IR Interview: The Cast Of “Breakwater” [Vertical]

The Inside Reel

Actors Alyssa Goss, Darren Mann & Dermot Mulroney talk to The Inside Reel about texture, location, physicality and masks in regards to their new thriller: “Breakwater” from Vertical Entertainment.

Transcript

00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:03 Needed a little nudge.

00:16 [LAUGHS]

00:19 Your buddy is coming to kill me.

00:21 [SCREAMS]

00:24 He took her!

00:26 You could have just played your part.

00:28 [SCREAMS]

00:31 It's your turn to wake up afraid.

00:37 With something like "Breakaway," it's

00:42 like old school, almost Southern noir.

00:44 You know, that old Cape Fear, little bit of "Kill

00:48 a Mockingbird," you know, certain elements of that.

00:51 Can you guys talk about-- because you have to sort of

00:53 exist, like in any movie, in a heightened reality.

00:55 But you have to know the truth of where the characters lie.

00:59 At least, not so much the plot, but in what they believe.

01:04 Could you talk about finding sort of that emotional core

01:06 in each of these?

01:08 Dermot, if you want to start, then Alyssa, then Derek.

01:10 Yeah, well, your description is right what we were aiming for,

01:14 a Southern thriller with this dark overtones and plot

01:19 twist, with revenge threads and who actually is being true.

01:26 And you were right about the feel of it.

01:28 We shot it at Cape Fear.

01:29 Those back-- those intercoastal waterways,

01:33 what do you call it, the savanna,

01:35 the hanging moss on the trees.

01:38 That's exactly what James Rowe wanted this movie to feel

01:42 and be like.

01:43 A really, maybe a throwback.

01:45 But hey, the way I look at it, let's throw forward

01:48 and have more movies like this and redo gnarly movies

01:53 from the--

01:54 that we made this movie from the heart.

01:56 So that is my favorite kind of film.

01:59 [MUSIC PLAYING]

02:00 [INAUDIBLE]

02:01 [INAUDIBLE]

02:02 [INAUDIBLE]

02:03 [INAUDIBLE]

02:04 [INAUDIBLE]

02:05 [INAUDIBLE]

02:06 [INAUDIBLE]

02:07 [MUSIC PLAYING]

02:09 I have a daughter.

02:22 That's her.

02:24 See if you can find her for me, will you?

02:25 You sure?

02:26 Let me know she's happy.

02:27 I think I've earned that much from you.

02:30 If I was on the outside, I'd be down there tonight.

02:34 How do you know Ray?

02:36 I have to be an ex-con.

02:38 Man has no friends left in the real world.

02:40 The search for the escaped prisoner is still underway.

02:44 Ray, he has a vendetta.

02:46 [MUSIC PLAYING]

02:50 I built a home here.

02:52 Mommy!

02:53 Come on, we gotta go.

02:54 Mommy, where are we going?

02:55 On an adventure.

02:57 For you guys, for Alyssa and Darren,

02:59 can you talk because, you know, these characters

03:01 are very specific.

03:02 But you have to play them with a certain earnestness at times,

03:04 but also a certain knowledge at times,

03:07 let's just put it that way.

03:09 Could you guys talk about sort of embodying each of them

03:12 and what it took for you to sort of understand who they were?

03:15 Alyssa, if you want to start.

03:16 From the beginning, James is really involved.

03:19 And we sat down and talked about where--

03:23 who my character was, where she was going.

03:27 And when I first read it, I was like, wow, she's so badass.

03:33 She's awesome.

03:34 She's, you know-- and then I realized after watching it,

03:39 it wasn't until I watched it that, oh, maybe she's not so--

03:42 so it was interesting for me because I think that I really

03:46 approached it from like, she's in the right all the way.

03:51 So it was just really sticking to the fact

03:53 that Eve was running from something from her past.

04:03 And how do I bring a strong character like that to the

04:07 screen?

04:09 And luckily, I had Dermot and Darren to work off of.

04:13 And they were absolutely so amazing

04:16 and so giving as partners where it made

04:18 it easy to play the character.

04:21 They made it easier for me.

04:24 I have a daughter.

04:25 I know.

04:26 I said I never met the right person.

04:30 I had a family, but I did.

04:33 I've got a daughter.

04:35 Haven't spoken in seven years.

04:36 As far as she knows, I might be dead.

04:39 I didn't know whether she was still in Virginia

04:43 or even the country.

04:44 Then the damnedest thing--

04:46 now, you know I'm not a religious man, but that--

04:49 well, about a month ago, this rose up out

04:53 of the sea after a storm.

04:55 It's the mast of an old shipwreck off the Outer Banks.

04:58 Oh, cool.

04:59 Yeah, but that's not--

05:00 that's her.

05:05 That's Marina.

05:07 Hell, block.

05:08 I'm a frolic.

05:09 Are you sure?

05:12 Yeah, if I was on the outside, I'd be down there tonight.

05:16 Go to Currituck for me, will you?

05:18 See if you can find her.

05:20 Hey, Dovey, I got a bus idling on taxpayer gas.

05:23 Let's go.

05:25 Darren, for you, because every character

05:27 thinks they're right no matter what.

05:29 But you have to be sort of the heart of the story

05:32 from that point of view, Darren, if you could talk about that.

05:35 Yeah, you know, I just really enjoyed playing Dovey.

05:38 He was such a fun, optimistic, really altruistic guy

05:43 to be inside of.

05:44 So every day on set was really enjoyable for me.

05:47 Some characters, it's tough to be inside of them

05:50 and to live in their head each day.

05:51 But I really found Dovey is always

05:54 really wholeheartedly trying to do the right thing.

05:57 He's a real true friend.

05:59 And I think it's kind of sad by the end

06:01 that he has to create this bit of a thick skin for himself

06:05 and start seeing the world a little differently.

06:07 Because I love the way he just took everybody face value.

06:13 He's very honest, has a little bit of that Peter Pan syndrome.

06:16 And it's kind of a beautiful way to live.

06:18 [PHONE RINGING]

06:21 Hello?

06:29 Three piece chicken dinner, pinot beans and gravy.

06:32 When I'm gone.

06:33 Yeah, but I had to pick the last meal.

06:35 Tie a bag of sand to my phone.

06:38 That'd be the one.

06:38 Ray, what-- where the hell are you?

06:40 What, you didn't hear the news?

06:42 What news?

06:43 Oh, man, I had Luis really stick me about a half a dozen times.

06:47 Felt like I stepped in a yellowjack

06:49 and that's looked like a horse.

06:50 By the time I'm in the ambulance,

06:53 I just rise up like Night of the Living [BLEEP] Dead.

06:56 Yeah, I did have to put one in Justin.

06:58 But that's just so those [BLEEP] didn't stand there

07:00 and flag somebody down pretty slick, huh?

07:02 Jesus, Ray, are you saying you're out?

07:07 Buddy, telling you I flew.

07:10 I'm almost at the state line.

07:11 Well, I mean, it's also the thing

07:12 is the environment changes you.

07:14 It's interesting seeing the energy in different swings

07:16 between each of you at different points.

07:19 It's all about what masks we're wearing

07:21 and how we sort of play that.

07:23 Could you sort of talk about that?

07:24 Because that's a physical thing that sort of reflects.

07:26 The way you carry yourself in certain scenes

07:30 shifts from one moment to the next.

07:31 Same thing with you, Dermot.

07:33 Dare, you're the only one that sort of stays

07:35 fairly consistent all the way through,

07:37 but it's meant to be almost as a misdirect.

07:39 Could you talk about physicality

07:41 and forming the emotions of these characters?

07:43 And because they have to ping pong back and forth.

07:46 Whoever would like to talk about it,

07:48 what's the time we have left?

07:51 Feel free, you guys.

07:53 Well, yeah, creating Dubby's physicality to me

07:57 was really important because it really helped me

07:58 embody him as the character.

08:01 Just, you know, and going through the prison scenes,

08:04 moving into, you know, the Outer Banks stuff,

08:07 his vibe really does change from when he's inside the walls

08:10 to outside the walls or how things are going,

08:13 whether he feels like things are on the up,

08:15 he's a little looser.

08:17 And then sometimes he feels like he's being duped again

08:20 and he's closing back off to the world

08:22 and that shows in his body as well.

08:25 Yeah, it was fun playing with that with him for sure.

08:27 ♪ I'll always be right here by your side ♪

08:31 Dubby, now don't tell me you told her I sent you

08:34 'cause God damn it, that's the one thing I--

08:36 No, no, man, of course not.

08:37 No, but you might've said what you're up to.

08:39 I'm part of this now.

08:41 Well, I told you I'd give anything to see her again.

08:43 That's what I'm gonna do, but you--

08:46 You don't have to be involved in anything

08:47 you didn't know about.

08:48 The cops don't know that.

08:49 Well, as long as you're home, they ain't got nothing on you.

08:52 You are back home.

08:54 Yeah, I mean, yeah.

08:57 I gotta check in with my PO tomorrow.

08:59 It's pretty narrow, yeah.

09:02 Yeah, that's it.

09:04 Good, because it's a long way down on each side.

09:06 Remember that.

09:08 Of course, with Ray Childress, especially in prison

09:14 before you guys, make sure you see "Breakwater."

09:17 It's got an awesome prison break, for real,

09:20 but you get that he's even playing his own physicality.

09:24 So I love your question, Tim, because this does play

09:27 in each of the characters, where maybe Eva, as I know her,

09:30 Marina is a little soft, but at other times,

09:32 tough, single mom, but then has a leaning toward a romance,

09:37 and all of that's combined in these characters.

09:40 But Ray is just, without giving too much away,

09:44 he leaves the one that is even deliberately playing

09:48 that kind of physicality, and then there's kind of

09:51 even written into the storyline, brilliantly scheduled

09:55 by the producers, there is a physical transformation

09:59 mid-film, as you see him emerge

10:04 as the true conniver that he is.

10:08 It culminates in an incredible underwater, you know, clash,

10:13 let's call it that, between two people

10:17 who were once best friends, or appeared to be best friends.

10:21 But that's when I really relied on Darren's physicality

10:26 to at some point literally get me back to the surface

10:31 before himself.

10:34 So Darren, I look at you on Zoom, thank you for those,

10:37 those shooting days, incredible, I'll never forget it.

10:49 - Marina?

10:50 - How do you know Ray?

11:02 - Same brides.

11:04 - Had to be an ex-con.

11:08 Man has no friends left in the real world.

11:10 I think you know this (beep) liar.

11:14 - Marina!

11:15 Marina!

11:18 Marina!

11:18 - Say that name one more (beep) time

11:20 and I call the sheriff.

11:21 Any outstanding warrants or parole violations

11:24 you'd like to know about?

11:25 The photo, he saw the (beep) newspaper.

11:31 - Yes.

11:33 - What does he want?

11:34 - To know you're happy.

11:35 Look, Ray told me he was your father.

11:40 After this morning, I don't know what to think.

11:43 Oh, but Eve, he escaped somehow.

11:45 He's out and driving this way.

11:47 (dramatic music)

11:50 - You're a fool.

11:52 - They actually, Dermot and Darren impressed me so much

11:57 with just what they brought to a lot of the scenes

12:00 as far as like the fight scenes.

12:02 There was a moment where, you know,

12:06 something is revealed by Dovey to my character.

12:10 And I remember in that scene, we spent,

12:13 as we were getting ready to shoot it,

12:17 Darren was almost, we were,

12:20 do you remember running around the bookstore?

12:22 We were like kind of, almost like you were chasing me.

12:25 And so right as we went out the door and shot the scene,

12:29 it already had that energy of,

12:31 so there were, and also just the fact

12:34 that they made everything so real, you know?

12:36 It was a real bookstore.

12:37 It was a real ship.

12:38 It was, it made all of those moments

12:41 which they just talked about.

12:42 - Yeah, that was really awesome.

12:44 Shooting on location and in great locations was amazing.

12:47 North Carolina was unreal.

12:49 I'd go back there and shoot in a second.

12:52 - How do you convince you to do this?

12:53 - I was helping out a guy who helped me.

12:55 - You showed the devil right to Mike Beaver's step.

12:58 - What debt is he coming to collect from you?

13:02 - You said I brought the devil.

13:06 Well, the devil doesn't come for the innocent.

13:08 (dramatic music)

13:11 (gunshots)

13:14 (dramatic music)

13:17 (gunshots)

13:19 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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