John Hansen
John Hansen is a consummate theater actor and it was educational for me to work with someone who was making the transition from stage to screen. He was so in tune with his character that often we discovered that he could do less and his feelings would still show on camera.
John has a lot of depth, and I encouraged him to find some triggers for himself for certain scenes. It was important to me to do that without invading his privacy. It's a matter of professional respect. A director can guide an actor into those dark places without knowing all the details.
When you work with lots of different actors, you learn that the same techniques may not necessarily work for everyone. I ended up directing
John very differently from Matt and Theresa. I learned a lot from working with him, and I'm really proud of him for giving such a great performance.
Theresa Hilburn
It was such a treat to work with Theresa. She had a blast making this film. It was her first movie, and she was right on the edge of still being a kid, but turning into a young woman, just like the character of Lillian. She had a lot of confidence for someone so young. She gave John a really hard time, too. She teased him relentlessly, which actually worked really well for their on-screen uncle-niece relationship.
Theresa was really at ease in front of the camera, and I didn't want to destroy that by making her self-conscious, so I was very selective in giving her direction. To capture her effervescent personality on film, I tried to create opportunities for moments to happen organically and luckily they often did. It was fun to watch her become that girl.
Matthew Rothert
I needed Matt to be someone you instantly like, a wonderful guy who isn't affected or working through some kind of mask. Matthew Rothert had that genuine Midwestern boy-next-door quality. He didn't act like he was acting.
Matthew Rothert brought a lot of enthusiasm to the part and was both professional and fun on set. He bonded well with his fellow cast members, and was very aware as an actor.
His portrayal of Matt was a great counterbalance to the character of Simon, who is completely hung up, inhibited and awkward.
I was constantly emphasizing that contrast. Simon was very tidy and uptight, so Matt had to be extremely relaxed. I had Matthew wear his shirts inside out and let his beard grow out a little.
Some people thought he was very youthful for a dad, but I liked that about him. It gave him a playfulness that worked with Lillian. I imagined that Matt was the kind of guy who fell in love with his high school sweetheart and married young. He wasn't the sort of person who waited for life to happen. Between the two brothers, Matt was the one who wasn't afraid of making choices.
Renata Green-Gaber
The first time Renata Green-Gaber auditioned for me, her performance was so good that she actually made me cry. As it turned out, she wasn't available for my first project, but I am so glad I was able to get her for the role of Theresa in Change of Heart.
Renata is an educated actress, well-trained in Method and experienced in both theater and film. She has also escaped the traps that some actors fall into when they've had lots of classes. It's a great combination when preparation meets spontaneity, and Renata has that.
She was so sweet to bring in gourmet dishes that we used as props. On student films, it's so great when the actors really understand your plight and reach out to you with little kindnesses like that.
When we shot Renata's close-up in the kitchen scene, I watched closely as she hit all the right notes. After I said, "cut," I took a second to regroup and realized that there was nothing I wanted her to change.
She recently directed and starred in her own short film, "Mistaken Identity."
Charlene Modeste
Charlene's so nice, I cast her twice.
Charlene Modeste is a great character actor with tremendous range, and she loves to play. Rehearsing with her is so much fun that after a while I have to make myself stop because we've done enough. When I watched one of her auditions on tape, I realized that when she's acting, I believe everything she says, and with acting that's the whole point. I hope she never tries to sell me a bridge in Brooklyn, because I'll probably hand her my wallet.
As an actor, she knows what she needs and she knows how to ask for it. In Change of Heart, Charlene plays a lovely art student. See Charlene as Darlene in Love Thy Neighbor.
Sima Nekoui
Sima Nekoui isn't just a pretty actress with a lot of talent. She's also a neurologist. I had auditioned her in the past, and she was the first person I thought of for the role of the doctor.
Her medical experience gave her an edge that none of the other actors had when they read for the part. Sima brought such honesty to the film. She has dealt with hundreds of patients and families, and she drew from that perfectly in her preparation as an actor.
When she talked to John, it felt completely real. It was as if we were shooting a documentary instead of a scene that I had written. I know everyone on the crew felt it.
Sheryl Matthys
Sheryl Matthys plays Simon's sister Joan, and our challenge was to communicate right away that a) Joan wants to raise Lillian and b) she's the wrong person to do so.
Sheryl has a nice balance of strength and sensitivity. She was adept at making adjustments. She's a good listener, and I think her work in live television and radio have given her the focus it takes to turn on a dime.
She's a flexible actor, willing to experiment, and in contrast to the character she plays, she was very easy to get along with.
In addition to performing for stage and screen, Sheryl's also an experienced broadcast journalist with finely tuned skills as an interviewer and host. She's based in New York and always has a lot of exciting projects going on, including being a unique type of matchmaker.
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