do love to make things happen. I love to help others I truly
believe in to achieve their dreams and their goals. That is what
prompted me to move behind the camera.
What
can you tell us about your filmwork prior to When
a Stranger Knocks, in whatever position? Lots of local indie projects. I had
one line in Anchorman 2, small role
as punk girl in Let's Be Cops (scenes were cut), VH1's Single Ladies 1
episode, NCIS New Orleans 1 episode, #KillerPost 1 episode,
3-Headed Shark Attack, Lady Ballers, a few concept promo shoots and lots of
commercials. How
would you describe yourself as an actress, and some of your techniques to
bring your characters to life? I’m
a work in progress. I’ve always said, Good actors aren’t acting.
We find in us, the REAL moment, feeling, emotion and reaction from our lives, relive them to share
with you. Making a character come to life by creating their story from
beginning to end so that I know the mannerisms, nuances, things that
make them tick, things that make them irritated, things they love,
things they hate and can deliver to the audience the truth of that
person and the reality of who they are. Actresses (and indeed
actors) who inspire you?
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Meryl Streep and Johnny Depp. These 2 become 100% the character
they play. I don’t see them in any film. I see who they have
become. Others: Dijmon Housou, Travis Fimmel, Michelle Yeoh,
Zoe Saldana and Christopher Waltz. Your favourite movies? The
Game, The Kid, Secret Life of Walter Mittey, Gangster
Squad, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Adventures of
Power. ... and of course, films you really deplore? I
always find something good in everything, so I don't feel that
I have any that I can say I really deplore. Your/your
movie's website, social media, whatever else?
https://www.instagram.com/_dawnhamil_
https://www.facebook.com/dawnchristydovehamil
Anything else you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?
As in any film, The Crew is theback bone, we could not have done
it without you! I hope that I was able to express the
amount of gratitude and love I have for everyone
involved. Even the beautiful lady, Heather Madison, that
provided our meals in the cabin. I don't feel as if there is
a person more important than the other, although some
roles are more demanding or more in the limelight. I truly
appreciate every breath and moment everyone poured into this
with Javan and me. We became a family and we did this
together. I believe it's something we can all be proud of.
I also want to give a shout-out and a moment of gratitude to
our investors and sponsors. We are a cohesive unit and we
couldn't have done it without everyone involved. EXTRA honorable mention to John Loftis, Orlando Street, Drew and
Teresa Higgs. Thanks for the interview!
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