“At the End of the Day” is directed by Kevin O’Brien & written by Phil Grimes
Stephen Shane Martin, who plays Dave Hopper in the new film AT THE END OF THE DAY, talks to indieactivity about his acting career (which he modestly believes still hasn’t kicked off), dying in a zombie film, and how he got what’s unarguably the biggest role of his career.
Q: When did your acting career kick off, Shane?
Stephen Shane Martin: What? My acting career kicked off? News to me.. In Atlanta, I started around 2012.
Q: And why movies and TV? What was it about movies that had you fixed on building a career around making them?
Stephen Shane Martin: TV, and film, like other art make you feel things. They let you escape, and discover beauty. They force you to face hard realities. I love being able to see life through someone else’s lens.
I especially like how collaborative a project is. There is so much more to a project than a Director yelling action, and an actor saying lines. Long days of a lot of amazingly skilled people coming together for a common goal is such a great thing to me.
Q: What was the first acting job?
Stephen Shane Martin: Abraham Lincoln vs Zombies. I died. Quickly.
Q: And how do you think you’ve improved as an actor since then?
Stephen Shane Martin: Not sure. I haven’t died in anything in a while. That’s good right?
I’m way too critical of myself to say where I’ve improved. Procedurally speaking I trust my instincts more. That count?
Q: Is there a sequence in the movie, one you can genuinely step back from and say ‘Wow, I’m good in this scene!’.
Stephen Shane Martin: Nope!
Q: How did you get cast?
Stephen Shane Martin: I did a taped audition. A few weeks later Kevin and I spoke, after I ad read the whole script. Then I think a few days after that he called me, and let me know I got the job.
Q: Did you have much time to know your co-stars before the shoot began?
Stephen Shane Martin: Not really. We had a table read a few days prior to production starting.
Q: Where did you shoot the movie? And I suppose a better question Is…where?
Stephen Shane Martin: Where, and where? Lakeland. Lakeland.
Q: What do you hope audiences get from the movie?
Stephen Shane Martin: I hope they walk away moved. That’s why we make movies. Whether that is emotionally, or spiritually, or its moved to get involved, or moved to examine things they’ve been taught to believe.
The movie has a lot of layers, and different people will walk away with different things.
In Conversation with Michael Oblowitz Director of Confidential Informant
Confidential Informant stars Mel Gibson, Dominic Purcell, and Kate Bosworth
