Johannah Newmarch is known for her work on When Calls the Heart (2014), Project Mc² (2015) and Supernatural (2005). Her latest film is Entanglement, is now showing in select theaters and available on VOD. Johannah plays Dr. Jill who counsels Ben in Entanglement. While searching for the meaning of his existence, Ben Layten (Thomas Middleditch) discovers that he very nearly, almost had an adopted sister – and, with the help of his neighbor, Tabby Song (Diana Bang), Ben sets out to find this not-quite sibling in an effort to find out if his life could have been different.
When he finally tracks down his would-be sister and discovers the mysterious, Hanna Weathers (Jess Weixler), Ben stumbles upon a very different relationship than he’d been hoping for… Soon, Ben is being pulled back to life – dragged by Hanna into an exciting world of adventure and wonder and the seemingly impossible. Ben is forced to confront some dark truths as he faces the possibility that everything he thinks he knows about himself, and about Hanna, just isn’t real… and that life, and love, is a lot more complicated than he ever imagined.
indieactivity: Thanks for talking to us today. You’ve done a lot of fine work over the years – Project Mc², When Calls the Heart, Supernatural- and each role has been seemingly very different. Is it important for you to keep challenging yourself?
Johannah: My pleasure! Thank you so much. Yes, I’ve been very blessed to play a really wide variety of interesting characters. I’ve somehow managed to avoid being pigeonholed, which is great. Yes, it is definitely important for me to keep challenging myself as an actor – it keeps my artistic journey rewarding, and compelling. But I think the interesting thing about that is that the definition of what “challenges” people is so personal, individual, and dynamic.
For example, for me, a challenge can range from something fairly obvious, like being in a film tackling a complex social issue, or playing a dark complicated character, to something more subtle and personal like leaning into/exploring a specific emotion in a particular scene. Staying curious is an essential part of this, including being curious about oneself.
Because really, if I stay open and curious, and view myself and my acting through the incredibly rich prism of being a human grappling with the human condition, I find a never ending source of things to inspire/challenge me. As with almost everything in life, attitude and perception is everything. When I manage to approach my work with this view, even the seemingly simplest role on the silliest show can be a profound journey. That likely sounded super pretentious, but there it is…
indieactivity: How would you yourself describe Entanglement?
Johannah: A darkly comedic quantum physics fever dream of a love story that takes you on a poetic philosophical journey into the question, “What is reality”?
indieactivity: I imagine its unique storyline and effective mix of genres was a big appeal?
Johannah: Oh most definitely! I was already a fan of Thomas Middleditch when I auditioned for the role, knowing very little about the film. So, I was delighted to book the role on that basis alone. But once I actually got to read the full script I was even more excited to be a part of such a fun, unique, and lovely film.
indieactivity: How did you decide how to play your character? Being a drama with a fantasy angle, it must be hard for an actor not play it too cheesy and yet not super serious?
Johannah: Yeah, that’s a perceptive question, as it is actually quite challenging to get that balance just right. The ‘tone’ of a film is a whole thing, and we’ve all seen those movies with unfortunate jarring tone inconsistencies. In the case of ‘Entanglement’ I showed up with my own understanding of the character and just trusted that the creative process of playing off Thomas, under the clear guidance of Jason of course, would reveal the sweet spot of where the character needed to live. I hope we found that.
indieactivity: How did you get along with Thomas and Jess? I imagine those relationships are crucial to the film working as well as it did?
Johannah: Yes, relationships are very important in all creative collaborations but I think especially in indie film, when time and finances can be so tight. I only shot on the film for one day, and my scenes didn’t involve Jess so, unfortunately, I never got to meet her. But I heard she is delightful and I thought she was just wonderful in the film. Thomas was just super chill and down to earth. But, we were so busy just trying to get all the various shots done we actually had very little time to talk outside of just acting in the scenes. Would have been nice to have had more of a chance to get to know him a little.
indieactivity: How different are you to the character?
Johannah: Well, ha! I actually think we have more similarities than differences. I’m someone that my friends and family come to when they want advice, or need to talk something out. So, I’d say we share an empathic quality, and a genuine desire to help. It’s very rewarding to play even a small part in leading someone towards greater peace and happiness.
indieactivity: How do you find the more emotionally demanding scenes – of which this film as plenty – is it easy to wind down afterwards?
Johannah: It really depends on the scene. I can imagine that if you were acting in a scene that was personally triggering for you, that touched on previous personal traumatic experiences, it would be very difficult to wind down from that. I actually find it relatively easy to shake off emotionally demanding scenes. But I think part of why I’m able to do that is that I’m extremely fortunate to not have had a traumatic past. I also think it has something to do with being an extrovert. Extroverts seem to move through emotional states more quickly, and with less residue, than introverts. We can seem fickle, superficial, or insincere to introverts, when really it’s just that things pass through us more quickly. It’s very clear to me, from watching my introverted friends and family members that it takes them much more time to come down from emotional experiences or confrontation.
indieactivity: Did you do any research into medicine or being a doc before filming?
Johannah: No, not specifically medicine, but I have a certificate in “Peer Counselling’ from UBC, have researched many types of therapy, and have seriously entertained becoming a therapist at various points in my life. So, that felt like a good basis to build the character of ‘Doctor Layton’ upon.
Entanglement is now showing in select theaters and on VOD: Amazon, YouTube XBox, iTunes, Google Play
indieactivity: What’s the secret to Entanglement’s success commercially and critically, you think?
Johannah: Well, from what I can tell people seem to be really responding to the films sweet, quirky, awkwardly funny honesty, as well as its good heart. And I think that Thomas Middleditch’s ‘Ben’ is an interesting and layered enough character, a deft mix of troubled yet loveable, that most of us can find something about him that we relate to. Whether it’s his self-loathing, his search for meaning and order in a chaotic world, his questioning of all his life choices, his ultimate hopefulness despite his despair, his belief in love, or his self-deprecating dark humor, there’s something there for everyone.
indieactivity: Can you tell us where we can see you next?
Johannah: Thank you for asking! Well, season 5 of the series ‘When Calls the Heart’, in which I have a recurring role, has recently begun airing in the US, and dark indie I’m in (in a very unglamorous role) called ‘The Show’ is available on video on demand. I just wrapped shooting on a really fun mockumentary called “Open For Submissions’, and in May I’m very excited to be playing the role of ‘Doc Holliday’ in an all female western film called ‘Last Stand to Nowhere’.
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